Catering college courses to your unique interests

A Wheaton education enables each student the flexibility to create their own learning path. Through the college’s unique Compass Curriculum, students explore their interests and discover new ones, while supported by a faculty advisor, a professional advisor and a peer mentor. 

First Year Experience Courses

Each student’s first semester includes a First Year Experience (FYE) course to smooth the transition to college-level learning. By gaining foundational knowledge and developing essential skills for success, students prepare to thrive throughout their Wheaton journey.

The course is complemented by a seven-week FYE Lab workshop that aims to prepare students to work with faculty and staff in planning their education. The FYE Lab offers a thorough tutorial to help students take charge of their education. It culminates with the fall MAP Day, where first-year students will pause to begin planning for the spring semester.

Here are some of the FYE courses offered in fall 2026.

Bad to the Bone
What draws us to villains, antiheroes, and moral outlaws in literature? In this course, you will investigate different ideas of goodness and badness, both real and fictional. Discussions will include con artists and cult leaders, the phenomenon of true crime podcasts, and some of the fictional villains we love—or love to hate—among other topics.

Three college students wearing shorts and T-shirts sit on chairs in a semi-circle in a classroom while speaking with an older gentleman with a beard and a patterned floral shirt, most likely a professor.

College Controversies
Why do debates about education spark such heated disagreement? This course explores controversial questions about American colleges, with a focus on debates that relate to new student experiences. Topics include admissions, athletics, disabilities, gender, grading, mental health and diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI). Current scholarship, student perspectives and the expertise of Wheaton administrators are considered.

Economics and Sport
Where does economics intersect with the sports industry? This course analyzes economic factors that shape pro and amateur sports, including salaries, collective bargaining, performance strategies, marketing and pricing approaches, labor market disparities and discrimination. Discuss the controversy of public-private financing of sports facilities and the economic impact of hosting mega sporting events. 

How things work
Why don’t you fall off an upside-down roller coaster? What is the difference between a flashlight and laser? How do your laptops and smart phones turn binary digits into everything you see on the screen or what they can do? This course takes you inside everyday technology to gain knowledge of the fascinating physics that drives the modern world and explains how things work.

A young female with long brown hair smiles while looking at a computer screen. An older female with long brown hair wearing glasses, and floral patterned dark shirt and jeans stands beside her, holding the side of the computer screen with one hand while also looking at the screen.

Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in the AI Era
This course equips you with essential computing skills and strategies for navigating the hidden curriculum, preparing you for success in the AI era. You’ll learn to: decode academic and professional norms (e.g., email etiquette, office hours); use AI tools ethically (ChatGPT, Copilot) for research, coding, and writing; apply foundational computing skills (data literacy, Excel, basic Python) to real-world tasks; navigate digital inequities (e.g., bias in AI) and study more efficiently with AI chatbot assistance.

Right and Wrong, Life and Death
How do we make moral decisions when the stakes are highest? This discussion-based course contemplates hot topics of debate such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment and war. Various sides and perspectives are considered as we are free to share our own views in a respectful environment. 

Rituals of Dinner
Every culture eats food, but each one does not eat the same way or for the same reasons. Discover the influence of religion, traditions and literary works on meals and how we have the power to shape food rituals and be shaped by them. Through making and performing food rituals in the course, we will simultaneously feed our minds, limbs and sense organs.

Theatre and the Self: Cultivating Resilience and Curiosity in College
As children, we could fall on a playground but quickly get back up and continue playing without hesitation. In this course, reconnect and refine that instinct through theatre games, improvisational techniques, writing exercises and more to build a power to adapt for academic and personal success in college. 

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