Department of Biological Sciences

Interim Chair: 
Michael Pfrender

Director of Graduate Studies:
David Medvigy

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Biological Sciences:
Jennifer Robichaud

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Environmental Sciences:
Dominic Chaloner

Professors:
Elizabeth Archie; Sunny Boyd; Patricia Champion; Alvaro Acosta Serrano; Crislyn D’Souza-Schorey; Jeffrey Feder; Michael Ferdig; Kasturi Haldar; David Hyde; Mary Ann McDowell; Bernard Nahlen; T. Alex Perkins; Michael Pfrender; Jason Rohr; Jeffrey Schorey; Nathan Swenson; Jennifer Tank

Associate Professors:
Giles Duffield; Ana Flores-Mireles; Hope Hollocher; Xin Lu; Jason McLachlan; David Medvigy; Adrian Rocha; Pilar Pérez Romero; Zachary Schafer; Cody Smith; Kevin Vaughan; Rebecca Wingert

Assistant Professors:
Katrina Adams; Tyler Coverdale; Cristian Koepfli; Jianneng Li; Christopher Patzke; Felipe Santiago-Tirado; Dana Shaw; Julian Torres-Dowdall

Professors Emeriti:
Gary Belovsky; Nora Besansky; John Duman; Malcolm Fraser; Paul Grimstad; Barbara Hellenthal; Ronald Hellenthal; Gary Lamberti; David Lodge; T. Mark Olsen; Joseph O’Tousa; Jeanne Romero-Severson; David Severson; Kristin Shrader-Frechette

Teaching Faculty:
Trenton Agrelius; Lisa Farmer; Diane Lane; Kristin Lewis; Nancy Michael; Jennifer Robichaud; Benjamin Rudenga; David Veselik; Michelle Whaley

Professors of the Practice:
Dominic Chaloner; Joanna Larson; Guangyuan (Frank) Li; Xuemin (Sheryl) Lu; Michael McConnell; Bharat Mishra; Ryan Sensenig; Amy Stark; Patricia Vaughan

Research Faculty:
Nicole Achee; Anuradha Goswami; John Grieco; Lee Rafuse Haines; Anita Lerch; Neil Lobo; Daniela Miranda; Angana Mukherjee; Prasad Padmanabhan


Program of Studies

The Department of Biological Sciences offers undergraduate programs of study leading to the degrees of bachelor of science with a major in biological sciences or bachelor of science with a major in environmental sciences. Also offered is a supplemental major in environmental sciences for students in the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Business Administration or Science, a minor in biological science for students outside of the College of Science and minors in sustainability and science and patient advocacy available to all students.

In addition to the undergraduate curriculum, the Department of Biological Sciences offers programs of graduate study leading to the degrees of master of science and doctor of philosophy, as described in the Graduate School Bulletin of Information.

Policy Statement on the Use of Organisms in Biological Sciences Teaching Laboratories

Some laboratory courses offered by the Department of Biological Sciences may involve the use of living or preserved organisms. Instructors use these animal specimens in cases where this is deemed necessary for teaching important biological concepts and principles. Students who have concerns about the use of organisms in classes must, prior to registering, submit a request for alternate materials to the course instructor. It is up to the discretion of the instructor(s) as to whether and how non-organism alternatives may be substituted for biological materials in classes. Students permitted to use alternate materials are responsible for the same knowledge and application as their classmates and may be required to complete examinations that involve the inspection or handling of biological specimens.

Biological Sciences Courses

The biological sciences courses included in this Bulletin are those reasonably expected to be offered several times to every semester during the next four years. However, changes may occur as faculty add new courses or drop those with little demand. Courses without laboratories are indicated as lecture only.

The requirements in biological sciences include courses from a basic five-core sequence, laboratory courses and sufficient numbers of BIOS electives to complete the 41-credit-hour requirement.  

All majors are strongly encouraged to complete the sequence Biological Sciences I and II (BIOS 10171BIOS 10172) in their first year to ensure the completion of all requirements in four years. Students wishing to change majors into the biological sciences should have completed the introductory biology sequence to ensure interest and the completion of all their requirements in four years without overloading. Otherwise, students may be at a considerable disadvantage in scheduling requirements. Students would have one year less to explore their interests in biology.

The Department of Biological Sciences (BIOS) offers their courses under the subject code of: Biological Sciences (BIOS) and Sustainability (SUS).  Courses associated with their academic programs may be found below. The scheduled classes for a given semester may be found at classearch.nd.edu.

Biological Sciences (BIOS)

