The Mason Topics Program
Do you enjoy discovering connections—between ideas and with people? If you like looking a little more deeply at what you learn, in a community of scholars that is also a community of friends, then you should consider the Mason Topics Program. We believe that real learning and real friendship go together.
—Teresa Michals
Director, Mason Topics Program
The Mason Topics Program has created special groupings of classes plus out-of-the-classroom learning experiences for first-year students. Join students interested in taking a sequence of popular courses on one of four topics: American Experience, Global Village, Science, Technology, and Society, or Classical Presence. Mason Topics students take two classes together both semesters of their freshman year. Small classes and out-of-the-classroom learning experiences foster close relationships with faculty.
On-campus students in the program live on special Living / Learning floors in the residence halls where much of the special programming takes place: films, talks, study sessions, and more. Many Mason Topics students also live off-campus, and they are equally welcome at these events. Working closely with Residence Life, University Life, and a range of academic departments, the Mason Topics Program offers an enriched experience for students, one that combines a small liberal arts college atmosphere with the resources of a major university.
The Mason Topics Program works by linking courses. The same group of students are enrolled in two Mason Topics courses, which meet at different times and places and are graded separately. The faculty plan their courses together, exploring common ideas of the courses from different perspectives. They use some shared reading and writing assignments and keep in touch throughout the semester. The faculty have been selected for their commitment to working with first-year students in innovative ways.
Another advantage of this program is that the students work together in more than one course, which helps them in their adjustment to college. They are better able to make connections across classes and experience a greater sense of community. Linked students feel more comfortable speaking up in class and often form study groups in their own time.