ESF Courses & Instructors

The following ESF courses are offered in Autumn 2026.

Course Schedule

The three components of ESF are described below. ESF is offered only in the Autumn quarter and counts for 7 units. It fulfills one quarter of COLLEGE, PWR 1, and at least one Ways requirement.

1. A seminar with a faculty member that meets once per week for 75 minutes. Participating students will enroll in one of these, taught by a faculty member from the featured discipline (or disciplines, in the case of team taught seminars).
2. A section with a writing instructor that meets for sessions of 110 minutes twice per week. In ESF, writing is integrated as a process, a means of exploring ideas and engaging with readings and ideas. The goal of the writing sessions is to analyze texts and put them in conversation with one another, allowing you to enter the larger conversation about the multiple meanings and purposes of education.
3. ESF will sponsor a lecture series every Friday featuring prominent intellectuals speaking on the nature and meaning of liberal education. These lectures are required for students enrolled in ESF. The lectures will constitute an ongoing, campus-wide conversation about the aims of liberal education.

ESF Enrollment Questions?