BIOS 10010  The Climate Crisis: Intersection between Biology and Christianity  (3 Credit Hours)  
The Climate Crisis will explore how science and religion intersect in their analyses of climate change. We will emphasize two questions: (1) How has climate change over the past 30 years impacted biological organisms and ecosystems? (2) How ought Catholics respond to climate change, and how does such a response inform your own response? Readings will be drawn from a basic science textbook, writings from recent popes and from other Christian writers. The class sessions will be active, and focused on discussion and activities. This course is open to all, and is inspired by the UND mission that various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all forms of knowledge.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines  
BIOS 10050  Biodiversity Studies in the Anthropocene  (3 Credit Hours)  
Biodiversity encompasses many more facets than simply the number of species in a location. This course will examine these different types of biodiversity and the ways in which scientists use cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, to study biodiversity. Students will also explore the many challenges facing species alive today and consider the complexity of equitable and ethical biodiversity conservation. Classes will combine lecture with hands-on learning activities using specimens from the Museum of Biodiversity and real datasets to build data analysis skills and critical thinking. Students will apply these skills to develop hypotheses on biodiversity-related questions and interrogate data that they collect on local field trips.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10091  Human Genetics, Evolution, and Society  (3 Credit Hours)  
For achieving a qualifying score on the appropriate Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, students earn credit for this course as the exam credit equivalent of BIOS 10101 . This course will address fundamental biological principles using the two cornerstones of modern biology: genetics and evolution. Elementary chemistry, cell theory, reproduction, and development will also be covered. The emphasis, however, will be on human genetics and will include such topics as the cause and effects of genetic abnormalities, the genetic basis of intelligence and skin color, genes and cancer, and elementary population genetics. The state of "genetic engineering" research, the recombinant DNA controversy (including the implications of this kind of research on society and the individual) will be presented.
BIOS 10097  Ecology and Environmental Issues  (3 Credit Hours)  
For achieving a qualifying score on the appropriate International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, students earn credit for this course as the exam credit equivalent of BIOS 10107. Emphasis will be placed upon today's ecological and environmental problems and the possible effect they may have upon the future evolution of life on Earth. Topics will generally include an overview of the theory of evolution and a discussion of ecological principles as observed at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. The influence of cultural and political factors will also be discussed. Each academic year, one or more sections will be offered; some may be individually subtitled, allowing for one-time presentation of specific topics within the context of "environment and evolution;" in addition to multiple-semester presentations of a specific topic (e.g., Evolutionary Ecology, Freshwater and Society, Environmental Issues and Solutions). Summer. This course counts as general elective credit only for students in the College of Science.
BIOS 10098  Credit By Exam - Intro Biology  (4 Credit Hours)  
Students receiving a 5 on the Biology AP I examination or an IB grade of 7, receive credit fully equivalent to BIOS 10161 and 11161 and BIOS 10162 and 11162, i.e., the first year sequence of Biological Sciences I and II with laboratories designed for science majors. For those students who choose not to waive AP or IB credit, BIOS 10098 and BIOS 10099 combined will be accepted as a prerequisite for all upper-level biology courses where BIOS 10161 and/or BIOS 10162 are the prerequisites. Students intending to apply to medical or other professional schools where AP science credit is not accepted, or where two semesters of general biology with laboratories at the college level are required, almost universally waive their AP credit at Notre Dame and take the classes for academic degree credit. In these cases, BIOS 10098 and BIOS 10099 will revert to non-degree credit on their final transcript, when replaced by 8.0 letter-graded degree credits of either BIOS 10161 and 11161, BIOS 10162 and 11162 or BIOS 20201 and 21201, BIOS 20202 and 21202 as determined by the requirements of their respective majors.
BIOS 10099  Credit By Exam - Intro Bio II  (4 Credit Hours)  
Students receiving a 5 on the Biology AP examination or an IB grade of 7, receive credit fully equivalent to BIOS 10161 + 11161 and BIOS 10162 + 11162, i.e., the first year sequence of Biological Sciences I and II with laboratories designed for science majors. For those students who choose not to waive AP or IB credit, BIOS 10098 and 10099 combined will be accepted as a prerequisite for all upper-level biology courses where BIOS 10161 and/or BIOS 10162 are the prerequisites. Students intending to apply to medical or other professional schools where AP science credit is not accepted, or where two semesters of general biology with laboratories at the college level are required, almost universally waive their AP credit at Notre Dame and take the classes for academic degree credit. In these cases, BIOS 10098/10099 will revert to non-degree credit on their final transcript, when replaced by 8.0 letter-graded degree credits of either BIOS 10161/11161 + 10162/11162 or BIOS 20201/21201 + 20202/21202 as determined by the requirements of their respective majors. Please see printed section of this bulletin (page 125) for a general statement pertaining to Biology Survey Courses.
BIOS 10101  Human Genetics, Evolution, and Society  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will address fundamental biological principles using the two cornerstones of modern biology: genetics and evolution. Elementary chemistry, cell theory, reproduction, and development will also be covered. The emphasis, however, will be on human genetics and will include such topics as the cause and effects of genetic abnormalities, the genetic basis of intelligence and skin color, genes and cancer, and elementary population genetics. The state of "genetic engineering" research, the recombinant DNA controversy (including the implications of this kind of research on society and the individual) will be presented. Fall and spring.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10105  Molecular Basis of Disease  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course explores the genetic basis of disease with an understanding of Mendelian patterns of inheritance and gene expression. We will discuss the impacts of genetic technology in medicine, which includes topics in gene therapy and DNA testing. The study of infectious diseases is prefaced by a discussion of the proper functioning of the immune system. Antibiotic resistance, vaccine myths, and re-emerging disease are public health concerns addressed in this course.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10107  Ecology and Environmental Issues  (3 Credit Hours)  
Emphasis will be placed upon today's ecological and environmental problems and the possible effect they may have upon the future evolution of life on Earth. Topics will generally include an overview of the theory of evolution and a discussion of ecological principles as observed at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. The influence of cultural and political factors will also be discussed. Each academic year, one or more sections will be offered; some may be individually subtitled, allowing for one-time presentation of specific topics within the context of "environment and evolution;" in addition to multiple-semester presentations of a specific topic (e.g., Evolutionary Ecology, Freshwater and Society, Environmental Issues and Solutions). Summer. This course counts as general elective credit only for students in the College of Science.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10110  Biology and Society  (3 Credit Hours)  
Increased understanding of biological processes has fueled the development of new biotechnology. The course covers topics of current relevance, including the use of antibiotics, the development of genetically modified foods, genetic testing capabilities, stem cell technologies, cancer causes and treatments. Each topic is developed through reading assignments, instructor presentations, review of news media, and in class group interactions. A heightened awareness of the topic, and opposing viewpoints, will be developed through student debates and other in-class activities. Grading is based on class participation, online quizzes, assignments, and a final exam. <p> Note: this course is delivered fully online. The course design combines required live weekly meetings online with self-scheduled lectures, problems, assignments, and interactive learning materials. To participate, students will need to have a computer with webcam, reliable internet connection, and a quiet place to participate in live sessions.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10112  The Marine Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
The world ocean makes up 97% of the planet's water and 99% of all living space on earth. Ocean systems and processes have a profound effect on our current and future well-being, yet the ocean remains mysterious to us in many ways. Humans have caused and continue to cause radical changes in ocean chemistry, physics, and biology. It is therefore more critical than ever for us to understand the mechanisms that undergird the physical and biological aspects of the world ocean. This class is divided into three parts: the first provides an introduction to oceanography - the physical aspects of the ocean. The second is an exploration of the incredibly diverse organisms that inhabit the ocean and how they interact with each other and their environment. The last section of the class focuses on human environmental impacts on the world ocean and how human societies and policies can best contribute to ocean health.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10115  Microbes and Man  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course will provide a survey of relationships between man and microorganisms. General information about microbial physiology, biochemistry, and ecology will support more detailed discussions of interesting topics in food, medical, and applied microbial biology. Included will be subjects of general and historical interest, as well as current newsworthy topics. The student should get a better understanding of the role of microorganisms in disease, the production of common foods, relevant environmental issues, and biotechnology.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10117  Fundamentals of Conservation Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of conservation biology for non-majors. We will begin by reviewing how science works and doing a brief survey of life on Earth. We will then go over a brief history of life and conservation before delving into the science of ecology and what constitutes biodiversity. This will be followed by the current major threats to biodiversity, including habitat loss, overexploitation, climate change, and invasive species. Finally, we conclude with an overview of the various conservation methods for preserving biodiversity, including designating reserves, managing populations, and conserving resources. Over the course of the semester we will also cover the history of conservation in the United States as told through the lens of the National Parks system. Virtual lab activities will also bring an active-learning component to emphasize key lessons from lecture.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10119  Evolution and Society  (3 Credit Hours)  
Evolution is the cornerstone of modern biological sciences. This course will highlight evolution as well as ecology and biodiversity. Emphasis will placed on the evolution of animal behavior including human behavior. Sexual selection and its role in shaping many forms of life, including humans, will be extensively covered. Open classroom discussion is a central and required part of the course.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10120  Introduction to Botany  (3 Credit Hours)  
As you walk around campus, do you ever wonder how some flowers have sweet aromas while others smell rotten? Or think about how young sunflowers are able to see the sun to always face it? Or perhaps you gaze at a dandelion in a crack in the sidewalk wondering how it survives? In this course, we will explore these questions as we analyze the fine details of plant structures to gain a deeper understanding of how they perceive and respond to their surroundings. After completing this course, you will be able to use the principles of botany to identify the plants around campus, interpret the structures, and describe the genetic makeup that makes them unique.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10161  Biological Sciences I  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is a two-semester course with three lectures and one three-hour laboratory a week for first-year students contemplating a career in biology, medicine, or related areas of life science. The first semester presents a description of biologically important molecules and then proceeds to cell structure, energy metabolism, and classical and modern genetics. The topics presented in the second semester in the context of modern evolutionary theory include biological diversity, ecology, and organismal physiology. BIOS 10161 and 10162 are not typical survey courses; they go into greater depth, especially in modern molecular biology. When followed by BIOS 20241 and BIOS 20250, they will provide biology and biochemistry majors, including premedical intents, with a thorough in-depth overview of basic concepts of modern biology.
Corequisites: BIOS 11161, BIOS 12161  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 10162  Biological Sciences II  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the second semester of a two-semester course for first year students contemplating a career in biology, medicine, or related areas of life science. The topics presented in the second semester in the context of modern evolutionary theory include biological diversity, ecology, and organismal physiology.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10161  
Corequisites: BIOS 11162  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10169  Biology I: Big Questions Mod 1  (0 Credit Hours)  
"Big Questions" is the fall introductory biology course for freshman and sophomore students. The hallmarks of the course include a conceptual and integrated approach to learning biology, emphasis on scientific practice, and teaching practices consistent with the way students learn. Eight professors will teach sections of introductory biology in the context of an interesting "big question" in their area of expertise. This contextual learning will allow students to comprehend how various levels of biology are needed to solve contemporary problems such as climate change, infectious diseases, and the origin of life. Students will also learn process skills and develop a framework to scaffold biological information into a whole. This will allow them to better retain knowledge to use in the second introductory course, Biology II: Molecules to Ecosystems, in the spring semester.
Corequisites: BIOS 10170, BIOS 10171, BIOS 11173  
BIOS 10170  Biology I: Big Questions Mod 2  (0 Credit Hours)  
"Big Questions" is the fall introductory biology course for freshman and sophomore students. The hallmarks of the course include a conceptual and integrated approach to learning biology, emphasis on scientific practice, and teaching practices consistent with the way students learn. Eight professors will teach sections of introductory biology in the context of an interesting "big question" in their area of expertise. This contextual learning will allow students to comprehend how various levels of biology are needed to solve contemporary problems such as climate change, infectious diseases, and the origin of life. Students will also learn process skills and develop a framework to scaffold biological information into a whole. This will allow them to better retain knowledge to use in the second introductory course, Biology II: Molecules to Ecosystems, in the spring semester.
Corequisites: BIOS 10171, BIOS 11173  
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 10171  Biology I :Big Questions  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the first in a two-course series that covers five key concepts in Biology - evolution; structure and function; information flow, exchange, and storage; pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and systems. Big Questions investigates these key biological concepts within the context of two "big questions" in modern Biology. For more information about course format and content see the Department of Biological Sciences homepage. Most students enroll concurrently in BIOS 11173 Biological Investigations Laboratory (1 CREDIT).
Corequisites: BIOS 11173  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 10172  Biology II: Molecules to Ecosystems  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the second course in the two-course Introductory Biology series. Molecules to Ecosystems provides an opportunity to master and integrate the five key biological concepts - evolution; structure and function; information flow, exchange, and storage; pathways and transformations of energy and matter; and systems. Throughout the course students are challenged to make connections among these concepts and apply them to their own biological questions. For more information about course format and content see the Department of Biological Sciences homepage. Most students enroll concurrently in BIOS 11174 Research Experience in Biology Laboratory (1 CREDIT).
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 11173  Biological Investigations Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course provides an opportunity to develop fundamental research skills used in the study of biological systems. The overall goal of this course is to help students learn to "think like a biologist", while developing a "toolbox" of techniques that can be applied to current research questions in biology. In this course, students acquire specific technical skills, including field insect collection; light microscopy; DNA isolation, PCR, and electrophoresis; bacterial transformation; and data analysis and graphing. Across the semester the students apply these skills in the context of open-ended biological problems and communicate the results of their experiments. Most students enroll concurrently in BIOS 10171 Biology I: Big Questions (3 CREDITS).
Corequisites: BIOS 10171  
BIOS 11174  Research Experience in Biology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course challenges students to apply their biological research skills to a semester-long authentic research project. Over the semester, students develop their skills in technical protocols, experimental design and analysis, and scientific communication while creating biological knowledge in one of three ongoing research projects. Most students enroll concurrently in BIOS 10172 Biology II: Molecules to Ecosystems. See Section Notes for information about the specific research project in a particular section.
BIOS 14010  Survey in Biology: Physiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Basic overview of the following physiological principles and systems in humans: Acid/base balance, muscle, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary and digestive systems
BIOS 14011  Survey in Biology: Plant Ecology  (2 Credit Hours)  
This course will introduce students to the principles of plant ecology. The focus will be on the factors that influence plant distribution and abundance - light, water, nutrients, growth patterns, plant and animal interactions, and disturbances. In addition, current ecological issues such as climate change and exotic species invasions will be examined.
BIOS 14012  Survey in Biology - Genetics  (2 Credit Hours)  
In this course, we will learn about the basic concepts of genetic inheritance, i.e. how Mendelian traits are passed to the next generation. In addition, we will review our current understanding of chromosomes, DNA, genes and their regulation. Finally, we will consider how such genes can control normal developmental events in organisms, whereas aberrant control of genes can lead to developmental failure and cancer.
BIOS 14013  Survey in Biology: Stem & iPS Cells  (2 Credit Hours)  
How a single egg-cell can give rise to a tridimensional complex system of tissues and organs in the organism. Fundaments of Embryology (from the oocyte until gastrulation/neurulation) and Stem Cell Biology (ES, iPS, CSC) will be introduced. Students will learn from recent research articles (including the original Takahashi & Yamanaka paper) as well as from recent textbooks on Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research. After learning about the several subjects, the students will present recent research in class and active discussion will be encouraged
BIOS 14107  Science and Urban Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course provides the liberal arts student with an introduction to the scientific issues which underpin human health in the urban environment. We study components of the urban environment by using basic concepts from ecology, biology, chemistry, and geology. We then learn about interactions between humans and their physical, chemical, and biological environment in order to understand human health in the urban environment.
BIOS 14199  Citizen Science on Biodiversity and Climate Change  (3 Credit Hours)  
Biodiversity and Climate Change research are two scientific disciplines where environmental changes are occurring on unprecedented speed. Engaging the public and co-creating Citizen and Community Science (CS) research projects with the aim of monitoring large scale changes are happening on a global level. CS research projects creates not only community engagement but also provides the engaged public with scientific tools for change. Students will explore and design CS projects on biodiversity, climate change and the SDGs. Citizen science is rapidly increasing in popularity and providing traditional science projects with public participation to obtain more data and increase awareness on the research topic. The accessibility of social networks, geo tagging apps, AI and crowdsourcing technologies is fueling a new crop of scientists receptive to grassroot methods and we are seeing this field grow rapidly. During this course you will start by gaining an understanding of the historical development of citizen science and how it can be implemented in both research and public engagement. We will look into different aspects of Citizen Science including community (place based) science and ecological traditional knowledge. All through the course we will focus on how citizen science can be relevant for research monitoring the current status of biodiversity loss and climate changes occurring on both a global and local scale. Students will actively participate in a range of local and global citizen science projects that contribute to research aimed at protecting biodiversity, monitoring climate change or supporting sustainable development within one or more of the SDGs. A number of prominent researchers will also be joining us throughout the course to provide insight into their experience of bridging citizen science with traditional science.
BIOS 14200  General Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
DESCRIBE THE STRUCTURE, OPERATION, SYSTEM OF NOMENCLATURE, CLASSIFICATION AND THE HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIP OF BACTERIA, VIRUSES, FUNGI AND PARASITES, ANALYZING THE GENERALITIES OF EACH MICROORGANISM, FOR ITS SUBSEQUENT APPLICATION IN THE CLINICAL AREA INVOLVING INFECTIOUS PROCESSES IN PATIENTS
BIOS 20204  Introduction to Ecological Horticulture  (1 Credit Hour)  
Globally, the agricultural sector is the largest cause of habitat loss, aquifer depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions. The need to transform agricultural systems to meet the needs of the world's growing population while addressing these ecological impacts is one of the 21st century's grand challenges. This course will include principles, concepts and practices of sustainable food production including biodiversity, soil quality, and nutrient, water, pest and disease management, while focusing on a production culture that is environmentally regenerative. Every class meeting will involve experiential learning that will build students' skills in growing healthy food in a way that protects and restores the earth. This class will also address the environmental and social consequences of industrial farming and public health impacts of quality food accessibility in communities.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 (may be taken concurrently) and BIOS 10162 (may be taken concurrently)) or (BIOS 20201 (may be taken concurrently) and BIOS 20202 (may be taken concurrently)) or (BIOS 10171 and BIOS 10172)  
BIOS 20241  Molecular Cellular Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is intended for Biology Majors who have completed Classic and Molecular Genetics (BIOS 20250) but open to students in Neuroscience and Behavior, Biochemistry and Preprofessional Studies Majors who have the appropriate background. This course explores the structural and functional basis of cell biology, with specific emphasis on molecular mechanisms that regulate cellular activities involved in protein folding, biological membrane function, organelle biogenesis, vesicular transport, cell signaling, cell cycle control and mitosis. The course incorporates the experimental basis of concepts in cell biology and modern day applications of cell biology research in human disease. Course content provides essential foundations for MCAT and GRE exam preparation. The optional Molecular Cell Biology Research course (BIOS 27241) adds more exposure to modern Cell Biology topics.
Prerequisites: (CHEM 10172 or CHEM 10182) and BIOS 20250  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 20250  Classical and Molecular Genetics  (4 Credit Hours)  
This course is restricted to biological science, biochemistry, or neuroscience majors only. The course exposes students to classical and molecular genetics and demonstrates how these two approaches can combine to examine complex problems. The lecture is strongly weighted toward teaching students to solve genetic and molecular biological problems. The course is taught in a “flipped” format, where students watch recorded lectures and then come to class to apply the material in a variety of problems and exercises. Thus, a significant amount of time is spent helping students learn how to think like a geneticist, solving problems, and analyzing data. The course begins by exploring topics in classical genetic principles, such as Mendelian genetics, mitosis and meiosis, genetic linkage, chromosome structure and abnormalities. The course then builds on this foundation by discussing the “central dogma” of DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein translation. The course then moves into learning how the tools of molecular biology (DNA sequencing, hybridization techniques, DNA cloning, generating mutants and transgenic animals) are used to study fundamental processes in genetics, gene regulation, and development. Throughout, the course employs examples in both model organisms and human diseases to demonstrate the relevance of the concepts being discussed. Students are presented with the techniques to apply underlying genetic principles through problem solving and data analysis. The large amount of time that is spent in class learning how to solve problems and analyze data prepares the student for exams that are based on the types of problems that are practiced in class and assigned to be worked on in small groups. The laboratory gives the students hands-on experience in a number of genetic and molecular techniques and demonstrates how many of the concepts covered in lecture are applied in generating a cohesive genetic picture.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201 or BIOS 10172  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Neuroscience and Behavior.

BIOS 20251  Mendelian & Molecular Genetics  (4 Credit Hours)  
This course deals with two major areas. The first area is classical genetics: Mendelian principles, chromosome mechanics, linkage and recombination, and chromosomal mutations. The second area is molecular genetics: DNA replication, RNA transcription, protein translation, recombinant DNA techniques, the nature of the gene and regulation of gene expression. However, these areas are not mutually exclusive and often the same concept is applied at different times in the course. The integration of topics at different points throughout the course will help to reinforce the material for the student and demonstrate how our understanding of genetics has been built over time. Pre-requisites: Students are required to have completed a year-long Introductory Biology sequence prior to taking this genetics course.
BIOS 20300  Local Flora  (1 Credit Hour)  
This is a field-based course that explores the rich biodiversity of plant life in northern Indiana. Through hands-on experience in a diverse array of field sites, you will be introduced to various plant communities and learn to identify the plants within them. Plant communities and species distributions reflect patterns and processes as ancient as plate tectonics and as recent as glaciers and European settlement. They reflect the influence of temperature and moisture patterns as well as competition within and among plant species. They are shaped by interactions with animals, insects, and disease, as well as the actions of humans.Plants are the foundation of every terrestrial habitat, but are often overlooked. By developing a greater familiarity with plant communities and skills for identification, you will be better prepared to appreciate natural habitats, participate in conservation work, and conduct field research.
BIOS 20303  Fundamentals of Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
An elementary course dealing with the principles of variation and inheritance in plants and animals, with special reference to humans. Designed primarily for junior preprofessional students. Spring.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 20344  Transfer Physiology  (4 Credit Hours)  
Transfer physiology
BIOS 20401  Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course approaches human evolution from a theoretical point of view that combines both biological and cultural processes into a cohesive bio-cultural model. It begins by tracing the development of modern evolutionary theory and the place of evolutionary studies in anthropology, especially in the sub-field of bioanthropology. These concepts provide the framework for understanding the many lines of evidence that anthropologists use to explore and explain human evolution. These include studies of our primate relatives, through the intricacies of the fossil record, to archaeological evidence for the invention of material culture from the simplest stone tools to the complex cultural world that we live in today. Modern human variation can only be explained as the result of evolutionary forces acting on the complex interplay of biology and culture over millions of years. We continue to be affected by these forces, and this course not only provides information about where we came from, it also provides the scientific backgrounds to help us understand where we might be going as our species continues to evolve.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 20450  Neuroscience and Behavior  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is intended to provide a broad introduction to the field of neuroscience and behavior, from the level of molecules flowing across cell membranes up to complex human cognition. It is intended primarily for sophomores and required of all Neuroscience and Behavior majors. The associated laboratory is also required an may be taken concurrently or at a later time.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 11161) or (BIOS 20201 and BIOS 21201)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Neuroscience and Behavior.

