UB Discovery Seminar Program

Information for Faculty

Discovery Seminar Program Overview

The Discovery Seminar Program offers a variety of seminar courses each semester, giving first- and second-year students a small class experience that provides the opportunity for them to engage with a distinguished faculty member in a relaxed, congenial setting. The seminars facilitate greater interaction for the exchange of ideas and lively discussion. These seminars will introduce students to our research university and actively engage them as new members of our intellectual community.

Characteristics of the Discovery Seminar Program include the following:

• Conducted in small groups limited to 15 students in which active participation is encouraged and regular attendance is required;
• Meet once per week for 50 minutes and carry one credit; and
• Evaluation of students in terms of the standard letter grading system.

Learn more about the Discovery Seminar Program from Reporter articles:

• Q&A with Vice Provost Mike Ryan (March 8, 2007)
• Attracting top students (February 1, 2007)

Benefits of Teaching a Discovery Seminar

Discovery Seminars will not affect your regular teaching assignment, but are taught as course overload. Faculty will receive a $500 award for developing the seminar, which can be used for any academic purpose including travel, research, supplies, books, etc. Other benefits to the faculty include:

• Opportunity to engage with undergraduate students;
• Share passion for your scholarly activity or academic discipline; and
• Help freshmen and sophomores become active members of our university community.

Time and Work Commitment

Since the seminar carries 1 credit, the course should meet every week for 1 hour and should involve 2 hours of outside preparation for the students (or the equivalent, such as meeting for 2 hours every other week). The instructor is expected to develop the syllabus, including readings and assignments appropriate to the 1 credit hour associated with the course. Depending on your topic, you may already have the readings and assignment ideas. The work involved would simply be to lead the students in discussion and evaluate any small assignments that contribute to their letter grade.

We also encourage team teaching so that multiple instructors can share these responsibilities. While one instructor will need to be the instructor of record who grades the course, other faculty members can be involved in whatever capacity is appropriate. For example, we’ve had three faculty members share a course, with each one teaching their own 5-week segment of the course. In other cases, we’ve had seminars with different faculty conducting “guest seminars” each week. We’re open to whatever arrangement best meets your needs and is most conducive to addressing your topic.

Choosing a Seminar Topic

The most important thing to consider in choosing a topic for a Discovery Seminar is that the goal of the seminar is to have faculty and students passionately engaged in an academic topic. So, firstly, your topic should be one that interests you and has potential to interest students.

The format for the seminars may vary and can include group work, lab research, field study, guest speakers, film presentations, etc. The seminars can enable students to develop skills in critical thinking, thoughtful reading, careful and accurate writing, problem solving, and logical analysis.

To help you see the different approaches that faculty have taken to teaching the course, following are some sample syllabi from past semesters.

• Judy Adams-Volpe—Pulp Fiction and Pop Culture at UB
• Michael Ryan—Energy: Science, Technology, and the Environment (PDF)
• Natalie Simpson—Introduction to Emergency Management (PDF)

Submitting Seminar Proposals

To submit a proposal, you can simply complete our Web form. Please note that although we accept proposals at any time, we prefer to receive proposals for the fall semester by the previous February, and proposals for the spring by the previous September.

Contact Information

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, you should feel free to contact Kara Saunders, Assistant Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at vpue@buffalo.edu or 716-645-6003.