Step 1- Review all pre-proposal required and recommended readings (above)

Step 2- Collect relevant information

• Verbal approval from your DEO or direct supervisor to submit a FYS proposal (this person will also approve your proposal form in workflow).
• A copy of your syllabus (see the syllabus section of the FYS policies page); a draft version is acceptable but instructors may be asked to submit a final syllabus later.
• CV or resume: Primary instructor's current CV or resume and co-instructor's CV or resume, if relevant.
• Decide the day/time your seminar will meet (review the Standardized Time-Block Model), if your proposal is accepted. This information is being provided now so that course schedulers have timely access to this information, but can be adjusted up until approx. May 1, if needed. 
  If you ask for your seminar to be offered as a Research-Focused First-Year Seminar: Please consider offering your seminar for 75-minutes/week for 10 weeks so you can plan to participate in the annual poster session, which falls at the end of the 10th week of the semester. While participation is not required, it is highly encouraged.
• Know which of the 4 Pillars of a First-Year Seminar your seminar is tied to, have your MyUI course description written and ready to include on the submission form, and be prepared to provide a short justification for your course and what makes it appropriate for a First-Year Seminar. Keep in mind that, at the University of Iowa, "First-Year Seminar" and "College Transition Course" or "First Year Experience Course" or other similar terms are not synonymous. First-Year Seminars focus on exploring a single, specific academic topic, allowing for in-depth analysis and critical thinking around that subject matter. 

Step 3- Complete and submit the proposal form in workflow

Click (link for fall 2026 will be inserted here) to access the proposal form within the UI workflow system.

Step 4- Let your DEO or direct supervisor know they need to approve the form in workflow by 11:59pm on January 30, 2026.

This includes the co-instructor, if there is one, as well.

Step 5 (recommended)- Let your HR representative, departmental administrator, and person who schedules your courses (if you're in an academic unit) know that you have submitted a FYS proposal.

Some of these folks will also automatically have "View Only" access to your proposal form in workflow, based on MAUI role assignments. Please remind them: DO NOT schedule your course until proposal decisions have been communicated, which will be emailed to instructors in mid to late-February.

Step 6- Look for notification about your proposal to come in mid to late-February.  

If approved, you will be asked to forward important information to the person in your department who schedules courses. Please be prepared to do this immediately so they can begin the scheduling process asap. First-Year Seminars typically must be scheduled by late March. 

If you request to be considered for a Honors and/or Research-Focused seminar: Please be sure to read your notification email very closely for information on these outcomes. 

• The First-Year Seminar proposal form is submitted via workflow. The primary instructor's (and co-instructor, if applicable) DEO or direct supervisor is required to approve the form in workflow by the proposal due date. Instructors (both primary and co-instructor) are encouraged to notify their DEO or direct supervisor upon submission of their form so they know to be watching for it. In addition, please budget your time accordingly to allow time for the form to get through workflow by the due date. 
  
  Key departmental staff are automatically added to the workflow, based on their MAUI roles as determined by the primary instructor's home department, with "view only" access. This is done as an fyi for those who need First-Year Seminar proposal information (department administrator, HR unit rep, and course schedulers ). View only roles do not need to do anything further with the form and should NOT schedule your seminar yet. You may add additional workflow stops as needed. 
   
• Unless other arrangements have been made directly with a specific academic unit, instructors who cannot offer their seminar through their primary unit (instructional staff, adjunct faculty, academic departments that do not offer undergraduate courses, etc.) will have their course offered through University College in College Success Initiatives (course number CSI:1200). Instructors will be compensated via the University College compensation policy as a teaching stipend. 
   
• Proposal decisions will be communicated to instructors by late February or early March.
   
• All First-Year Seminar instructors are expected to attend an information session each spring semester (after proposals have been approved) as well as an enrichment session at the start of each fall semester. These sessions create opportunities to share relevant information with and among instructors and contribute to a more meaningful and consistent First-Year Seminar experience. Dates for these sessions are communicated to instructors via email, calendar invites, and posted on the First-Year Seminar website.

Honors Seminars 

Seminars selected to be offered as an Honors Seminar will be scheduled by and offered through the instructor's home department; instructors will be compensated via their home college compensation policy. However, if the seminar will also be offered as a Research-Focused First-Year Seminar, see below.
 

Honors and/or Research-Focused Seminars 

Seminars selected as Research-Focused Seminars (both Honors AND non-Honors), will be scheduled in University College in Undergraduate Research Studies (URES). As such, all URES instructors will be compensated by University College directly and per the University College compensation policy; compensation is via a teaching stipend ($2,500 minus tax/fringe).

First-Year Seminars are never cross-listed and research-focused seminars should only be scheduled in URES. 
 

Decision Process

Decisions on Honors and/or Research-Focused Seminar designations are made separately and acceptance of one request for consideration does not guarantee the other. 

Even if you taught a course as Honors in the past, this does not mean the course will be offered as Honors again in the future. Honors courses are selected based on several determining factors that differ from year to year.