BIOS 20480  Intro to Dyn Sys for Scientist  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is a one-semester course introducing students to linear algebra and ordinary differential equations by way of their scientific usage. The course serves as a gateway to more advance mathematical methods that are commonly used in contemporary scientific studies and their literature. Students will learn how to take a mathematical approach to various scientific problems, solve the resulting equations, and interpret the mathematical solution in the original context. There will be course projects and some usage of computing software. Topics include matrix algebra, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, vector-valued functions, linear and non-linear systems of differential equations, and phase portraits. The scientific topics include age-structured population growth, the Richardson's theory of war, and infectious disease modeling.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKQR- Core Quantitat Reasoning  
BIOS 20700  Fundamentals of Antimicrobial Resistance  (3 Credit Hours)  
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), defined as the ability of microorganisms to withstand antibiotics, represents a substantial risk to global health and necessitates comprehensive strategies to mitigate its proliferation. This course provides an intensive introduction to AMR— a silent pandemic that is included among the top global health crises. We will explore the historical context of antibiotics, fundamental mechanisms by which bacteria, fungi, and viruses evade these drugs, and the ecological and societal factors that drive resistance. Key topics include the molecular basis of resistance (efflux pumps, enzymatic inactivation), evolution of AMR, role of the human microbiome, and latest developments to study and combat AMR. The course concludes with bioinformatics analysis of published data to identify antimicrobial resistance, teaching students about pathogenic bacteria and known antibiotic resistance genes. This is an engaging, discussion-based, and hands-on practice course designed for students interested in environmental science, molecular biology, medicine, and public health.
BIOS 21000  Transfer Biology Lab  (0-2 Credit Hours)  
Course to award credit for high quality upper level BIOS lab that do not have a match within the BIOS department
BIOS 21201  Transfer BIOS Lab Non BIOS 1  (1 Credit Hour)  
Transfer BIOS Lab for Non Bios Majors.
BIOS 21202  Transfer BIOS Lab Non BIOS 2  (1 Credit Hour)  
Transfer BIOS Lab for Non-Bios Majors.
BIOS 21241  Molecular Cell Biology Research  (2 Credit Hours)  
This cell biology laboratory, reserved exclusively for BIOS majors, is an investigative, project-based laboratory designed to expose students to a bona fide research experience involving the development and application of critical thinking skills to solve complex research problems. Working in groups of four to six, students will devote themselves to tackling self-chosen research projects reviewed and approved by course instructors. The culmination of the laboratory experience ends when students formally prepare and present their findings in a poster-style scientific meeting.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 (may be taken concurrently)  
BIOS 21250  Classical and Molecular Genetics Laboratory  (2 Credit Hours)  
In this laboratory course, students will characterize mutations that cause retinal degeneration in the fruit fly, <i>Drosophila Melanogaster</i>, in a series of related experiments comprising a semester-long study. The labs will be broken into two major sections, starting with the genetic characterization of a mutation, followed by the molecular characterization of the altered gene causing that mutation. This directed research project will be presented in two drafts of a complex research paper. Some work outside the four-hour lab period will be required. Fall.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20250 (may be taken concurrently)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 21303  Fundamental Genetics Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This laboratory provides experience in genetics and molecular biology experimentation and analysis in a smaller scale project than the fall genetics lab. The course is a semester-long research project, so this is not a regular lab course. Any life science major can do well in this course. You will use Mendelian and molecular genetics to characterize a gene that causes a disease in an animal model. You will write a paper in a mentored experience and learn about molecular genetics research through this process. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1. Demonstrate proficiency in essential laboratory techniques in molecular biology and genetics 2. Demonstrate proficiency in scientific writing and clearly articulate scientific concepts 3. Develop open, honest, and empathetic communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with a lab partner 4. Develop confidence and research competence to pursue undergraduate research (or a research job, if you are a senior) after the conclusion of the course
Prerequisites: BIOS 20303 (may be taken concurrently)  
BIOS 21344  Transfer Physiology Lab  (0 Credit Hours)  
Transfer physiology lab.
BIOS 23101  Professional Development for the Environmental Sciences  (1 Credit Hour)  
Professional Development for the Environmental Sciences is a seminar course that will help students in the major get the most out of their undergraduate experience as they move through the program. The primary purpose is to orient students early in their college career to the many opportunities that exist both in and outside the university, and to help their career discernment and development. Students will also be given opportunities to explore relevant issues and access information that will help guide planning for their major, both inside and outside the classroom as well as careers beyond university. The topics covered during the course will range from an exploration of the major differences among sub-disciplines within Environmental Sciences, to more practical aspects of planning and achieving milestones in the development of a career, be it in graduate, medical, or law school, or public service and private industry. Students will also have the opportunity to meet invited speakers from outside the university along with a number of faculty from the various departments and colleges relevant to the major that would provide the foundation of opportunities, such as undergraduate research and graduate level courses to consider taking. By the end of the course, students will be able to (1) identify what career options are available to those with an environmental sciences career; (2) articulate what aspects of an environmental sciences career they are most interested, and (3) plan out what are the critical steps that need to be taken to prepare for a post-graduate career in the environmental sciences.
BIOS 24010  Global Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
The global environment is changing more rapidly at present than at any time during the human occupancy of the planet. This module reviews the existence of the changing environment and the predictions for the future, and focusses on aspects of sustainability and how this is assessed for various production systems.
BIOS 24216  The Climate System  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as ENVT2220 - 'The Climate System' at a host institution. The physical nature of the atmosphere of the Earth and its interaction with land and water are cornerstones of environmental science. Based on fundamental atmospheric processes the dynamics of climate and aspects of weather are explained with both short- and long-term aspects of global climate change. Students are introduced to the information and data used in developing synoptic charts. Climate dynamics are covered through the interpretation of global circulation model results which leads to a critical analysis of climate change scenarios.
BIOS 24219  Conservation Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit aims to develop a critical approach to current issues in conservation biology. It examines the following five broad themes: (1) What biodiversity is there? How did it get there (evolutionary history)? Which processes maintain it? (2) Why should we conserve it? (3) What are the threatened genes, species and communities? (4) What are the threatening processes? (5) What actions can be taken to conserve biodiversity? Students are aware of the fundamental linkages between good science and conservation management and the critical engagement between government, universities, business and the community in generating effective conservation outcomes. The unit also introduces students to fundamental science and scientific thinking and approaches to problem solving in ecology, population genetics, species biology and decision theory that underpin modern conservation biology.
BIOS 24220  Animal Energetics and Homeostasis  (4 Credit Hours)  
Effective metabolic function is critical for animal health and wellbeing. Key concepts include the comparative differences between animals and humans (eg ruminant metabolism), common disruptions in metabolism and endocrine regulation in companion animals, as well as the impact of metabolic dysfunction in animal production systems (eg bovine ketosis and ovine pregnancy toxaemia). This unit of study begins with an introduction to the metabolic processes of cells, tissues and whole animals by examining the structure ie the cytological and histological characteristics, of animal tissues in the physical context of whole animals. An integrated view is explored of the role of hormones in homeostatic control as dynamic metabolic regulators in wellbeing and the consequences of dysregulation. Students will apply knowledge of animal nutrition and animal structure and function to determine the underlying basis of metabolic disease and disorders and, how to alleviate or mitigate the dysfunction. This will be done by utilising an understanding of adaptive metabolism in animals to interpret biochemical data and identify disruptions to metabolism and homeostatic mechanisms. Clinical veterinary medicine examples of disruption to metabolism are used to emphasise normal metabolic processes. Students will develop key skills in microscopy, cytology and histology for broad application in the sciences.
BIOS 24241  Molecular Cell Biology  (3-4 Credit Hours)  
CELB 20040 Cell and Molecular Biology 1 - Principles at UCD; The structure and function of cells underlies our understanding of many areas of biology, including human health, plant science and environmental science. The module covers the principles of cell theory and the basic structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Lectures will introduce the key molecules involved in maintaining cell function, and the pathways and processes to which they contribute. This module explores fundamental cellular features such as energy provision, compartmentation, membrane function, protein synthesis and folding, cell communication, and transport pathways between distinct subcellular locations. In addition, the module will address signal transduction, cell division, cell death mechanisms, and how these contribute to diseases such as cancer. Due consideration will be given to the general structure and arrangement of organelles of the endomembrane system, plastids, macromolecular machines, the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton, in addition to the molecules associated with each of these. Associated laboratory classes will complement the lectures, and will provide experience of observing cells, visualising subcellular components and making relevant interpretations. When taught at Perth, Australia: Taught as SCIE1106 - 'Molecular Biology of the Cell'. This is an introductory unit that explores prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure and function at the physiological and molecular levels. A strong emphasis is placed on applications in biomedicine and biotechnology. The unit builds on concepts introduced in BIOL1130 Frontiers in Biology (formerly BIOL1130 Core Concepts in Biology) and ANHB1101 Human Biology I: Becoming Human. The first part of the unit covers DNA, RNA and protein structure; DNA replication; gene expression and its regulation; and recombinant DNA technology. The second part of the unit deals with the cell cycle and cell differentiation; cell structure and compartmentation; the structure of biological membranes and strategies used to move molecules across these membranes; and intercellular communication. Applications of cell and molecular biology in microbiology, disease diagnosis and therapy, and genetic engineering are discussed in the final part of the unit. Practical classes illustrate fundamental techniques in cell and molecular biology, and tutorials discuss recent advances in microbiology, physiology and biochemistry.
BIOS 24251  Classical and Molecular Genetics  (3-4 Credit Hours)  
The University of Sydney - Genetics and Genomics: This unit includes a solid foundation in classical Mendelian genetics and its extensions into quantitative and population genetics. It also examines how our ability to sequence whole genomes has changed our capacities and our understanding of biology.

Students cannot enroll who have a program in Biochemistry or Biological Sciences.

