First Year Seminar staff members are working from home during the threat of Covid-19. If you need assistance, please contact us via email at fys-program@udel.edu or by phone (302) 831-3330.
The shared common reader is a unique opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation with your fellow students and to begin to share in the intellectual life of the entire UD community. The book is read before arriving on campus with speakers, films, and other cultural events, organized around the theme of the book throughout your first semester.
Check out the UDaily article about Elizabeth Kolbert’s virtual talk with the University of Delaware.
Featured Book
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future (2021)
In Under a White Sky, author Elizabeth Kolbert presents readers with what she calls the “Anthropocene irony.” After all that humans have done to destroy nature, is ingenuity now its only hope of survival? A search for answers sends her packing from Moku o’...
Latest News
2021 Essay Contest Winners
Eight students were awarded prizes in the 2021 Common Reader Essay Contest, in response to the book Under A White Sky, by Elizabeth Kolbert.
2019 Essay Contest Winners
Nine students were awarded prizes in the 2019 Common Reader Essay Contest, in response to the book Educated, by Tara Westover.
Tara Westover on Campus Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 5:30pm
Tara Westover, the author of Educated, will visit the University of Delaware on Tuesday, November 12, at 5:30 pm in Mitchell Hall.
2019 Common Reader Essay Contest
Open to All First Year Students Westover has titled her book Educated, and much of her education takes place in classrooms, lectures or other university environments — but not all. What other important moments of “education” were described in the book? What friends,...
2018 Common Reader Essay Contest Winners
Eight students were awarded prizes in the 2018 Common Reader Essay Contest, in response to book Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Here are the winners: First place: Valerie Light, an Honors Program student and Communications Interest major from Marietta, GA Second place: Liam...
2018 Common Reader Essay Contest
Open to All First Year Students On page 29 author Hope Jahren writes: “Science has taught me that everything is more complicated than we first assume, and that being able to derive happiness from discovery is a recipe for a beautiful life.” As you enter...
‘LAB GIRL’ IS THE 2018 FIRST YEAR COMMON READER
Lab Girl, a book written by scientist Hope Jahren, has been selected as the University of Delaware’s 2018 First Year Common Reader. The First Year Common Reader is read by UD’s first year students, providing a unique opportunity for students to engage in a meaningful...
NOVELIST COLSON WHITEHEAD ENGAGES UD AUDIENCE
Novelist Colson Whitehead engages UD audience Begin your intellectual journey
2017 Common Reader Essay Contest Winners
Ten students were awarded prizes in the 2017 Common Reader Essay Contest, in response to book The Underground Railroad by Colsen Whitehead. Here are the winners: First place: Jillian Krol, a nursing major from Rockaway Park, NY Second place: Michael Szczechowski, an...
