High-Impact Practices (HIPs) for CAE Scholars

⭐️ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR CAE SCHOLARS

Creating Your UW Experience: CAE edition  

Build community and academic confidence with other CAE scholars.

There are two sections of this small, interactive and highly engaging course, specifically reserved for CAE scholars. The course focuses on supporting student’s successful transition to academic and student life at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and cultural capital to navigate within the structure of the university, and to access available resources for success. Students will explore their interests, identity, and goals to help them make the most of their Wisconsin experience.  

• Sign up for sections reserved for CAE scholars: Section 011 (Tuesdays, 1-2:15 PM) or Section 036 (Mondays, 2:30-3:45 PM)

• Class capacity: 20 students per section 

• Attributes: L&S credit 

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes. 

⭐️ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR CAE SCHOLARS

Build community in the classroom.

figs.wisc.edu — FIGs are clusters of (usually) three Fall-semester UW–Madison classes, linked together to explore a common theme, and open to incoming first-year students who attend these classes together. There are about 60 different FIGs each fall.

At the heart of each FIG is a top-notch instructor who develops and leads a class exclusively for the students in your FIG. The FIG instructor selects two complementary UW classes, combining and expanding what you learn in these classes with the main FIG seminar.

• All classes in the FIG are taken together. If you decide to drop one class, you need to drop all the FIG’s classes.
• Some FIG courses have requisites (conditions that must be met before enrolling) such as placement test scores or direct admissions into a specific UW–Madison college. Read the notes for each FIG to see these listed. Such FIGs are open only to students who meet those conditions.

Enroll during SOAR, after consulting with your academic advisor.

⭐️ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR CAE SCHOLARS

Use research and creative practices as ways to explore possible majors and build community.

urs.ls.wisc.edu — This two-semester program is for students interested in exploring the nature of research, creative practice, and discovery, and approaching this in an interdisciplinary way: from natural science, to social science, to the arts and humanities.

Students meet weekly in a 20-person seminar class to develop critical thinking and writing skills. Each student is matched with a member of UW-Madison’s faculty, research staff, or an advanced graduate student as a project Mentor, working together a few hours each week (schedule varies) for hands-on experience and skill development.

• This is a two-semester commitment. You must be willing to engage in research and the seminar course for the entire year.
• There is a weekly seminar (usually Wednesdays 5:30-6:30pm, both fall and spring semesters).
• Most URS Scholars participate during their first year. A few spots are available to second-year students.

Apply to URS as soon as you know you are interested: before or soon after SOAR. Typically, applications are open until mid-August. The URS Program reviews applications as they come in and offer spots on a rolling basis.

Live and learn in a themed community.

University Housing offers 12 learning and theme communities that bring together faculty, staff, and students around a shared focus like international cultures & languages; biology; gender & sexuality; or sustainability. The SPARK and Chadbourne learning communities are good options for students with a mix of interests.

Each learning community includes a seminar class for all students in that learning community, special events, faculty guests, field trips, and many ways for students to create their community on campus.

• If you are in a Learning Community, and you want this to be your only first-semester high-impact practice as a CAE Scholar, you must enroll in one of the affiliated classes.

When you sign up for Housing (go.wisc.edu/my-housing), select your preferred learning community and choose “learning communities” as your priority for hall preferences.

Create meaningful academic and personal connections throughout your degree.

honors.ls.wisc.edu —  Honors in the Liberal Arts is not about classes being harder, but about genuinely engaging with your professors, peers, and course content. Honors offers access to small, discussion-driven classes exclusively for Honors students; enriching projects; and the opportunity to participate in special events including social gatherings, dinners with professors, volunteer opportunities, and more. No previous secondary-school Honors experience is required.

• Taking an “Honors Only” class in the first semester on campus meets the CAE expectations of a learning community.
• Students accepted into the Honors Program meet with an Honors advisor for their SOAR session.

All incoming L&S students can apply, with relevant deadlines in spring before you would begin at UW. Application information is on the Honors Program website under “Admission.” The Honors in the Liberal Arts application is online through the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) and involves a few short essays. The L&S Honors Program determines which applications are successful, and how many students will be admitted into the Honors in the Liberal Arts Program.

