大学第一年是高等教育阶段的奠基之年，也是大一新生从高中生向大学生身份转变的关键一年。刚步入大学校门的大一新生，既有探索、求知的热情，又有面对陌生环境的茫然与不知所措，大一学习经历的好坏将在很大程度上影响新生接下来几年的学习和生活。因此，大学需要利用这个关键时期对新生开展有效的适应性教育，为他们提供有针对性的帮助和支持。新生教育是否有效，在一定程度上影响到学生是否能够尽早地融入大学，学生的潜力能否尽早地被挖掘，学生是否能尽快地找到自己的发展方向。美国高等教育有着关注大一新生需求的传统，并于20世纪70年代开展了卓有成效的适应性新生研讨课，后来又发展成为美国新生体验运动。美国的适应性新生研讨课旨在帮助新生更好地适应大学生活和学习，已经取得了良好的效果。本文以美国适应性新生研讨课为研究对象，详细介绍了美国适应性新生研讨课产生的背景和发展过程、理论基础、课程组织和实施。全文由下列几部分组成。第一章为绪论，主要内容包括：问题提出、研究意义、概念界定以及文献综述。第二章介绍了美国适应性新生研讨课的发展历程，并对其背景和不同阶段发展特点进行了归纳和分析。第三章介绍了美国适应性新生研讨课的理论基础，从学生发展理论和院校影响理论两个理论视角对其进行了审视。第四章探讨了美国适应性新生研讨课的课程编制与实施，从课程目标、课程内容、课程实施以及课程评价四个方面进行了介绍。第五章对美国的适应性新生研讨课进行了评析与讨论。美国适应性新生研讨课之所以会取得巨大成功，与其关注并满足新生需求紧密相关。适应性新生研讨课满足了新生情感、社交和学术等方面的需求。这对我国大学新生教育有一定的参考和借鉴价值。

The first year of higher education is not only the foundation year, but also the key period of a freshman’s transition from a high school student to a college student. The first year students come to college with enthusiasm for exploring and knowledge, as well as confusion and doubt facing totally new environment. The first year college experience can affect their following college years to a great extent. Colleges and universities should take advantage of the critical first year to offer necessary help and service to the freshman. They can integrate to the campus more easily, develop their potential more quickly, achieve their life goal more smoothly if they have the chance to receive a good first year education.American higher education has a long history of caring about the freshmen. In 1970s, first-year orientation seminar developed quickly in America, and soon became an important part of the so-called freshman experience movement. The goal of the first-year orientation seminar is to assist the freshmen in adapting to college life and study more easily.In this paper, first year student orientation seminar in America is studied. The whole paper explores first year student orientation seminar’s history and development, based theories, course design and implementation. The first chapter serves as the introduction part, tells mainly the research questions, research values, definition of key terms, and the literature review. Chapter two introduces the history of first year student orientation seminar in America. Chapter three is about its based theories, the student development theory and the institutional impact theory. Chapter four explores the course design and implementation from the course purpose, the course content, the course implementation and the course evaluation. Chapter five is the discuss part.The success of the first year student orientation seminar in America dues part to the higher education’s concern with the students’ demand. The first year student orientation seminar satisfies the freshman’s emotional, social and academic demands. Colleges and universities in China can gain some insights from it when dealing with our own freshman problems.