Welcome to LS&A: Using this Handbook
Congratulations and welcome to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. You are about to enroll in a College with approximately 15,000 undergraduate students, 2,400 graduate students, and 800 faculty, by far the largest among the nineteen schools that comprise the University of Michigan. We hope you enjoy an exciting and productive career in the College.
In this booklet we will relate some of the facts you will need to know as an entering LS&A student, and give you some guidance on what the first-year college experience is like for most students. Our immediate purpose here is to have the academic side of your Orientation period go smoothly. You can help accomplish this goal by taking the time to peruse this booklet. You should find the information highly relevant to choices you will face and decisions you must make at Orientation and some months beyond.
In this booklet, among other things we are going to sketch out the requirements for a degree from the College, and as we do so you will learn that the academic choices in LS&A are many. In fact, you will find that there are few specific requirements for an LS&A degree - be it a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.), a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or a Bachelor in General Studies (B.G.S.) degree.
We are also going to provide you with a Course Guide which contains information about many representative courses from which you may choose your course elections. You should remember, however, as you read through and use the Course Guide that some of the courses may close before you attend the Orientation Program. Therefore you should have a number of options planned. For example, approximately three-fifths of you who will be required to take Introductory Composition will be able to elect a course in the Fall Term. The rest of you will have to postpone electing a course to meet this requirement until the Winter Term. Or again, only about twenty of you will be able to elect Great Books 201, Great Books of Ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome. On the other hand, every one of you should be able to get into the appropriate course you may need in mathematics, chemistry, or language.
When you attend Orientation, before enrolling for courses you will talk twice with an academic advisor in the College, meet with student peer advisors, and have plenty of time to discuss whatever is on your mind with your student orientation leaders. The College will also give you a copy of the 1997-98 LS&A Bulletin (college catalog). In the meantime, you can prepare for Orientation by reading and working with this First-Year Handbook and the Course Guide and other enclosed materials.
Best wishes in the great adventure that lies ahead!
For the Office of LS&A Academic Information and Publications,
Robert D. Wallin, Director
Academic Information and Publications