Inter-LS 139: Belong, Explore, Become: Discovering Your UW Paths

Explore potential majors and your UW degree with fellow peers.

This Cross-College Advising Service (CCAS) fall-semester course focuses on strategic exploration and allows you space to consider yourself, your CAE and UW communities, and your degree. You’ll discover and evaluate potential majors and future paths by exploring what a liberal arts degree is, as well as UW-Madison departments, opportunities, and resources. Together and independently, you’ll engage with concepts of belongingness and transitions, and consider questions of identity and community. Build connections with one another as you explore your own UW Madison academic paths.
Belong to our community. Connect with other students. Learn about yourself and your sense of belonging.
Explore your college path. Dive into your interests. Consider new possibilities. See what UW-Madison has to offer you.
Become empowered. Create your own toolkit to draw from as you become who you want to be now, and in the future.

• Class capacity: 20 students per section
• Attributes: L&S credit

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes. 

Develop confidence, excitement, and belonging with students from underrepresented groups in Computer Sciences.

cs.wisc.edu/undergraduate/wes — Peer Collaboration in CS (CS 304) is a fun, interactive study group for students who are new to programming or the computer sciences.

• For students taking CS 200 (Programming I), CS 300 (Programming II), and CS 400 (Programming III). Through weekly meetings led by peers, you’ll earn one additional credit and gain greater mastery of CS material. These small sections focus on learning via group activities and games, ensuring that everyone understands basic concepts, connecting Computer Science to social good and activism, and coding fun projects.

Please ask your CAE advisor for a link to enroll. Students who are authorized for the study group should add the appropriate course (CS 304) to their class schedule and then attend during the scheduled meeting time.
Questions: advising@cs.wisc.edu.

History is not only found in books; it is also found in people.

This course will explore the history of slavery during the era of the American Revolution. More specifically, we will focus on the experiences of people for whom liberty and the “pursuit of happiness” meant freedom from enslavement. The stories of bound men, women, and children of African descent who escaped slavery reveal an often-forgotten side of the struggle for independence. Those who attempted to liberate themselves risked incredible danger in declaring their own freedom. Violence, mutilation, death, and an uncertain future far from family and friends awaited many. Perhaps this is why the stories of enslaved runaways or “freedom seekers” do not frequently appear in textbooks or other traditional narratives of the American Revolution. In contrast, this course will consider the intersecting histories of slavery and the American movement for independence. The course will also introduce students to the methods historians use to recover the past with an emphasis on the hidden histories of the enslaved. Finally, we will consider contemporary debates among both scholars and the broader public over the history of slavery and its ties to the movement for American Independence. In contrast to well-worn stories of idealistic patriot leaders, we will examine how the politics of slavery shaped the creation of the United States, and ultimately ask, just how revolutionary was the American Revolution? 

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes. 

⭐️ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR CAE SCHOLARS

Build community and get a gradual start to your first year on campus.

cae.ls.wisc.edu/summer-collegiate-experience — The Summer Collegiate Experience is a quality-learning, first-year experience for students entering the university. You take two classes for degree credit and learn about UW–Madison resources and campus culture during a six-week, on-campus program. Tuition, housing, meals, and book are covered by UW–Madison.

• About a dozen classes are typically offered each summer, ranging from core foundation classes to more advanced study.

SCE is only for CAE Scholars and students in selected other cohort programs. Admitted students invited to become CAE Scholars can opt in to SCE before May 15 each year.

Students who participate in SCE will typically join another high-impact practice in the fall.

English 100: Introduction to College Composition – CAE Section 017 (MWF 11:00 AM)

This section will be specifically reserved for CAE scholars. English 100 introduces you to types of writing you’ll do at UW-Madison. By the time you complete this course, you’ll know how to pick and research a topic, evaluate and synthesize sources, and produce a solid, carefully edited argument. You will be invited to write about issues, topics, or subjects that matter to you and connect them with the larger world through research, other texts/media, and your own experiences. You can expect to produce frequent short assignments and 2-3 longer projects, which you will revise based on feedback you receive from your peers and your instructor. We’ll spend class time talking about published texts and workshopping student writing, along with frequent in-class writing exercises; attendance and engagement is part of your grade for this course. You’ll also meet with your instructor at least twice during the semester to talk about your projects. Twice during the semester, each student will submit a portfolio of work for feedback and assessment. 

