College of The Holy Cross - Montserrat Program

Montserrat Program

Holy Cross’ nationally recognized Montserrat Program, previously known as the First Year Program, serves as a unique, interdisciplinary approach to curricula and courses for incoming first year students. The Montserrat Program emphasizes discussion in a small, seminar format and promotes learning outside the classroom through a unique incorporation of residence hall life.

Students choose from seminars and are encouraged to choose out of interest, not due to major or common area requirement. The seminar is a year-long course, although some professors team-teach a seminar and switch positions for the fall and spring semesters. Each seminar is grouped into a residence cluster. For example, a student could be in either the "Industry and Empire" or "Islam and the West: Encounters" seminar but belong to the "Global Society" cluster.

The Montserrat Program is an extension of the First Year Program, or FYP, created in 1992. By tradition, the FYP seminars incorporated 19th-century Russian author Leo Tolstoy's question: "How, Then, Shall We Live?" The theme for the 2006 academic year was "With so many claims of what's good and true, how then shall we live? Even though each seminar covers different academic areas, all FYP students read six common readings. All FYP members lived within the same residence hall, Hanselman Hall, which distinguishes it from other first-year efforts at colleges and universities nationwide minus a residential component.

Holy Cross administration has stated that a unifying goal of the program is an effort to "bridge the gap" between the academic and social lives of students. In its analysis of FYP participants in relation to the first-year class as a whole, evaluations show that FYP students "rated their residence more favorably than did other first-year students", "perceived a greater sense of community and tolerance among their floormates", and "behaved more responsibly than other first-year students as evidenced by fewer disciplinary cases and alcohol-related incidents". Additionally, after their first year, FYP students were more likely than other students to assume campus leadership positions, participate in the Honors and Study Abroad programs, achieve significantly higher grades, and be more active in community outreach programs.

In March 2006, Holy Cross voted to implement a universal program for all first-year students. In an effort to extend these favorable results, the College expanded FYP from the 150-student program to the Montserrat Program which includes all first-year Holy Cross students.Through Montserrat, the College hopes that "Placing new students into high-level courses that grapple with big-picture ideas, the college hopes, will promote self-discovery and reflections about what makes a life well-lived." Like in the First Year Program, the College emphasizes better living through education and reflection through Montserrat.