Welcome to the home of First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) at the University of Montana. If you are a new student at UM, welcome also to our campus community. On this website you will find everything you need to know about FIGs: which FIGs are offered for Fall of 2008, how to register for them, some information about FIG leaders, and ideas about how FIGs can get your college career going in the right direction.
Since 1993 First-Year Interest Groups at UM have helped students succeed in the classroom, get a head start on their majors, and build social networks that connect them to the UM and Missoula communities. A FIG is a pre-packaged cluster of high-demand freshman courses that you take together with up to 20 of your classmates. There are several advantages to registering for a FIG:
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You register for most of your courses all at once, and you get the classes you want
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No scheduling hassles, the FIG is already scheduled for you
Your courses fulfill general education requirements
You take your classes with the same 20 students
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You meet students with similar interests through a built-in academic support group
You build your own UM community
As an alum of UM (2000), it’s very exciting for me to be involved with first-year education on campus. My goal is to be available as possible to answer any questions or concerns that you may have about the FIG Program. Please feel free to contact me by email, phone, or drop by my office in the Lommasson Center, room 280 in the Undergraduate Advising Center. I look forward to meeting you! In the meantime, check out all the FIGs we have to offer for Fall of 2008, and I will see you at FIG registration on Friday afternoon!
Steve Edwards
Director, First-Year Interest Groups
