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WHAT IS A SEMINAR?

At Duke, most seminars are easily identifiable by the presence of the code "S" beside the course number (e.g., History 49S). While there is no set format for seminar courses,they do share some features in common that distinguish them from many other courses that you will take at Duke:

• Class Size: Seminars are generally limited to fifteen students. Under no circumstances may enrollment exceed 18 students. 
• Active Student Participation: Seminars are cooperative ventures and their success depends upon the full and active participation of each member of the class. Therefore, conscientious preparation and regular attendance are required. You should expect to be fully and actively engaged in the work of the seminar, whether in connection with class discussions, research, or completion of original projects or reports. Regular writing assignments help to ensure that you continue to refine your skills in expository writing.
• Scope: Most seminars do not attempt to survey a topic. Rather, students and faculty investigate some particular aspect of a topic or field. You should not rely upon seminars—particularly first-year seminars in the 49S-series—to provide a broad factual background for advanced study in a given department or area of knowledge.

Note: While enrollment in seminars is limited, it does not follow that all courses with enrollments below 18 are seminars.  When an instructor chooses to offer a course as a seminar, she/he intends for the course to be relatively small but also to involve students in regular class discussion.  If the instructor intends to lecture during the class period, the course is not a seminar and should not be designated as such.