BIOS 24300  Environmental Science and Technology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Through the exploration of six key thematic areas, this unit introduces students to the drivers and consequences of the most significant environmental challenges of our time, in addition to critically assessing the basis for potential solutions. Essential concepts in environmental physics, chemistry and biology are introduced throughout each module to develop essential knowledge and skills within the broader context of environmental science. This material forms the basis of more focused content delivered in Levels 2 and 3 of the Environmental Science and Geographical Science majors. The unit content is delivered through modules related to: climate change and carbon pollution; catchment development and water resource management; biodiversity loss and conservation; land degradation; coastal systems; and cities. Through these lenses, the unit looks to explain lessons from the past using both local and global examples to ensure students establish the connection between environmental processes and the manifestation of environmental degradation and recovery. Tutorial sessions are included to complement key lectures to encourage students to participate in activities related to problem identification and conceptualisation, and critical assessment of diverse information sources. In addition, each module has a component related to data analysis and the development of written and oral communication skills.
BIOS 24303  Fundamentals of Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
Yonsei University: The objective of this course is to help students to understand molecular mechanisms of cellular functions. This course will deal with principle running-machinery for cells and organism. Through this course students will learn molecular mechanism and application for principle dogma related with physiology. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This course investigated the principles heredity including evolutionary history, laws of inheritance, transmission and expression of genes, sex linkage and recombination and chromatin organization and modification. Students participated in several lectures, laboratory practicals and computing practicals to learn about the mechanisms that underpin genome dynamics and techniques that better inform our understanding genetics. In this course we will discuss the fundamental properties of genes and the various approaches to genetic analysis, as it is performed in several different model organisms. When applicable, we will discuss current examples of genetics issues that arise in the literature or in the media and link these examples to topics covered in class.
BIOS 24305  Genetic Analysis  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course discusses the fundamental properties of genes and the various approaches to genetic analysis, as it is performed in several different model organisms. We will seek to understand phenotypic variation and the mechanisms underlying inheritance.
BIOS 24349  Special Topics in Physiology  (4 Credit Hours)  
The general physiology course deals with cellular physiology and the function of the the nervous, muscular, digestive and endocrine systems, with the purpose of providing students with the scientific basis of the functions of the human body, which allows them to identify and differentiate between normal and abnormal functions. General physiology describes the relationship between cellular function and integral function, and also establishes deductions and inductions by integrating physiological processes. This contributes to link them with the clinical part, to develop an integral and systemic thinking important in the generic competence of the student in the veterinary area. Course DOES NOT count as ND lab credit.
BIOS 24350  Human Structure & Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
The study of human structure and development begins with an overview of early development followed by the low-power examination of serial sections through human embryos and fetuses. The aim of this is not to engage in detailed histological or embryological analysis but to build an understanding of the body plan and how it develops. The anatomy of the vertebral column, articular system and the body wall follow. The systemic and regional anatomy of the thorax, abdomen and the pelvis come next. In each regional study area the embryology is reinforced and the students return to look more closely at each region using embryonic serial sections.
BIOS 24352  Topics in Physiology  (4 Credit Hours)  
Cells are often considered to be the fundamental unit of life. This module will discuss how cells interact with one another to form complex tissues and organisms. You will consider, the structure-function relationship of a variety of cell types, including those involved in forming muscles, neuronal networks, blood and immunity and infectious diseases. The mechanisms by which cells communicate in order to mediate the complex physiology of an organism will be discussed and you will consider how disruption of these cell systems can lead to disease states.
BIOS 24399  Zoology  (4 Credit Hours)  
This unit of study provides an overview of the functional and phylogenetic diversity of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. The material is presented within the conceptual framework of evolution, the foundation of biology. Lectures explore the diversity of major functional systems and behaviour in the context of environmental challenges and the ecological roles of different animal groups. Laboratory classes include dissections and demonstrations of the functional anatomy of invertebrates and vertebrates, as well as experiments. This unit of study provides a suitable foundation for senior biology units of study.
BIOS 24402  Native Flora  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course allows to know the main characteristics of the native flora of Chile, its biology, taxonomic classification, geographical distribution and economic and phytogeographic importance.
BIOS 24403  Animal Diversity  (3 Credit Hours)  
This class is a "core unit" for Zoology majors at UWA. With 2 hours of recorded lecture, a 2 hour lab, and an hour of in-person class each week, Animal Diversity is likely my most time-consuming class. The course focuses heavily on the genetic, morphological, and evolutionary context behind our current classification of each individual animal phyla, of which there are 35. FA - Fremantle, Australia (AL & BA) Animal Diversity focuses classification, evolution, and ecological roles of various animal groups. The course focuses on the Hickman tree, a scientific representation of phylogeny, all of the animals and the different characteristics that classify animals. There is also a lab portion where we examine animals.
BIOS 24404  Apiculture  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module examines the most important insect pollinators and gives an insight into their taxonomy, biology and ecological role. The focus will be on bumble bees, solitary bees and honey bees. It will provide the student with an understanding of the variation in their biology and provide them with knowledge of specific pollinator species. The module will also identify human activities that affect (improve or impair) survival of pollinating insects. Emphasis is placed on the honey bee because of its importance, both as a honey producer and as a pollinator of cultivated crops.
BIOS 24405  Introduction to Geographical Information Systems  (4 Credit Hours)  
Introductory overview and comprehension of GIS in the context of geo-information science; the nature of geographical data, data models, coordinate systems and map projections; GIS processes: data capturing, ordering and storage, manipulation and analysis; map design and cartographic visualisation with a GIS; GIS applications.
BIOS 24418  Molecular Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as GENE 2230 "Molecular Genetics" at the host institution. This unit focuses on genetic events at the level of the gene across the wide spectrum of haploid and diploid organisms. It includes topics such as chromosome structure; gene families and mobile genetic elements; generation of genetic variation; DNA mutation; developmental genetics in plants and animals; the generation of genetic diversity and the evolution of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromosomes. The unit also covers natural selection and applications to plant and animal breeding, and the artificial generation of novel genotypes (genetic engineering).
BIOS 24450  Neuroscience and Behavior  (3 Credit Hours)  
The purpose of this class is to provide a systematic introduction to the mammalian nervous system, emphasizing the structural and functional organization and to expose students to the field of neuroscience. This course begins with the study of nerve cells: their structure, the propagation of nerve impulses and transfer of information between nerve cells, neurotransmitters. Then we move to brain circuit which control sensory perception, vigilance, emotion, learning and memory
BIOS 24473  Changing Oceans  (3 Credit Hours)  
Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface, which have enabled the evolution of complex life, control the Earth's climate and weather, and provide food for a significant portion of the world's population. The human influence on the oceans is significant and growing, driving change in a range of important physical, chemical and biological ocean processes in marine and coastal environments. The unit will explore the extent to which humans are driving environmental change in the ocean, and the impacts of this change. Students will learn about: (i) the responses of the oceans to climate change, including sea level rise, changes to polar oceanography, marine heatwaves, carbon cycles, extreme weather events, ocean acidification and deoxygenation. (ii) the impacts of human pollution of the ocean environment, including from plastics, oil spills, high nutrient concentrations and noise, and the transport processes that control the fate of these pollutants.
BIOS 24474  The Changing Oceans  (3 Credit Hours)  
The unit will explore the extent to which humans are driving environmental change in the ocean, and the impacts of this change.
BIOS 24475  Marine Systems  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as SCIE2204 - 'Marine Systems' at a host institution. This unit provides an introduction to the multidisciplinary aspects of marine science. Using the framework of the local WA marine environment, it outlines how the multidisciplinary aspects of marine science are essential in understanding and managing such an ecosystem. Aspects covered include oceanography, geology and geomorphology and marine biology. Students obtain an introduction to the multidisciplinary aspects of marine science; and develop an understanding of the principles of oceanography, geology and geomorphology and how marine organisms interact with the environment.
BIOS 24476  Marine Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit introduces students to the diversity of algae, seagrasses and animals that inhabit our oceans. Students attain a broad general knowledge of the biology and life histories of marine species plus specific knowledge of certain focus groups. They learn identification skills that will enable them to identify common species in the field and work with collections in the laboratory. There is an emphasis on local species. Contact hours (nominally called workshops) consist of tutorial-style discussions, occasional guest lectures, practical exercises, field excursions and computer laboratories. Background information is provided online. Attendance at workshops is compulsory.
BIOS 24477  Australian Ecology: From Theory to Practice  (3 Credit Hours)  
Ecology allows us to understand patterns of species distribution and abundance and, when applied, can help identify and address the impact of pressures that threaten biodiversity. This course uses the context of the Australian environment to provide a foundation in ecology and its application. Population demographics, community dynamics and ecosystem processes are examined and this theory is paired with hands-on field and class experiences so students can develop data handling and analytical skills.
BIOS 27241  Molecular Cell Biology Research-Special Studies.  (2 Credit Hours)  
This cell biology laboratory, reserved exclusively for BIOS majors, is an investigative, project-based laboratory designed to expose students to a bona fide research experience involving the development and application of critical thinking skills to solve complex research problems. Working in groups of four to six, students will devote themselves to tackling self-chosen research projects reviewed and approved by course instructors. The culmination of the laboratory experience ends when students formally prepare and present their findings in a poster-style scientific meeting. Spring.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 (may be taken concurrently)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30121  Exercise Physiology: Celebrating What Your Body Can Do  (3 Credit Hours)  
Why do weight lifters wear lifting belts? How does athletic training and diet differ between endurance athletes and strength athletes? What are the sex-based differences in athletic performance? What impact do supplements and performance enhancing drugs have on athletic performance? Through the use of peer reviewed research, popular media articles, podcasts, and film we will answer these and many other questions within the field of exercise physiology. The course will be split into two broad units: 1) Powerlifters and 2) Marathoners. Topics covered will include cellular metabolism, muscle physiology, training programs, response to training, basic nutrition, body composition, some methodological exercise testing, supplements and performance enhancing drugs, recovery, fatigue, and activity in extreme environments. Through this use of mixed media, we will also discuss how the media misrepresents and misreports exercise physiology studies, making us all more discerning consumers of information.
BIOS 30301  Embryology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Overview of the embryology and histology of the developing organism with an emphasis on the clinical aspects. Content similar to BIOS 30342.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10162 or BIOS 10172 or BIOS 30344  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Pre-Health Studies (Supp.), Science- Business or PreProfessional.

BIOS 30305  Evolution  (3 Credit Hours)  
The mechanisms and processes involved in the production of life as we know it today, as well as a discussion on the impact current events may have upon life in the future.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202 or BIOS 20250 or BIOS 20303)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30310  The History of Life  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course explores the origin, history, and systematics of life on Earth, starting from hypotheses examining life's origin(s) and including current thinking concerning the systematic relationships of organisms and the evolution of humans. The class will be taught primarily from a macroevolutionary perspective. BIOS 30310 therefore represents the complement to BIOS 30305 (Evolution), which concentrates on processes generating gene frequency changes within populations (i.e., microevolution). Fall.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202  
BIOS 30312  General Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The study of populations and communities of organisms and their interrelations with the environment. Fall and spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 30318  Introduction to Biocomputing  (3 Credit Hours)  
Modern biology, as well as biochemistry and biophysics, relies significantly on computation. The volumes of data generated by modern lab and field research commonly require greater capacity and more sophisticated algorithms for reformatting, filtering, and analyzing than are available in traditional spreadsheet software. As a result, an efficient and productive scientist must possess, at least basic, biocomputational skills. Often these requisite skills include the ability to navigate the Unix Shell environment, to understand and implement existing software tools, and to use a scripting language for data processing and analysis. This course will provide students with the knowledge and experience required to apply these important tools in diverse contexts. Approximately one-third of the course will focus on using the Unix Shell environment with an introduction to bioinformatics approaches. The remaining two-thirds of the course will build the students' skills in the use of the R scripting language and applications in statistics and dynamic modeling. No previous coding experience is required of students in this course
Corequisites: BIOS 32318  
BIOS 30325  Plants, Society and the Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
Plants have provided food, medicine, fuel, and raw materials for humans throughout our history. Concurrently, humans have modified the distribution, diversity and utility of plants for our benefit in ways that are often unsustainable. Many of the grand environmental and societal challenges of today and tomorrow involve our interactions with plants and the pivotal roles they play in our natural and modified environments. The goal of this course is to provide foundational knowledge about the biology and diversity of plants. This includes learning the basics of plant anatomy and physiology and the ecology and evolutionary history of plants. This knowledge is then utilized to discuss plants as sources of food, commercial products, medicines and toxins in the past, present and future of human society."
Prerequisites: (BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341 (may be taken concurrently)) and (BIOS 20250 or BIOS 20303)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 30338  Advanced Neurobiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is designed for students interested in the molecular and cellular aspects of neurobiology. It starts by defining what neurons and glia cells are and goes further by explaining how neural networks form, work and how disease-causing mutations disrupt these processes, as shown in animal models or human patient cells used as models for autism and schizophrenia. It will provide an overview of molecular and cellular neuroscience by focusing on several key topics, such as nervous system development, cytoskeletal regulation and neurite formation, axonal pathfinding, synapse formation and function, voltage-gated ion channels, neurotransmitter receptors, neurotransmitter release, neuronal gene expression and more.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 10171 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 10172 or BIOS 20202) and (BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341 or BIOS 10101 or BIOS 10091 or BIOS 20450 or SC 20450 or NSBH 20450)  
BIOS 30341  Cell Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Designed primarily for junior preprofessional students. Structural and functional aspects of the biology of cells are addressed.
Prerequisites: ((BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)) and (CHEM 10122 or CHEM 10172 or CHEM 10182 or CHEM 20273 or CHEM 20283)  
BIOS 30342  Developmental Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Development of plants, animals, and microorganisms studied at the molecular, cellular, and organismic levels.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 20250 or BIOS 20303) and (BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30344  Vertebrate (Human) Physiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Physiological functions and processes at the level of organs and organ systems, oriented primarily toward humans.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202) and (CHEM 10122 or CHEM 10172 or CHEM 10182 or CHEM 20273 or CHEM 20283)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30350  Introduction to Dynamic Models in Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Dynamic biological models can be powerful tools not only for prediction, but also for going beyond correlation and understanding causality. This course is designed to enable students to establish a strong background in the development, use, and interpretation of models. The course will focus on a set of case studies. The case studies will be drawn from diverse specialties, ranging from disease to forest ecology. The essential mathematical and programming techniques will be developed as needed to understand the modeling results. The relationship between models, experiments, and evaluation of biological hypotheses will be emphasized throughout.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202) and (MATH 10350 or MATH 10550 or MATH 10850) and (MATH 10360 or MATH 10560 or MATH 10092 or MATH 10091 or MATH 10860)  
BIOS 30401  Principles of Microbiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
An introduction to microbial life, including structure and function of bacteria. Characterization and classification of microorganisms are considered and include their ecology, growth and death, metabolism, physiology, genetics and antigenic analysis. The impact of microorganisms on human health is discussed through representative pathogenic bacteria. Fall and/or Spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201 or BIOS 10171) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 10172 or BIOS 20202) and (CHEM 10122 or CHEM 10172 or CHEM 10182 or CHEM 20273 or CHEM 20283)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30404  Vertebrate Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This biodiversity lecture (30404) and laboratory (31404) course will explore the biology of vertebrates, including their evolution, ecology, diversity, biogeography, systematics, morphology, physiology, behavior, and conservation. Lectures will cover major evolutionary trends in the structure, function, and diversity of vertebrates as well as the interrelationships among vertebrate groups. Laboratory will include detailed comparative study of representative vertebrates, survey of morphological diversity across many groups, and connections to cutting-edge research topics. There will also be multiple field trips, such as visiting the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum in Chicago, the Potawatomi Zoo, bird watching, and herping!
Prerequisites: BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202  
Corequisites: BIOS 31404  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30406  General Entomology  (3 Credit Hours)  
A study of the morphology, life histories, and systematic relationships of insects, with emphasis on medical and agricultural aspects. Alternating fall semesters.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  
Corequisites: BIOS 31406  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30408  Arthropods and Human Disease  (3 Credit Hours)  
Emphasis on physiology, genetics, and relationships of arthropods as agents and vectors of disease. Spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30410  Cellular Neurobiology: Stem Cell to Disease  (3 Credit Hours)  
The nervous system is precisely organized to ensure that animals can react and learn from their environment. This task requires the coordination of numerous neural cell-types including but not limited to glial, immune, blood and neuronal cell populations. Coordinating these cells to make the mature nervous system requires such biological processes as intracellular signaling, cell-cell communication and cellular migration, proliferation and differentiation. Upon successful completion of this class, you will be able to describe how the single-cell zygote produces and organizes cells into a fully functional nervous system covering molecular and cellular events that contribute to such topics as neuronal differentiation, axon guidance, synaptogenesis, glial differentiation, glial ensheathment, immune cell production and brain-blood vessel development.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10171 or BIOS 10172  
BIOS 30413  Behavioral Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
A consideration of individual and social behavior patterns, with emphasis on organization and adaptive significance. Neural, endocrine, genetic, and environmental factors modifying behavior will be examined
BIOS 30415  Fundamental Neuroimmunology: Development, Communication, Breakdown  (3 Credit Hours)  
Neuroimmunology explores the unique signaling and interactions between the nervous and immune systems that are found nowhere else in the body. This course examines the roles of microglia, astrocytes, other glia, and peripheral leukocytes in development, health, and disease. Students will investigate communication pathways, the function of neural barriers, and how these systems go awry in injury and disease. Through group-based problem solving and data interpretation, the course will reinforce key concepts of neural development, function, and pathology. Participants will gain a deep understanding of how this evolving field shapes modern neuroscience and the challenges of treating neurological disorders.
BIOS 30420  Aquatic Ecology  (4 Credit Hours)  
A study of the structure and function of aquatic systems with emphasis on the behavioral, physiological and morphological adaptations generated by the physical and chemical characteristics of various aquatic habitats. Fall.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  
Corequisites: BIOS 31420  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 30423  Genomes: from variation to phenotypes to personalized medicine  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will introduce the methods of genome science and explore their applications in biological research and their impact on biological thinking. Topics will include how genomes are studied, how they function, and how they evolve. The importance of comparative and functional genomics in identifying mechanisms of human diseases will be highlighted. Spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202) and (BIOS 20250 or BIOS 20303)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30424  Tumor Cell Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is designed for undergraduate students interested in the biology of cancer. It will focus on understanding how normal cells become tumor cells and the specific molecular and cellular properties of tumor cells that are important for cancer progression. The course will also introduce the student to the field of cancer research through the critical examination of primary literature

