Preceptorial
The Preceptorial is a two-semester course required of all full-time students entering Manhattanville as freshmen. The class is meant to be an introduction to college-level thought and work. Interdisciplinary in nature, its content deals with basic issues of values and cultures.
Designed specifically for first-year students, the Preceptorial emphasizes the development of reading and writing abilities, of critical thought, and of library and research techniques, and it serves as an introduction to important topics in the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Core Objectives of the Freshman Preceptorial
The purpose of the Preceptorial is to introduce the student to the College and to provide a close, working relationship with a faculty member. Preceptors are more than teachers; they direct and evaluate the work of each student in the course and help design the study program which will be followed in both semesters of the first year and beyond.
Through the reading and assignments of the preceptorial, as well as the individual mentorship of the preceptor-advisor, the Freshman student will be guided to achieve the following:
- A foundational level of competence in college-level critical thinking, reading skills and oral expression appropriate to a liberal arts education
- College level competence in critical-analytical writing (English prose that is well organized and persuasive and free of mechanical errors). In addition to a variety of shorter writing assignments in the Fall, during the Spring semester students will compose a 10-15 page critical essay (“Freshman Essay”) that demonstrates the ability to integrate (compare/contrast) the preceptorial readings and appropriately document sources
- Formulation and understanding of the connections between the three or more disciplines represented in the preceptorial theme, which in turn models the interrelatedness of all humanistic study
- Development of a mentoring relationship with his or her academic advisor (preceptor) that facilitates a successful adjustment to college.