Peer Leaders are successful upper-class students who assist Freshman Seminar instructors and serve as role models for incoming first-year students. They help with course planning, modeling course objectives, and implementation of course goals. They serve as a mentor, a bridge between student and instructor, and a friend.

Peer Leaders attend every meeting of one Freshman Seminar class (US 1150) and participate in semi-weekly meetings of the Peer Leader Seminar. They assist course instructors in planning the syllabus, help moderate and facilitate class discussions, arrange for guest lectures and class tours, and support computer instruction. To become a Peer Leader, a student must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and must demonstrate leadership in other areas of University life. Students must also complete a two-day training workshop to be accepted in the program.

Peer Leaders enroll in a graded, three-credit hour academic course (Peer Leader Seminar, HPC 3150). Participants learn innovative teaching techniques that support Freshman Seminar classes, develop leadership skills that will be useful in other settings, and expand their communication strategies. They are supervised both by the instructor in the Peer Leader Seminar and the instructor in their Freshman Seminar class.

The goal of the Peer Leader Program is to provide outstanding student models for freshmen, to support instructors teaching Freshman Seminar, and to provide valuable leadership development for upperclassmen.