About 4,950 new freshmen will begin classes at the University of California, Davis, next week, and close to 25 percent of them will participate in small seminars on some unorthodox, and yet, timely topics.

An estimated 1,300 students are expected to enroll in 90 Freshman Seminars offered this fall that explore topics as diverse as "Wikipedia -- I Love You" and "Physical Culture Methods of Stress Management."

The small, one- or two-unit courses -- averaging 15 students each -- are meant to pique students' interests and sharpen their critical thinking skills while allowing them to learn in a smaller, more intimate environment. The seminars have been offered since 1988.

Courses with the longest waiting lists are "There's Something About Harry: Examining a Cultural Phenomenon," a course on the allure of the Harry Potter book series, and the stress management course, which trains students to use traditional Chinese methods to reduce stress.

Amy Clarke, instructor of the Harry Potter course, says that the Freshman Seminar Program is so popular because it feels creative, immediate and personal to students. "The instructors are not there to lecture but instead to facilitate discussion and share ideas on topics they are ... passionate about," Clarke said.

A lecturer with the University Writing Program, Clarke believes that her own course's popularity is due to how she presents the topic. "We take a cultural studies approach," she said, "building in discussion of all the facets of 'Potterdom,' so the class appeals to students in different disciplines."

Numbers

The 4,950 new freshmen expected to register this fall represent a decrease of about 560 from last year's record high.

The campus expects to enroll about 1,900 new students transferring from other colleges and universities, about 70 more students than last year. Almost half of the new transfer students participated in the Transfer Admission Guarantee program, which gives transfer students written guarantees of admission to UC Davis, one year in advance, in their first choice of major.

The total number of undergraduates is expected to be about 23,300, down about 160 from last fall. Graduate and professional students, including about 820 interns, are expected to total about 7,060 or about half a percent more than last fall.

Overall, about 30,360 students are expected for the fall quarter, a decrease of less than one percent from last year's 30,475 students. The number of students is expected to average about 29,130 students over the three academic quarters.

Total enrollment includes students who will study at locations outside of Davis, such as the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and the UC Washington and Education Abroad programs. Enrollment is usually lower in winter and spring quarters.

Total enrollment estimates are from a May 1 projection by the Office of Resource Management and Planning; official enrollment numbers will be available in late October.

Financial aid and fees

Undergraduate students who are California residents will pay $8,925 this school year, an increase of about 7 percent from last year. Resident academic graduate students will pay $9,651, an increase of about 5 percent. Fees vary for professional students -- from about $22,400 to $25,490 annually -- and represent increases of less than 1 percent for medicine and vet medicine students to 4.6 percent for law students.

Kathryn Maloney, the interim director of the Financial Aid Office, estimates that 63 percent to 66 percent of undergraduates will receive some kind of financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans and work-study. She says about $195 million to $200 million in financial aid will be dispersed to UC Davis students.

Housing

About 4,515 freshmen and 35 transfer students will move into residence halls Saturday and Sunday.

Triple rooms, necessary last year to accommodate record freshman enrollment, have proved popular. About 315 students who requested the rooms for three students each will be accommodated in 105 rooms, mainly in Kearney and Laben Halls in the Tercero South area. Each student saves about $1,200 a year compared with the cost of a double room.

An additional 1,820 students will be living in privately managed housing on campus, such as Russell Park for student families.

New programs

• Award-winning writer Luis Alberto Urrea's book, "The Devil's Highway: A True Story," will be the focus of the sixth annual Campus Community Book Project. Urrea's work is a re-creation of a dangerous, illegal border crossing that resulted in lives lost. The story is meant to prompt discussion about immigration in the United States.
• The School of Education has two new programs up and running this year. The Master of Arts program for practicing teachers has enrolled four students, and six students have enrolled in the teaching credential program in Spanish as a foreign language.
• In response to a shortage of teachers credentialed in agricultural education, a major in agricultural and environmental science education has been developed. "With this new major," said Cary Trexler, a master adviser for the new major, "UC Davis will prepare teachers with the most comprehensive science background in the state."
• UC Davis students will also find new, cost-effective opportunities to intern in the United Kingdom. The UC Center in London and the UC Davis Internship and Career Center are collaborating so that students can save money by helping plan their own trip abroad.

Construction highlights

• This summer marks the completion of Veterinary Medicine III A, a five-story tower that is the new home for the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory. Dr. Don (J.D.) Wheat is a world-renowned equine surgeon and clinician.
• Aggie Stadium, a $31 million multiuse sports arena, will be officially dedicated Oct. 13. Home to football and women's lacrosse teams, the stadium is helping usher UC Davis into its new status as a Division I school in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
• A new $2.5 million covered riding arena at the UC Davis Equestrian Center will allow for year-round classes and provide better footing for horses.
• Construction continues on the $74 million Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science that is scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2008. The institute will bring the Viticulture and Enology and the Food Science and Technology departments under one roof to investigate the role of healthy and safe foods for quality of life.
• Construction will begin this month on the $65 million physical sciences building to house the Department of Geology and teaching labs for organic chemistry and physics. It is scheduled to be completed in fall 2009.
• Later this month, the School of Law will celebrate a groundbreaking for a $30-million expansion and renovation project, with construction beginning in the spring. New construction is scheduled to be completed in fall 2009, and renovation work a year later.
• Construction of a new home for the Graduate School of Management and a conference center is expected to begin early in 2008, with completion set for the summer of 2009. The $34.5 million building would face the east side of the south entry quad, across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. A two-story hotel with about 75 rooms is slated to be built behind the GSM and conference center.
• Construction of a new $50 million Health and Wellness Center, to replace the Cowell Student Health Center, is scheduled to begin in early 2008 and to be completed by fall 2009.