Art and Science of Human Flourishing (CP/Psych/Asian/Ed Psych 120) – Sections 304 & 305 

Formulate a sense of what it means to lead a flourishing life.

https://centerhealthyminds.org/work/programs/student-flourishing — This University of Wisconsin–Madison semester-long course encourages students to think critically about a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on what it means to flourish. The evidence-based course uses the Center for Healthy Minds’ wellbeing framework of Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose and integrates the Healthy Minds Program app. 

• Sign up for sections reserved for CAE scholars: 304 and 305 

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes. 

Counseling Psychology 115: Transition to College: McBurney Edition

Engage with other students with disabilities and learn skills for transition.

https://mcburney.wisc.edu/student-resources/transition-to-college-course/ – This one-credit course is designed to assist first-year students with disabilities during their transition to UW-Madison. Students will learn about campus resources and how they can utilize them for stress management, study skill development, community connection, career exploration, mental health support, and much more.  

This  class is open to freshmen connected to the McBurney Disability Resource Center. For permission to enroll, please email Sarina Garcia at sarina.garcia@wisc.edu during your SOAR session. Students with a disability but not affiliated with the McBurney Center can email Sarina Garcia as well. 

Inter-LS 144: Success in Your Math Course

This is a companion course for students taking Math 96 or Math 112. Introduction to research-based best practices for success in college-level math courses. Practical application in the areas of study skills, goal setting, time management, and notetaking; hands-on practice with problem-solving strategies. The schedule is set up to help students develop success skills at the right times of the semester for these courses. (How to study for a college math test, how to look over your test after it is graded, etc.) Note, this a study skills course, not a math content course.  

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes. 

WISCIENCE First-Year Courses:

Exploring Biology – INTEGSCI 100 

Explores the biological sciences and supports transition to UW-Madison. Focuses on the core concepts in biology (evolution; transformation of energy and matter; information exchange and storage; structure and function; systems biology), how biological research is conducted and communicated, and the diversity of bioscience careers. Develops foundational academic skills and introduces resources, opportunities, and the biological sciences landscape at UW-Madison. 

Exploring Service in STEM – INTEGSCI 140 

A discussion-based seminar introducing first-year STEM students to the world of public service from the perspective of both the university and its community partners. Classroom activities and direct campus and off-campus experiences are included. Service opportunities include STEM outreach, sustainability, and public health. Involves approximately 1 hour per week of public service. 

 Exploring Research in STEM  – INTEGSCI 150 

Offers an overview of the research process and opportunities to build skills in reading scientific literature. Understand different approaches to science and to be flexible in thinking about gathering evidence or solving problems. Supports articulation of research interests, identifying potential research mentors, and writing professional emails to secure research opportunities. Explore STEM careers and pathways that can come from engaging in research. 

Talk with your academic advisor during SOAR about this opportunity when you enroll in your Fall classes.  

School of Music Applied Study

⭐️ REQUIRED FOR ENTERING MUSIC MAJORS

Begin your studies on your principal instrument!

Applied Study is your beginning into instrument lessons as a music major. At the heart of your music major experience, this is where you will have the opportunity to pursue your performance goals, learn about new kinds of music, work directly with your professor, and learn from other undergraduate and graduate students studying your instrument in a supportive and collegial environment.

There are two weekly parts to Applied Study.

• Weekly studio class: you and all the other students in your studio will meet with your instrument professor on a weekly basis. Your weekly studio class appears on your schedule in Course Search & Enroll.
• Weekly 1:1 Lessons: you will also have a weekly private lesson with your professor. The two of you will find a mutually agreeable time to meet.

Music majors will talk with the Music Advisor about enrolling in Performance Study at SOAR.

Not a Music Major? The School of Music offers many classes and ensembles that are open to all UW-Madison students. Check Course Search & Enroll and the School of Music website for details.