The University's Towson Seminar (TSEM) is a first-year experience course designed to prepare students to thrive in college.
Through active learning, discussion and research, TSEM introduces students to the critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills essential for academic success. Seminar-style TSEM classes expose students to new topics and diverse perspectives, helping them to gain the confidence and foundation necessary to thrive in their time at Towson University.
Beginning in fall 2025 all students enrolled in TSEM will be required to complete a series of four short ethics modules about Academic Integrity, Citations & Attribution, Privacy & Security, and Environmental & Social Concerns when using generative AI. TSEM students will be enrolled in a separate Blackboard "Ethics of AI Use" course site to complete the modules. Fall 2025 modules are due by Friday 9/12.
Maya Gincel has won the Dan Jones TSEM Writing Prize for her fall 2024 paper, “Beauty Practices as Sacred: Secular Culture and Denominations of Judaism,” written for Dr. Jillian Stinchcomb’s “Reading the Sacred” TSEM
Congratulation to Sarah Herzfeld for her Honors TSEM paper, “Pipe Dreams: The United States Lead Pipe Crisis and Its Impact on Marginalized Communities” for Dr. Michael Elliott's "Water" TSEM and Lauren Kelly for her Honors TSEM paper, "The Mignonette and the Ethics of Utilitarian Cannibalism" for Dr. Victoria McAlister's "Water" TSEM