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30455  Medical Microbiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course provides an overview of basic principles in infectious disease caused by major microbial pathogens. Through lectures and discussion of assigned reading material, the course examines current and classical topics in the field of host-pathogen relationships with an emphasis on the interplay between pathogen strategies and the host response. Students will be expected to give group presentations on topics relevant to Medical Microbiology and participate in regular class discussions.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 or BIOS 24241 or BIOS 30341 or BIOS 34341  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 30456  Infectious Diseases: Biological Manifestations and Current Challenges  (3 Credit Hours)  
Since the earlier stages of human development, infectious diseases have play an important role in shaping our history. They have made great empires crumble to the ground and wiped out communities. From the ancient times, we have tried to understand these diseases to mitigate their effect in our society. This course will provide: 1) a historical perspective of infectious diseases; 2) how they impacted and shaped history; 3) the recognition of the causative agents and biological manifestations; 4) control methods throughout history; 5) modern infections; and 6) current methods of prevention, treatments, and challenges.
BIOS 30465  Herpetology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This biodiversity course will explore the biology of living amphibians and reptiles, including their evolution, ecology, diversity, biogeography, systematics, morphology, physiology, behavior, and conservation. Lectures will include hands-on activities to promote "practical herpetology" skills and connections to cutting-edge research topics and approaches in the field of herpetology.
BIOS 30550  Foundations of Global Health  (3 Credit Hours)  
Over the last two decades, there has been a groundswell of interest in global health across multiple disciplines and professional fields. The field of global health recognizes the multidimensionality of health as well as the interconnectedness of everyone living in the world today; its primary goal is to eliminate health disparities to achieve health equity for all. This course will provide foundational knowledge necessary to understand what global health is today; its history and evolution; how social theory contributes to understanding specific global health problems; the importance of understanding health and designing interventions by using a biosocial model that includes a myriad of cultural, social, political, economic factors; and an understanding of the role of various actors on the global health stage including international, bilateral, and civil society organizations.
BIOS 31312  Practical Ecology Laboratory  (2 Credit Hours)  
Practical Ecology provides experience with essential procedures used in ecological science. Over the semester, students practice the science of ecology by participating in three study topics, both in the field and laboratory. During these practical exercises, students study local ecosystems to understand how, through important ecological processes, those ecosystems are built and operate. Students gain the foundational knowledge for advanced practical coursework and undergraduate research in ecology and environmental sciences, including design of experiments and surveys, sampling and measurement, analysis of data, and scientific writing. Students are advised to take the course either with or after taking General Ecology.
Prerequisites: BIOS 30312 (may be taken concurrently)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 31341  Cell Biology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This laboratory course exposes students to a variety of techniques in modern cell biology. Students will get hands-on experience in working with cultured cell lines, including sterile technique, media preparation, and passaging of cells. Individual experiments will include assessment of cell growth and apoptosis, examination of subcellular structure using fluorescent microscopy, separation and analysis of nucleic acids and proteins, enzyme assays, and measurement of cell cycle by flow cytometry. It provides an excellent introduction to the approaches routinely used in analysis of cells and their functions. Fall.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341 (may be taken concurrently) or BIOS 24241 or BIOS 34341  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biochemistry or Biological Sciences.

