First-Year Interest Groups Program

First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) are cohorts of twenty first year UW-Madison students who share a common academic interest and take (usually) three fall-semester classes together as a group. Each fall, more than 60 different FIGs are offered on a wide range of subjects. Each FIG is anchored by a small enrollment seminar that is only open to incoming freshmen — who take this class and the other courses in the FIG together as a cohort.

HOW FIGS WORK

Learn more about the classes in a FIG

The main FIG seminar

At the heart of each FIG is the main seminar instructor who develops and leads a class exclusively for you and the other students in your FIG. Your FIG seminar is capped at 20 students and may include outside-the-classroom experiences, like field trips, to help you explore the topic and get to know your classmates.

Linked classes

All of the students in the FIG will take two other classes in addition to the main seminar. These classes are selected to add to your exploration of the FIG topic and to help you fulfill general education or other degree requirements. You will enroll in the same sections of these courses. This allows you to study together and to think about the connections between all of the classes in the FIG.

Small class sizes

Your main seminar will be small. If the linked courses are large lectures, many will have small discussion or lab sections that meet weekly in addition to the lecture. In this case, you will be in the same sections or labs with the other students in your FIG.

title	key_image	fig	key_image_url	random_number
The Periodic Table of Life	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022fig45.jpg	24fig39	The Periodic Table of Life	98
Earth Partnership, Indigenous Arts, and Sciences	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/24fig09.png	24fig09	Earth Partnership, Indigenous Arts, and Sciences	96
The Physiology of Human Performance	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019fall59.jpg	24fig41	The Physiology of Human Performance	95
The Environment, Pollutants, and You	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/24fig11.png	24fig11	The Environment, Pollutants, and You	92
Make it Count: Measuring Physical Activity Behavior	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019fall45.jpg	24fig33	Make it Count: Measuring Physical Activity Behavior	91
Sports, Games, and Spectacles in Antiquity	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/24fig51.png	24fig51	Sports, Games, and Spectacles in Antiquity	90
Global Biodiversity and the Sixth Mass Extinction	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019fall26.jpg	24fig21	Global Biodiversity and the Sixth Mass Extinction	88
Body, Mind, Spirit, and the Yoga Tradition	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019fall73.jpg	24fig02	Body, Mind, Spirit, and the Yoga Tradition	85
Health Equity in the United States	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/24fig23.png	24fig23	Health Equity in the United States	84
Exploring Opportunities in Environmental Sciences	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/24fig16.png	24fig16	Exploring Opportunities in Environmental Sciences	82
World of the Vikings	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022fig61.jpg	24fig55	World of the Vikings	81
Food Cultures of Italy	https://figs.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2019fall22.jpg	24fig17	Food Cultures of Italy	80

WHY STUDENTS CHOOSE FIGS

Learn more about how you can choose a FIG

🔦

Extra attention

You’ll have the dedicated attention of an instructor who really gets to know all of the students in the small main FIG seminar.

🤝

Make friends

Going to class and studying together, you’ll get to know other new students who share your interests.

📚

Deep learning

Integrating ideas from different courses will help you learn in a more holistic way.

🏆

Proven popularity

Every fall, over 1,000 UW freshmen enroll in a FIG. Participants overwhelmingly say that their FIG was a great experience.