Freshman Interest Groups

A Freshman Interest Group (FIG) is a way to make friends from day one and get more out of your classes.

FIGS are learning communities of approximately 20 first-year students who share the same academic or career interests. Students in a FIG live together in a residence hall; take three core courses together; take part in a one-credit weekly FIG ProSeminar and will attend cultural and extracurricular events related to their shared interests.

At the same time, your FIG will put you in touch with both an upperclassman (peer advisor) and a faculty or staff mentor whose work is related to your interests. Peer advisors live in the residence hall with the FIG and provide information about the University in general and about their FIG's theme in particular. The faculty or staff mentor advises the peer advisor, attends FIG events and serves as a resource for FIG students.

Mizzou's approximately 90 FIGs are organized by themes including Natural Resources and Atmospheric Sciences (Storm Chasers) which are both housed in Gillette Hall, conveniently located across the street from the Anheuser Busch Natural Resources building. More about Mizzou FIGs.

Or, you could choose something bigger — a second option: Sponsored Learning Communities, which are living-learning communities that include freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Sponsored Learning Communities are similar to FIGs in that they offer similar opportunities to have interactions with faculty and focus on a particular interest area. However, students don’t take classes together. More about Sponsored Learning Communities.