BIOS 31401  Principles of Microbiology Lab  (1 Credit Hour)  
Laboratory exercises consider basic techniques in microbiology, such as sterile procedures and microbial metabolism. Fall.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 30401 (may be taken concurrently)) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 10172 or BIOS 20202)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 31404  Vertebrate Biology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This biodiversity lecture (30404) and laboratory (31404) course will explore the biology of vertebrates, including their evolution, ecology, diversity, biogeography, systematics, morphology, physiology, behavior, and conservation. Lectures will cover major evolutionary trends in the structure, function, and diversity of vertebrates as well as the interrelationships among vertebrate groups. Laboratory will include detailed comparative study of representative vertebrates, survey of morphological diversity across many groups, and connections to cutting-edge research topics. There will also be multiple field trips, such as visiting the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum in Chicago, the Potawatomi Zoo, bird watching, and herping!
Corequisites: BIOS 30404  
BIOS 31406  General Entomology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
The laboratory introduces students to insect morphology, systematics, and techniques used in the study of insects. Offered concurrently with lecture.
Prerequisites: BIOS 30406 (may be taken concurrently)  
Corequisites: BIOS 30406  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 31408  Arthropods and Human Disease Lab  (1 Credit Hour)  
The laboratory introduces students to the variety of arthropods that vector disease agents or otherwise affect the lives of humans and other vertebrate animals. Offered concurrently with lecture.
Prerequisites: BIOS 30408 (may be taken concurrently)  
BIOS 31420  Aquatic Ecology Laboratory  (0 Credit Hours)  
Aquatic ecology laboratory is to be taken concurrently with the aquatic ecology lecture. Students may not take lecture alone or laboratory alone.
Prerequisites: BIOS 30420 (may be taken concurrently)  
Corequisites: BIOS 30420  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 32318  Intro to Biocomputing Tutorial  (0 Credit Hours)  
Tutorial for BIOS 30318
Corequisites: BIOS 30318  
BIOS 33201  Geographic Information Systems  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is aimed to provide a basic understanding of how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery can be used to visualize and analyze environmental data. Students will learn basic techniques for analyzing, manipulating and creating geospatial data in both pixel-based (satellite imagery and digital terrain models) and vector based (point, line and polygon representation of spatial data) formats. Students will also learn how acquire high resolution satellite imagery and other GIS data from online data servers.
BIOS 34010  Genetics and Biotechnology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module provides an overview of genetics and biotechnology, particularly as it applies to plant and animal agriculture. The module covers the following topics: Genetic consequences of cell division and gametogenesis; Mendelian genetics and extensions of Mendelian genetics; Population genetics; Chromosomal inheritance, recombination and genetic linkage; Structure and properties of nucleic acids; DNA replication and repair; The molecular basis of mutation; The genetic code and the path from gene to protein; Laboratory manipulation of DNA including gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR); Molecular cloning using DNA vectors; Genetic engineering and agriculture; Reproductive technologies; Transgenic plants and animals and gene pharming. Course DOES NOT count as ND lab credit.
BIOS 34013  Genetics & Recombinant DNA  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module will provide in-depth insights into the complexity of gene regulatory circuits using just a handful of well-studied research subjects from animal and plant developmental genetics. We will see how specific biological questions can be tackled from a molecular genetics, epigenetics, population genetics and evolutionary genetics perspective and how the diversity of approaches leads to a better understanding of biological phenomena from a holistic point of view. This will enhance the general understanding on the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary processes that shaped living beings. During the course of this module, a special focus will be put on how to approach biological research questions. This comprises formulating research questions, hypothesis building and hypothesis testing, experimental design, distinguishing bottom-up and top-down approaches as well as ultimate and proximate causation. Lectures for the module will be delivered online. Practicals will be face-to-face if possible. Online practicals will be offered for students who prefer not to be on campus. Counts as elective course for Biological Sciences majors.
BIOS 34300  Fundamentals of Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module examines the factors that affect the distribution, growth and survival of plant and animal communities. It describes how organisms interact with their environment and the role that they play in community and ecosystem dynamics. There is an introduction to the concepts and models that help to explain and predict organism distributions and interactions. The module comprises interrelated components of lectures, and practical sessions in the laboratory and field. It has been designed to provide a foundation to ecological theory and its application.
BIOS 34301  Embryology and Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
Study of embryonic and fetal development. The module will cover: fertilization, blastocyst development and implantation, placenta, early embryonic events that accompany the formation of the three germ layer and the folding of the embryo (gastrulation, neurulation, somitogenesis) and provide the basis for the body plan, and finally with the specific development of: CNS, CVS, Respiratory system, GIT, Urogenital tract, neck, and face.
BIOS 34303  Palaeontology and Evolution  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module will introduce students to palaeontology (the study of fossils). All of the major animal groups, who have left their mark in the fossil record, will be examined, along with trace fossils. Emphasis will be placed firmly on understanding form and function in organisms and how it has related to their habitat over time. The module will finish with the topic of vertebrate evolution. Students will be trained to think both logically and critically; they will be shown how to develop arguments and answer questions based on the data available to them (or indeed collected by them in class). The background theme of the entire module will be to provide students with an appreciation for the story of evolution of life on Earth over the past c.541 million years.
BIOS 34304  Evolutionary Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module is focused on key concepts in evolutionary biology including the mechanisms operating on molecules, on populations and those involved in the formation of new species. It will also include topics such as evolutioary repatterning of development, evolutionary constraint and bias and evolutionary innovation.
BIOS 34305  Evolutionary Processes  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as ANIM3362 - 'Evolutionary Processes' at a host institution. This unit covers the basic principles of evolutionary theory with special emphasis on the mechanisms that generate the diversity of life. It examines the genetic structure of populations, factors that maintain variation within populations and cause of divergence among populations, the origin of species and methods of phylogenetic analysis. The emphasis is on the integration of fundamental concepts, approaches to solving problems and the application of evolutionary ideas and methods to questions in fields such as ecology, behaviour, conservation biology and systematics.
BIOS 34306  Evolution and Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit focuses on the molecular genetics and evolution of genes involved in developmental pathways in animals and plants. Consideration is given to gene families that play roles in the development of organisms in diverse evolutionary lineages as well as to genes that control species-specific developmental programs. Topics also include the interactions between an organism's genes and its environment, resulting in changes to the genome that may become heritable.
BIOS 34307  Evolutionary Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Quantitative genetics; Gene flow in populations; Genetic drift; Heterozygosity; Heredity; Selection Models, Fitness/Relative Fitness; Molecular Evolution; Evolutionary Ecology; Species Concept; Speciation.
BIOS 34309  Human Reproductive Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as ANHB2216 "Human Reproductive Biology" at host institution. This unit builds on first-year human biology to develop the structural and functional basis of human reproduction including structure and function of the reproductive organs, gametogenesis, fertilisation, early embryogenesis, fetal development and preparation for birth, maternal adaptations to pregnancy and reproductive aging. Particular emphasis is placed on the hormonal control of reproduction. This information is then used to examine social issues including human sexuality, infertility, birth control, the cause and prevention of malformation and the impact of new techniques in reproductive biology. This unit aims to provide students with a sound understanding of human reproduction in light of our evolutionary history, culture and society.
BIOS 34311  Soil Science  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module will provide an overview of the fundamental concepts of soil formation and characterisation; how soil characteristics influence plant distribution and productivity through water and nutrient availability; how soil organisms (bacteria, fungi) interact with plants and how soils influence global biogeochemical cycles (carbon and nitrogen). Particular focus will be given to the role of soils in the production of food, fuel and fibre and how sustainable land management practices are required to ensure the long-term health and fertility of soil systems.
BIOS 34312  Ecology I  (2-4 Credit Hours)  
UDLA #: BL 325 : Introduction to the foundations of ecology: abiotic factors regulating populations, interactions between individuals, characteristics of populations and communities, and the complexity of eco-systems. These basic concepts are studied from theoretical and practical perspectives.
BIOS 34314  Systems Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The module comprises face-to-face lectures, practicals and field trips to cover key ecosystem concepts in freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems. These include food chains, food webs, trophic pyramids, functional groups, energy/nutrient inputs and cycling. The module will also explore the processes that affect the distribution and abundance of species.
BIOS 34315  Wildlife Conservation and Fisheries Management  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course of 21 lectures covers key ecosystem concepts in freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems. These include food chains; food webs; trophic pyramids, functional groups and energy/nutrient inputs and cycling. The drivers and processes of the major components of global change, including human population growth, climate change, elevated amounts of nitrogen deposition, eutrophication, acidification and land use change, and their effects on the functioning of ecosystems are covered.
BIOS 34316  Australian Wildlife Biology  (4 Credit Hours)  
ustralia is home to a broad diversity of vertebrate wildlife species, many of which are unique to the Australian environment, having evolved in isolation from other large land-masses for millions of years. This unit examines the diversity of Australian reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals (including all three mammalian lineages: monotremes, marsupials and eutherian mammals). We focus on the unique anatomical, physiological and behavioural adaptations that have enabled our wildlife to survive and thrive within varied Australian ecosystems. We also examine how the uniqueness of our wildlife is also one of its greatest challenges, being naive to the new threats that are present in our rapidly changing environments. At the end of this unit you should have an appreciation of the diversity and uniqueness of Australian wildlife; be able to determine the links between form and function in wildlife and understand the significance of these functional adaptations in relation to ecological challenges. You will also have an understanding of the interactions between humans and wildlife, and how the unique characteristics of our wildlife also make them vulnerable to threats within the rapidly changing Australian environment. Students will also develop enhanced scientific literacy and communication skills through tutorial activities and assessment tasks.
BIOS 34317  Data Science for Biology and Medicine  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is an introductory course for the application of data science in biology and medicine. The course will introduce the fundamental principles on data science, the technologies and implementations of data mining, as well as the modeling of several practical questions in biomedicine. The topics include introduction to biomedical data, data visualization, regression methods and classification methods.
BIOS 34318  Geographic Information Systems and Biostatistics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module is focused on using data analysis to understand the environment. It includes an introduction to statistical analyses using examples from field ecology. There is also an introduction to mapping habitats using geographic information systems (GIS). (Language of instruction: English) Learning Outcomes: 1) Demonstrate an understanding of the different types of data used in ecology and geographic analyses 2) Explore data using descriptive statistics and apply inferential statistics 3) Analyze ecological data to evaluate the support for clusters of similar samples 4) Describe different habitat classification schemes in use 5) Be able to create, edit and analyse spatial data using geographic information systems 6) Produce maps for visualisation and interpretation of ecological data Reading List: "Geographic Information Systems and Science" by Longley P, Goodchild M, Maguire DJ, and DW Rhind Publisher: John Wiley and Sons, 536pp. "An Introductory Guide for Life Scientists" by McKillup, S Publisher: Cambridge University Press "Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists" by Quinn G and MJ Keough Publisher: Cambridge University Press
BIOS 34319  Ecology and Conservation  (4 Credit Hours)  
This unit examines the ecological principles driving the major ecosystems of the world and ecological processes behind the world's major conservation issues. It aims to develop in students the core foundations for an understanding of Ecology and its application in conservation. Lectures will focus on the ecology of the major terrestrial and marine biomes of the world. Application of ecological theory and methods to practical conservation problems will be integrated throughout the unit of study. Practical sessions will provide hands-on experience in ecological sampling and data handling to understand the ecology of marine and terrestrial environments, as well as ecological simulations to understand processes. The unit aims to develop in students the core foundations for an understanding of the principles of Ecology and its application in Conservation Biology. What should students expect to achieve in this unit? Familiarity with the major biomes of the world for terrestrial and marine systems An understanding of the fundamental principles driving ecological processes for individual populations though to ecosystems An appreciation of the major conservation threats to biodiversity in Australia and the world and for the importance of rigorous, evidence-based solutions for conservation management An improved ability to conduct independent scientific research and to communicate the findings in written reports and oral presentations. A deeper understanding of your own learning style and how to work effectively in teams Learning Outcomes As a result of successfully completed this unit students should be able to: 1. Understand the characteristics of the major biomes of the world for terrestrial and marine systems the fundamental principles driving ecological processes for individual populations though to ecosystems the major conservation threats to biodiversity in Australia and the world the philosphical differences between ecology and conservation 2. Appreciate the inhernet complexity in natural systems and in conservation issues the importance of ecology to conservation management the importance of rigorous, evidence-based solutions for conservation management identify the ecology of the major terrestrial and marine biomes of the world. 3. Pose ecological questions and design appropriate ecological field sampling regimes 4. Critique ecological literature and assess evidience for conservation issues 5. Present and analyse ecological data to test hypotheses
BIOS 34320  Current Topics in Conservation Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Biodiversity losses and conservation responses worldwide: a state of the art Translocations and assisted migration Restoration of forests, fens and bogs Mitigating the consequences of eutrophication Ex situ conservation of biodiversity Tracking illegal logging in the tropics Certification schemes (e.g. REDD) Population Viability Analysis Practical conservation of crop wild relatives Legal aspects of access and benefit sharing (Nagoya protocol) These topics will be complemented with ad hoc topics presented by guest lecturers, covering actual conservation themes For the exam paper, students are expected to present a topic of their own choice. The topic should be closely related to the issues presented throughout the course and have a clear link with at least two lectures. During the presentation and discussion sessions, students present their topic and progress in the class and discuss it with other students and teachers. Students are expected to demonstrate that they are capable of elaborating and critically reflecting on the issues dealt with throughout the course in a personal way. The students clearly describe the theme and research question, discusses the relevance of the research question in the field of conservation biology, and link it to the theories and perspectives provided during the lectures. The paper can be a concise review of the literature or the elaboration of a case study (for example, a conservation plan for a particular species, or an ecosystem restoration plan). Excursions to institutes committed to the ex-situ conservation and management of living collections and germplasm collections.
BIOS 34321  Wildlife Conservation  (4 Credit Hours)  
With multiple pressures on earth's biodiversity, the field of Wildlife Conservation is increasing in importance, empowering decision makers to understand and protect wildlife and the ecosystems which support them. This unit of study explores the techniques and methods for undertaking conservation research, including population genetics and forensic analysis of eDNA, the complexity introduced when considering multiple stakeholders, and the use of the scientific method to inform wildlife conservation issues. You will investigate biodiversity surveys, species identification, forensics, phylogeography, population genetics and genetic management applied to wildlife conservation, and the socio-political and cultural issues which influence stakeholders. You will analyse current issues within wildlife conservation and articulate and acknowledge a variety of stakeholder views including Indigenous Australian perspectives, both orally and in written form. You will understand the processes involved in formulating an evidence-based management approach to contentious wildlife conservation issues, and how the scientific method can be leveraged to build a compelling conservation management plan.
BIOS 34322  Electives in Ecology I  (3-5 Credit Hours)  
ZO 3081 Elective in Ecology at TCD, comprised of ZO 3303 Estuarine Ecology, ZO 3305 Marine Biology, and ZO 3307 Terrestrial Ecology Field Course and Z03301 Marine Biology Field Course. ZO 3303-The elective consists of a series of lectures on a variety of aspects such as estuarine usage, management and conflicts; the biota, from birds to algae and microbes, with the accent on processes and productivity; sediments and geomorphology; hydrology; sampling strategies and methods; pollution inputs, effects and detection and the environmental interactions of the various influences. ZO3305- This elective presents an introduction to Marine Biology and the ocean habitat. It covers: Marine habitats; organisms of the plankton, seasonal cycles and distribution of planktonic organisms; the sea shore, shore zonation. Hard and soft substrates and the benthos. Seafloor sediments and infauna; special habitats: the deep sea; coral reefs; polar waters. ZO 3307- A residential terrestrial field course will be run over a one week period towards the end of the Hilary Term. There will be an introduction to field techniques used for the study of terrestrial ecosystems with an emphasis on zoological assessment. Field visits will help with an understanding of contrasting habitats and conservation management. Zo 3301 Marine Biology Field Course. The various marine habitats in Co. Down are explored using Queen's Univ. marine facility at Portaferry as a base. The emphasis is on learning about the great variety of form and habit in marine organisms and the student is introduced to taxonomy, morphology and marine science. Perth: This unit seeks to examine the soil as an environment for the growth of plants, and to develop a basic understanding of plant nutrition. The unit integrates knowledge of biological components of soil fertility with the physical and chemical components of soil. The role of soil biota in cycling nutrients for plants and in the development of a suitable environment for plant growth is emphasised. These aspects are considered in the context of soil management to maintain sustainable agricultural, horticultural and forest production, to restore disturbed natural ecosystems and to understand processes in managed and natural ecosystems.
