<p>With Amherst’s liberal arts based education, are there any major differences compared to a normal university curriculum? I have read on Amherst’s website that first year students are required to take first year seminar courses, so I was just wondering if there were any other major differences in the liberal arts education, especially in regards to courses relating to the selected major. </p>
<p>Thank you in advance 
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<p>The Freshman seminar course is the ONLY course that is required at Amherst. As long as you take enough credits for your major, or majors, you are free to take anything you want. That is what sets it off from what you call a "normal University curriculum. </p>
<p>@GA2012MOM thank you for your reply. How long is the freshman seminar course in duration? </p>
<p>It is just the first semester of your freshman year. Accepted students get a list of the seminar topics during the summer before matriculation, you rank them in order of your preference and then you get placed into one of them. If I remember correctly, they are small classes limited to no more than 20 students. </p>
<p>I think this semester it was no more than 15 per class and if I recall there were 30 class topics to choose from , my DS14 got his first choice and it was his favourite class this semester, a great intro to A classes</p>