All first-year students take two First-Year Seminar courses: one in the fall semester and another in the spring semester of your first year.
Important Notes
- Only new first-year students should register for a First-Year Seminar. Transfer and exchange students are exempt from the FYS requirement and should not register for a seminar.
- Students should only register for one FYS course during the fall semester.
- If a special circumstance prevents you from having internet access on June 17, please contact the Core Program no later than June 10 at coreprogram@oxy.edu to arrange alternate means of registering.
Registration Instructions
To register for your fall semester FYS, please follow the steps below:
- Choose your preferred FYS course in advance. Make a list of about 5-10 seminars, ranked in order of your preference. For each course on your list, make a note of the 4-digit CRN (Course Reference Number). The CRN can be found at “Course Counts” within myOxy or at counts.oxy.edu. From the Course Counts landing screen, choose Fall 2024 on the Semester drop-down menu and First Year Seminars on the Subject menu. The CRN is the blue number at the far left of the row for each course. Clicking on the CRN will also give you the course description.
- At 9:00 AM (PDT) on Monday, June 17, registration will open. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to add a class using the online registration system:
- Access the registration system
- Click the Add or Drop Classes link
- Select "2024 Fall Semester" from the Select a Term menu and click Submit
- Enter the following six-digit PIN when prompted: 202805
- Near the bottom of the screen, enter the four-digit CRN for your chosen First-Year Seminar
- Click on Submit Changes
If the seminar is already full, the system will tell you that it is closed. If this happens, select your next choice until you are registered into a FYS.
3. When you have successfully registered for your FYS course, you will see a screen that says Current Schedule. This serves as a confirmation of the seminar that you selected.
Note: Students who do not register for a FYS seminar by Friday, June 21 will be placed into a seminar by the director of the Core Program.
Registration issues?
Registration for 4-unit FYS courses begins on Monday, June 17. If you encounter difficulties while trying to register online, you can get help from the Registrar's office. The Office of the Registrar will be available in person, via email, or by phone on Monday, June 17th from 8 am to 5 pm and at other times throughout the week.
Registrar's Office Contact Info:
- 📧 registrar@oxy.edu
- ☎️ (323) 259-2686
Want to double-check your registration?
Once you've registered for your FYS, you confirm your enrollment by following these steps:
- Visit Grades & Academic Records. (You may need to log in using your Oxy username and password.)
- Select Class Schedule/Registered Courses.
- Verify that your First-Year Seminar is listed on your schedule.
What if I didn’t get into the seminar I wanted?
We know it can be disappointing if you are not able to get into your choice seminar. An important part of the First Year Seminar experience is the small class sizes which allow for a lot of interaction between students and professors. Unfortunately, this also means that there are a limited number of seats available for each seminar and we are not able to add additional students once we reach capacity.
If you didn’t get into your first choice seminar, be sure to register for another seminar—it’s important that all first-year students have an FYS on their schedule. Many students have told us that they ended up loving the seminar they took, even though they were initially disappointed not to get into their first choice.
While there are no waitlists for FYS courses, you may want to occasionally check Course Counts to see if a seat opens up. If you do see an open seat, you can contact the Core Program to see if you can be switched into the seminar.