BIOS 34323  Biological Conservation and Biodiversity  (3 Credit Hours)  
An understanding of the basic principles of conservation is important in order to address the ecological challenges we face in the 21st century. If the recent pace of pollution and extinction continues, future generations will inherit a degenerate Earth. Humans alone are the main guardians of the natural world and therefore our management strategies for various ecosystems and species are critical. This course will provide an introduction to the basic principles of conservation and biodiversity. The field of conservation biology is interdisciplinary. Protecting our remaining biological diversity will involve all fields of science, from the humanities to natural sciences. This course will explore economics and politics as they relate to conservation, through topics including the red list and interest organizations. Recently extinct animals will also be introduced and discussed in the context of keystone species, as well as other concepts. We will also consider the value wildlife has in different communities, and explore the different levels on which protection of species can take place. Topics will often be examined through local, regional and global perspectives. We will often include Danish cases and compare them with the situation in the US. You will get to know a bit of Danish nature through field excursions. The course is roughly divided into the below modules: Biodiversity and its importance (what is biodiversity? Understanding biodiversity and the status of global biodiversity) Concrete threats to biodiversity Maintaining biodiversity With great power... comes great responsibility....
BIOS 34324  Biological Conservation and Biodiversity Lab  (1 Credit Hour)  
This lab will give you a more hands-on experience with topics related to conservation, biodiversity, and the management of species. You will gain some systematic skills, including how to estimate a species population, how to read field guides and collect data in the field. Students will use field guides, observational, and descriptive skills to identify species. Be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time out side - where nature is!
BIOS 34329  Molecular and Cellular Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The basic structure and organisation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells will be described, with an emphasis on understanding the similarities and differences between cells from these main domains of life. The composition, structure and importance of the four major groups of biomolecules will be reviewed. Fundamental topics on genomes and genome organization will also be covered.
BIOS 34330  Higher Cortical Function  (3 Credit Hours)  
The module is designed to give an in-depth knowledge to students on brain control of movement and higher cortical function and how this information is integrated in the central nervous system. Major topics covered include: motor cortex, lateral and medial motor pathways, posture, brainstem and spinal reflexes, basal ganglia, cerebellum, reticular activating system, thalamus, language and sleep. In addition students will be introduced to synaptic plasticity, learning and behaviour.
BIOS 34331  Nervous System Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module forms part of the core curriculum for the BSc degree in Neuroscience. The course introduces the development of the nervous system at a molecular, cellular and systems level along with core underlying principles. We outline the anatomical growth and division of the brain and its driving forces such as gene expression, developmental signalling and cell population expansion, and consider questions such as neural induction, polarity/segmentation, differentiation, cell migration, axon growth/guidance, target selection, synapse formation/maturation and neuronal maintenance. Also, general properties of inter- and intra- cellular signaling and communication relevant to neurons will be outlined. The course also contains a number of practicals, where students will be introduced to brain anatomy as well as a 2-day animal development practial where students will follow the development of frog embryos from fertilisation to neurulation.
BIOS 34332  Neurological Disorders and Diseases  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course examines neuroscience with a molecular approach. Featuring central topics of clinical neurology and neuroscience, the students will be introduced to the vast subject of the brain. Lectures will give a selection of diseases as viewed from both the scientist and the clinician. Scientifically, we will focus on normal physiology and anatomy, neurotransmitter function and, when confronted with disease, how disease can be studied in animal models. Clinically, we will show how to examine patients and do the diagnostic work-up. We will present patient cases with relevance to the topic, discuss methods of treatment, and explain how this is linked to neuro-scientific studies. Additionally, practical neurology and neuroscience in Denmark will be discussed and modeled through field studies.
BIOS 34337  Plants and Environment  (4 Credit Hours)  
understand basic plant principles governing carbon fixation, water balance, nutrient uptake, growth, partitioning, reproduction, stress response and death
BIOS 34339  Comparative Neurobiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit deals with the development and mature organisation of the nervous system in a wide range of animals. The unit examines the complex wiring of the brain and how this organisation relates to an animal's behaviour, ecology and environmental needs.
BIOS 34340  Membrane Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Structural and functional aspects of the biology of cells are addressed.
BIOS 34341  Cellular Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course examined the principles of cell theory, cell cycle regulation and specific cell structure-function relationships. Students participated in several lectures, tutorials and journal clubs discussing topics such as the CDK-cyclin system, feedback control, post-translational regulation, cell growth and differentiation, apoptosis, and cell dynamics.
BIOS 34342  Developmental Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as CELB 30010 "Animal Development" at host institution. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the subject of animal development. The course describes the morphology of early development (from fertilization to gastrulation) in a number of animals and focuses on the molecular basis of antero-posterior patterning in early Drosophila embryos. It also covers germ cell specification, gametogenesis, sex determination and the role of cell-cell signalling in developmental processes. The course emphasises the concept of "differential gene expression from the same nuclear repertoire" (Gilbert, 2003) as a basic theme in development, and stresses the importance of experimental strategies for determination of gene expression. The course also emphasises the experimental significance of model organisms for study of developmental processes, and encourages students to critically assess the advantages and limitations of the most popular models.
BIOS 34344  Vertebrate Human Physiology  (3,4 Credit Hours)  
Physiological functions and processes at the level of organs and organ systems, oriented primarily toward humans.
BIOS 34348  Human Body Functions  (5 Credit Hours)  
The aim of the module is to provide students within scientific, engineering and healthcare courses with a fundamental understanding of some important physiological concepts that underpin a sound knowledge of how the human body functions. The module provides a foundation for further learning within the overall curriculum.
BIOS 34350  Epigenetics & the Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
Epigenetic modifications are one of the main mechanisms underlying the phenomenon by which organisms alter gene expression and phenotypic characteristics in response to environmental conditions. This course will look at how the environment imparts its influence on developmental mechanisms to allow for these phenotypic changes through intersecting developmental biology, ecology, and evolution. Aspects related to symbiosis, teratology and the epigenetic origin of adult diseases will also be addressed.
BIOS 34352  Molecules to Cells  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module aims to give students a detailed understanding of cellular structure, composition and function. The molecular composition of organelles, the processes carried out in each organelle, and how these processes are integrated in cellular function are presented in detail. Students are are also introduced to enzyme kinetics; cellular metabolism; DNA structure and replication, transcription, and translation; the regulation of gene expression; Mendelian inheritance and genetic disease. It also introduces students to the structure of viruses and how they enter cells and take over cellular processes during infection.
BIOS 34353  General Physiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Identifies the physiological basis of cell function through analysis of scientific texts and to acquire the necessary knowledge and develop skills related to their professional activity. Handles the concepts of general physiology from the recognition of the characteristics of organisms to improve the integration of information of cell function in a whole organism.
BIOS 34356  Plant Diversity, Physiology, and Adaption  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module explores the origin of plants and the key adaptations and innovations which have allowed them to adapt to specific environmental stresses including changes in life-cycle, biochemical and anatomical modifications of photosynthesis (C4 and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism), water uptake and the evolution of roots and a vascular system, as well as the evolution of seeds and flowers (including pollination syndromes). The interrelationship between plants and their environment will be discussed with particular reference to the Irish flora and habitats which will be contrasted with examples of world habitats including tundra, cloud forest and desert. Plant diversity will be discussed providing an introduction to each of the major groups of land plants and their identifying features; this will be supported by examination of live and prepared materials.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 34357  Introduction to Palaeoclimatology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Climate variability occurs across multiple spatial and temporal scales, but we generally lack long enough scientific or historical records to directly measure most long-term patterns of climate change. Introduction to Palaeoclimatology offers evidence of environmental conditions across timescales, providing a broader context for studying modern environmental phenomena.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 34358  Plant &Agricultural Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module provides training in fundamental and applied genetics in relation to plants and animals, including molecular agricultural biotechnologies. Conventional, molecular, population and quantitative genetics aspects will be covered, including the latest advances in genetics, genomics, genetic modifications and applied systems biology as applied to crops and livestock. Students will meet for four one hour lectures each week for six weeks. 60 percent of grade will be assessed via a two hour written exam in short answer format, and the remaining 40 percent will be based on a semester long essay on the topic of crop improvement via genetic techniques.
BIOS 34359  Plant Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is a core lecture course accompanied by the practical course LIFS 2280 to provide students with a preliminary understanding of the basic cellular structures, molecular mechanisms and physiological processes during plant growth, development and reproduction. The course is also to provide students with current research topics on plant biotechnology.
BIOS 34360  Epigenetics and the Impact on Health and Disease  (3 Credit Hours)  
Epigenetic modifications are one of the main mechanisms underlying the phenomenon by which organisms alter gene expression and phenotypic characteristics in response to environmental conditions. This course will cover basic concepts of epigenetics as well as detailed concepts how epigenetics control and influence human development as well as how epigenetic alterations can cause various diseases such as for example cancer, metabolic disorders, and neurological conditions.
BIOS 34361  Genomes, Disease, & Diversity  (3 Credit Hours)  
Through lectures (content delivery, explanation) practicals (practice in techniques and problem solving) we will provide students with a broad overview of the genomics and the impact of new approaches across the biosciences. We will introduce the basics of new technologies and show the application of these to study of: a) inherited traits, including Mendelian and complex human diseases; b) the non-inherited somatic genome with particular focus on cancer; c) human kinship and origins; d) the microbiome; and e) the genomics of ecology.
BIOS 34386  Angiosperm Diversity and Evolution  (4 Credit Hours)  
The aims of this module are firstly to introduce students to the origin, diversity and phylogenetic relationships among the angiosperms. As sub-theme those disciplines and their specific traits that are of phylogenetic importance in the reconstruction of angiosperm evolution will be considered in more detail. These include molecular traits, palynology, morphology, anatomy, embryology and karyology. Finally, chemical diversity among angiosperms will be explored.
BIOS 34387  Introduction to Microbiology  (4 Credit Hours)  
History, microscopy, classification, structure and function (bacteria and archaea), nutritional requirements and growth factors, nutrient uptake, energy generation, culture media, growth curves, continuous culture, physical and chemical control, environmental factors, biofilm formation and quorum sensing and antimicrobial therapy. Course DOES NOT count as ND lab credit.
BIOS 34388  Cell Biology  (4 Credit Hours)  
On completion of this module you should have a good understanding of the following 1) The chemical building blocks of life (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids), as well as the structure and functioning of biological membranes. 2) How a cell is structurally adapted to orchestrate the great variety of life processes in an orderly fashion. 3) The way in which all living cells oxidise energy-rich substances for the production of usable energy (ATP) for life processes. 4) How cells sustain life. 5) Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. 6) The conservation of genetic information in DNA and the transfer of this information from one cell generation to the next, as well as patterns determining the inheritance of genetic information. The genetic code and processes such as replication, transcription and translation are also covered. and 7) The evidence of evolution as an ongoing process, as well as the origin of species and the evolution of humans.
BIOS 34389  Cellular Membrance Biology  (5 Credit Hours)  
This module covers the structure and function of biological membranes, the cytoskeleton, related signal transduction pathways and associated pathological conditions important in human health. The module is covers three central themes, membrane structure, the cytoskeleton, Bioenergetcis and Signalling. Topics will include: (i) the structure, function and organization of membranes & membrane proteins, (ii) the bioenergetic and transport processes that occur across membranes, (iii) an introduction to the tubulin, intermediate and actin- based cytoskeleton, (iv) a review of cell signalling pathways from a mechanistic and functional viewpoint. The module will include the following laboratory sessions. (i) Use of spectrophotometry to determine an important physical constant of a buffer (pKa ), (ii) An Introduction to cell culture, (iii) The use of radioisotopes in research, cAMP ligand binding studies, (iv) Mitochondrial swelling assays for transport across the mitochondrial inner membrane.
BIOS 34390  Advanced Cell Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module is designed to expand your knowledge of eukaryotic cell organisation and function. Prior to this module you are expected to have a good knowledge of cells, the organelles within them, and the basic roles of these organelles. This module will expand this knowledge by providing the molecular detail of various processes and functions required to maintain cellular homeostasis.
BIOS 34398  Biological Invasions  (3 Credit Hours)  
Biological invasions are one of the three components of global change on a planetary scale. This course emphasizes the conceptual framework of biological invasions (theories, hypotheses, approaches) and their empirical evaluation through scientific protocols, using national and international examples in the absence of the former.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
BIOS 34399  Comparative Neurobiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit deals with the development and mature organisation of the nervous system, as well as its capacity for repair after damage in a wide range of animals. It examines the complex 'wiring' of the brain and how this organisation relates to an animal's behaviour and its environmental needs. As examples, the unit includes studies of deep-sea fish and those birds and mammals which span the aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Animals with highly specialised senses, such as owls, are also considered. The laboratory classes provide practical experience in the examination of the central nervous systems. In this course, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms and processes that occur between herbivorous insects and their host plants will be studied. This will provide students with advanced concepts of the discipline, a theoretical foundation and methodological research tools.
BIOS 34400  Principles of Environmental Biology and Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Environmental biology is a multidisciplinary subject that addresses fundamental aspects of ecology to inform us on how ecosystems respond to a changing world and related pressures. This module includes both lectures and associated practical classes that introduce students to the key principles of environmental biology and the essential information required to address global as well as local environmental issues. A detailed outline of the fundamental factors that determine the structure and function of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems is provided using case studies and examples to demonstrate how ecological knowledge is used to address environmental problems such as climate change, water pollution, over-exploitation of biological resources and invasive species.)
BIOS 34402  Microbiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
BY2205 provides a comprehensive introduction to the microbial sciences through lectures and practical classes provided by experts in the field. Students will learn about the biology of the major groups of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, yeast and protozoa. The course explains how microorganisms grow and develop, how they interact with the environment and with one another. This module will equip the students with a sound foundation in microbial physiology, cell biology and molecular biology. LIFS3060 in HT: This course aims to introduce students to the fundamentals of identification, structure, physiology, and genetics of microorganisms; and the importance of microorganisms in human health, the environment, and in biotechnology. Learning outcomes: Upon completion of this course students will be able to: Describe and comprehend important features of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. Describe and comprehend important aspects of the physical and nutritional requirements of microorganisms. Describe the methods used to measure microbial numbers and those to control the growth of unwanted microorganisms. Identify the driving forces for the distribution of microbial diversity in the natural environment. Discuss the roles of environmental microorganisms in the functioning of the biosphere and in the development of human civilization. Describe important infectious diseases locally and internationally, in the past and present time. Explain how pathogenic microbes cause human diseases and how the human body guards against microbial invasion. Explain the biological principles underlying medical intervention of infectious disease.
BIOS 34403  Invertebrate Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as ZO 3051 ' Invertebrate Form and Function' This team-taught course provides a detailed consideration of the structure, life cycles and general biology of the invertebrate groups. The practical work involves observation using living specimens and demonstrations of material from the Zoological collections.
BIOS 34405  Microbiology  (4 Credit Hours)  
Microbes are essential for every aspect of life on the planet. Microbes in the human gut control our digestion and our immune system, microbes in the soil are required for plant growth, microbes in the ocean fix more carbon dioxide than all the earth's trees. This unit of study will investigate the diversity and activity of microorganisms - viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa - and look at how they interact with us, each other, plants and animals. You will examine how microbes underpin healthy ecosystems through nutrient cycling and biodegradation, their use industrially in biotechnology and food production, and their ability to cause harm, producing disease, poisoning, pollution and spoilage. Aspects of microbial ecology, nutrition, physiology and genetics will also be introduced. This unit of study will provide you with the breadth of knowledge and skills needed for further studies of microbiology, and will provide the fundamental understanding of microbes that you will require if you specialise in related fields such as biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, agriculture, nutrition and food sciences, bioengineering and biotechnology, ecology or science education.
