New Student Orientation

Group of students gather outside on a clear sunny day

Fall 2025 New Student Orientation Thursday, Aug. 21 - Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025

New Student Orientation (NSO) brings you onto campus before returning students arrive for the spring semester. Designed to engage and excite you about McDaniel, NSO is filled with activities and events to acclimate you to your new college community.

Download the New Student Orientation Schedule Download Campus Map

Day 1 Schedule: Thursday, August 21
Day 2 Schedule: Friday, August 22
Day 3 Schedule: Saturday, August 23
Day 4 Schedule: Sunday, August 24

FIRST-YEAR SEMINARS

Throughout the Orientation schedule, FYS course instructors will be referenced for event attendance.

Course Title	FYS Course Instructors
Acting On and Off the Stage: Actor's Craft	Gené Fouché
Being A Changemaker	Jim Kunz
Coffee Tea Chocolate: Hooked on Caffeine	Mohamed Esa
EaRNing Your Nursing Degree	Jennifer Ort
Ethics Bowl	Danielle Albrecht
Find your Strong: Running for Your Life	Lisa Lebo ’01
Food Chemistry	Stephanie Homan
Funny Business	Robert Kachur
Gender, Literature, and Culture	Becky Carpenter
Jabber-Talky: Vaccine Science and History	Heather Burley
Latin-American Films	Elena Campero
Nature’s Fury or Media Frenzy?	Ben Smith
Philosophy and Music	Brian Fink ’07
Pop Culture Shakespeare!	Paul Zajac
Psychology and the Law	Wendy Morris
Putin’s Russia: Past and Present	Jakub Zejmis
Rebels in Early America	Stephen Feeley
Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire: Power and Ideology in Star Wars	Alexander Champoux-Crowley
Socrates and the Invention of Philosophy	Tom Falkner
Taking it to the Streets!	Pam Zappardino ’71
The Examined Life	Elizabeth Tyler
The Science of Light and Color	Apollo Mian
Theatre Appreciation	Shana Joslyn
Unseen Math in Puzzles and Games	Michele Gribben ’87
Water, Food, and the Environment in China	Qin Fang