BIOS 34407  Animal Science  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is taught as ZO 3020 Behavioural Ecology at Trinity College in Dublin. This lecture and practical course gives a broad grounding in the theoretical and pracical basis of behavioural ecology. The subject is introduced with an historical overview of the basic concepts behind the study of animal behaviour. Following this, topics covered in detail include how animals obtain food, avoid predators, breed and communicate. The practical work provides students with experience in studying behaviour in both the field and the laboratory, and provides training in behavioural recording techniques. It guides students through appropriate statistical analysis of the data sets collected in the practicals, and in their presentation in written form. It includes work with live animals both in the laboratory and at Dublin Zoo. When this course is offered at Perth, Australia, the course description is as follows. This unit begins with concepts of the behaviour and welfare of animals because society now demands that students be thoroughly trained in these areas. This is followed by a consideration of the principles of animal physiology and ecology as a basis for understanding how both native and domestic animals are distributed within Western Australia and how they cope with, and adapt to, their environment. Growth and development, reproduction, genetics and nutrition are considered as the underlying biology for production (meat, wool, milk, eggs) in domestic animals and for the management and conservation of native animals. Animals' requirements for nutrients are considered in relation to their supply of food under natural, extensive conditions on the one hand and under controlled, intensive conditions on the other. When taught in Dublin, Ireland the course ZOOL 20020 Animal Behaviour at UCD; A wide-ranging review, including insects, vertebrates and Man, of significant and fundamental aspects of animal behaviour. Phenomena dealt with in detail include: insect chemoreception with special reference to chemical cues, interpretation of deer behaviour in the context of game theory, and the role of pheromones in human behaviour.
BIOS 34408  Behavioural Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit covers the broad area of behavioural ecology ��� how an animal���s behaviour is adapted to its physical and social environment. The unit comprises five modules: (1) Foundations of Behavioural Ecology; (2) Sexual Selection; (3) Sex allocation; (4) Predator-prey interactions; (5) Perception and Signalling; and (6) Kinship, Conflict, Cooperation and Social Behaviour. The unit is taught by a team of lecturers who combine expertise in all of these areas. The unit integrates these themes within an evolutionary framework that explores the adaptive basis of behaviour, individual plasticity and the genetic basis of behaviour, ecological interactions governing social, sexual and antipredator behaviours, along with a strong mechanistic understanding of how perceptual systems work. This is a required unit for the Zoology major, but it should also be relevant to any student with interests in animal biology, ecology, evolutionary biology and natural history.
BIOS 34409  General Microbiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is focused on the study of general characteristics and particulars of these microbial agents with which they will be detailed in addition as structure, metabolism and pathogenics of microorganisms.
BIOS 34411  Polar Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course, you gain an understanding of biology of the polar areas, with a special emphasis on the Northern Hemisphere. You learn how organisms of the Polar Regions are evolutionarily adapted to cold terrestrial or marine habitats with strong seasonality. By studying theoretical and practical case studies, you gain insight into population dynamics and species richness within Denmark, and of the Arctic regions in Norway and Greenland.
BIOS 34412  Arctic Glaciology  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course, we study the behavior of glaciers. You learn about glacier mass balance, the transformation from snow to ice, ice flow, ice core science, and basal processes. These are tools needed to investigate the role of glaciers in the climate system. This course focuses on the Arctic glaciers. Climate changes projected for the future indicate a larger temperature increase over the Arctic than at lower latitudes. This increases the vulnerability of glaciers located in this particular region.
BIOS 34413  Medical Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
The module introduces the genetics of human disease, from simple Mendelian traits to complex multigenic diseases and gene/drug interactions. Topics include the development of medical genetics from 1752 to the 'post-genome' era; the spectrum of human autosomal recessive diseases; RFLP analysis and the statistical evaluation of linkage data; localization and isolation of the Huntington disease gene; congenital diseases caused by chromosomal imbalance; diseases involving repeat expansions; developments and setbacks in the use of gene and molecular therapies for treatment of hereditary diseases; and pharmacogenomics (interaction of genetic background with drug response). The module also covers analysis of quantitative traits: complex human diseases such as type 2 diabetes; approaches to mapping genetic variants responsible for complex traits; heritability; genome wide association mapping.
BIOS 34414  Animal Form and Function  (3 Credit Hours)  
Animals provide evidence of the many and varied solutions to the challenges imposed on them by their changing environment. This unit builds on knowledge of the diversity of animals and interprets the differences and similarities within the framework of their evolutionary relationships to each other. While sometimes very different, animals provide many fascinating examples of solutions to the problems of gaining nutrients, removing wastes and surviving to reproduce the next generation. The unit provides a broad overview of animal function and structure and integrates this information with that introduced in earlier units of the major. It is a step leading to the units of Level 3 of the major where the underlying fundamental mechanisms and processes are revealed.
BIOS 34417  Advanced Neuroscience I  (3 Credit Hours)  
This interdisciplinary unit exposes students to the recent findings and emerging ideas in key areas of modern neuroscience. It covers (1) electrophysiology of neurones and glia; (2) synaptic anatomy and physiology, with reference to electrical, chemical and anatomical substrates of functional plasticity, learning and memory; (3) sensory mechanisms, encompassing the membrane biophysics of different types of receptor cells and the mechanisms of sensory encoding and signal processing, both peripherally and centrally; (4) growth and development of the mammalian nervous system, with particular attention to the mechanisms specifying cell lineage, cell number, differentiation, axon growth and the formation of appropriate synaptic connections; (5) selected aspects of integrative function of the brain including movement control, regulation of cortical excitability and higher cognitive functions; and (6) ageing and regeneration in the central nervous system—will functional repair be possible in the twenty-first century and what might be achieved with the use of neural prostheses?
BIOS 34419  Immunology  (3,4 Credit Hours)  
Antigens, antibody structure and function, B cells, Tcells, MHC, diversity, cytokines, complement, intlammation, immunity to viruses, bacteria and parasitic infections, polyclonal, monoclonal, and phage display antibodies.
BIOS 34420  Plant Genetics and Systems Biology   (3 Credit Hours)  
Module provides advanced training in plant molecular genetics and systems biology. Fundamental aspects covered including nuclear and extranuclear inheritance, meiosis, genomes and comparative genetics, organellar genetics, epigenetics, transposons, cell and tissue biology, plant developmental and reproductive genetics, plant cell wall, plant model organisms, genetic and metabolic engineering, chromosomes & polyploidy, synthetic biology, and systems biology.
BIOS 34421  Genomics and Systems Biology   (3 Credit Hours)  
The aim of this module is to provide students with a general overview of methods used in the fields of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics and to explain how these methods are used for basic research, biotechnology, agriculture and medicine. To this end, a number of examples from work with diverse organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants, animals including humans) will be presented. The module further introduces students to the field of systems biology and outlines how systems biology differs from the classic reductionist approach used in biology.
BIOS 34422  Marine Ecology  (1.5-4 Credit Hours)  
Taught as ANIM 3314 "Marine Ecology" at host institution. This unit begins with a brief global view of the oceans and features of sea water that influence biological processes. The unit then deals in detail with how ecologists propose that the structures of marine communities are organised by considering examples of experimental studies of natural communities in sandy and rocky beaches, coral reefs, sand and mud flats, mangroves and the deep sea. It describes interactions between humans and large reptiles and mammals. Practical work comprises supervised investigations involving the sampling and design of experiments, analysis of data and preparation of a report. Sydney, Australia: We will examine in detail processes that are important for the establishment and maintenance of marine communities. Lectures will expose students to the key ideas, researchers and methodologies within selected fields of marine biology. Laboratory sessions and field excursions will complement the lectures by providing students with hands-on experience with the organisms and the processes that affect them. Students will develop critical analysis and scientific writing skills while examining the current literature.
BIOS 34423  Genomics  (3 Credit Hours)  
BMOL 30020 at UCD. This module will identify the main biochemical causes of disease and, in so doing, aims to provide the student with an understanding of an initial rationale for the treatment of the particular disease in question. Amongst the topics to be discussed will be retrovirus-mediated disease (Aquired immunodeficiency syndrome; AIDs), bacterial-mediated diseases (e.g TB, MRSA), prion-diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs; e.g CJD); Neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer.
BIOS 34424  Complexity of Cancer  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course offers an in-depth, clinically focused, examination of major cancer types. In order to get an understanding for the clinical reality surrounding solid tumors and cancer patients, overall themes will include classifications, biological foundations, diagnostics, specific therapies, and respective complications. Through journal clubs, students will evaluate the most recent clinical studies. Classes will also include transposed patient cases, simulations, as well as student presentations Learning Outcomes: After successful completion of this course, students will be able to Express knowledge about tumor biology, therapy and the most common solid tumors. Explain the basic concepts of clinical research in oncology. Appreciate that cancer is both a clinical and an experimental science in constant development. Appreciate the importance and validity of the `established' therapies. Increase awareness of the impact of a cancer diagnosis for the individual patient. Prerequisites: One year of biology and one year of chemistry at the university level. The Complexity of Cancer course is aimed at students with a documented academic interest in medicine.
BIOS 34426  Oncobiology  (2 Credit Hours)  
Definition and pathology of cancer cells: benign, premalignant and malignant tumors. Grading and staging. Carcinogenesis as a multistep process, chemical carcinogens, irradiation, viral carcinogenesis etc.. Cancer and the host: heredity of cancer, immunology of cancer, cachexia. Growth mechanisms of cancer cells: cytokines and receptors, signal transduction mechanisms, oncogenes, tumorsuppressor genes, the cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, telomerase, adhesion and metastasis, multidrug resistance etc.. Molecular techniques for diagnosis of cancer and minimal residual disease. Principles of cancer treatment: irradiation, chemotherapy, gene therapy, humoral and cellular immunotherapy, tumor vaccination, cytokines, anti-angiogenesis etc.
BIOS 34428  Behavioral Ecology and Practicum  (5 Credit Hours)  
We will explore how evolution and ecology shape animal behaviour, examining how important traits have evolved to maximise survival and reproduction in the natural environment. Darwinian principles provide the theoretical framework, and we will explore key concepts of selfishness, altruism, conflict, survival, optimality, reproduction, parental care and death. Relevant research will be used to lead our understanding of the ultimate function of key traits. In parallel with the lectures, students design, conduct, analyse and present their own research project, working in a group to collect original data in order to answer a question about the adaptive significance of behaviour.
BIOS 34429  Advances in Behavioural Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module will expand the students' grasp of some classic topics in the field of behavioural ecology such as the consequences of group living, tool use, optimality models and signaling. We will then explore some currently advancing themes, including multi-level societies, co-operation, and the effects of urbanization on animal behaviour. The content will be delivered in part as lectures and in part using a flipped classroom format. The continuous assessment will involve the students undertaking group research into the evidence for empathy in animals and presenting their findings to the class, and writing a blog on partner choice and the effects of captivity on breeding which will be individually assessed.
BIOS 34436  Introduction to Toxicology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The module introduces students to the basic concepts in toxicology such as toxicokinetics (how our bodies deal with toxicants), mechanisms of toxicity (how toxicants cause damage at a cellular level), target organ toxicity (how toxicants cause damage at a organ level) and toxicity assessment (how one can assess toxicitiy).
BIOS 34455  Ecological Processes  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught at a host institution. This unit builds on knowledge of ecological processes acquired at Level 2. The main academic objectives of this unit are (1) to develop a deeper understanding of ecological processes, both biotic and abiotic, across marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems; (2) to develop a deeper understanding of the interconnected and synergistic nature of ecological processes; (3) to be able to apply this deeper understanding when evaluating and interpreting contemporary environmental change; and (4) to be able to design appropriate scientific research programs to address contemporary environmental problems.
BIOS 34458  Global Change Biology  (4 Credit Hours)  
The study of global change with a biological perspective, which brings together historical and current evidence for such change and summarises its main drivers. Topics include global climate change, anthropogenic change such as pollution, and land use. Data at different spatial and temporal scales and at different levels of biological organisation are covered, highlighting the technologies and numerical techniques used to study these processes. Where appropriate, principles are illustrated using African examples. Finally, the negative impacts of global change and how to ameliorate them are covered, as is communication about all of the above topics both between scientists, and between scientists and the public.
BIOS 34459  Global Climate Change and Biodiversity  (3 Credit Hours)  
This unit focuses on the concept that climate change can drive the evolution of biological diversity. This unit aims to explain the atmospheric processes that regulate the Earth's climate; the role of climate change in the evolution of the world's ecosystems; the human-induced changes that are occurring in the atmosphere; how these changes effect the global climate which in turn effects biodiversity; the challenges of biodiversity conservation under climate change. Emphasis is placed on understanding the links between the atmosphere, climate and the world's ecosystems; how changes in climate can force species losses, migration and adaptation; what can be learned from vegetation response to past climate changes; the predicted impacts to biological diversity under projected greenhouse climates; and the conservation efforts that are required to mitigate these impacts.
BIOS 34499  Ocean Ecosystems and Changing Climate  (3 Credit Hours)  
The ocean plays profound roles in regulating the global climate and creating habitat for the majority of life on the planet, including human life. In this course, we will examine the physical, chemical, biological, and human connections between the oceans, their living systems, and the changing climate. We will learn how ocean circulation systems are established and how they regulate climate, we will explore how oceanographic features in different regions give rise to diverse types of marine ecosystems, such as arctic waters, coastal kelp forests, open ocean phytoplankton-dominated systems, and coal reefs. We will examine how human activity has influenced ocean ecosystems, specifically the connection between greenhouse gas emissions, rising ocean temperatures, and ocean acidification, and will explore how these changes influence human populations. Each student will develop their own ocean and climate change project to identify just and equitable solutions for addressing climate change or other human-induced ocean impacts.
BIOS 34500  Biology of Marine Mammals  (3 Credit Hours)  
A comparative study of marine mammal anatomy, morphology, physiology, life history and behavior, and adaptation to marine existence. The course includes the study of the effect of human activities on marine mammals with special reference to Northern European waters.
BIOS 34501  Biology of Marine Mammals Lab  (0.5-1 Credit Hours)  
In this laboratory course, you study cranial morphology and anatomy and look at cranial asymmetry in different species of cetaceans, analyze photo-identification pictures of killer whales in an ongoing research project, listen to and analyze sound recordings, and perform a necropsy on a harbor porpoise or a harbor seal. You write small lab-reports during class time and give oral presentations in groups.
BIOS 34502  Marine Habitat  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module studies deep-sea, coastal and pelagic habitats Learning Outcomes 1. Identify the major groups of cnidarians commonly associated with seamounts and submarine canyons. 2. Describe the biology of deep-sea communities 3. Provide detailed description of a range of marine systems including epipelagic, rocky benthos, soft sediment benthos &amp; estuarine systems. 4. Describe the physico-chemical gradients found in these habitats and discuss their role in structuring the marine communities found there. 5. Describe biological structuring processes in these coastal marine systems. 6. Describe the features and adaptations of animals in these systems. 7. Define the relationship between area and species richness and apply this relationship to real conservation problems.
BIOS 34531  Molecular Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
BMOL 20090 Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology at UCD; In living cells nucleic acids direct both self-replication and synthesis of proteins. DNA also undergoes mutation and recombination, which ultimately generate biodiversity and allow evolution to proceed. The course will cover the basics of these fundamental biological processes and explain how this knowledge is exploited in recombinant DNA technology. Specific areas include: nucleic acid structure; DNA replication; mutation and repair; transcription and translation; control of gene expression; gene cloning, DNA sequencing and genetic engineering. The lecture course will be assessed by an end-of-semester examination. In addition, students will work in groups to design web-based projects, or "Wikis" that explore selected topics from the course in depth. Students will learn how to design interactive information pages (resembling Wikipedia), and how to incorporate images and animations. Grades will be awarded based on individual contributions to the group project.
BIOS 34556  Histology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The approach is to provide an extensive account of the histologic structure of human organs and how they function within human organ systems. One major learning outcome is to understand the histology of human organs within the context of cell biology in preparation for studying pathology and advanced cell biology and molecular biology.
BIOS 34598  Biogeography and Macro-ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the description of the course from the Ku Leuven Website: The student is able to interpret present patterns of distribution and diversity of plant and animal species and makes hereby use of processes and insights from different disciplines such as geography, ecology and evolutionary biology. The student is also able to work in group and to summarize the phylogeny and current distribution of a selected taxon which is critically discussed this in a historical and ecological contex, based on scientific literature and to present the results in a concise and scientific way both in a written report and an oral presentation. This is the description of the course exercises from the Ku Leuven Website: Students work in small groups to discuss and present the current distribution of a selected (plant or animal) taxon in a historical and ecological context, this on the basis of scientific literature. The students present their results on the one hand in a written report of up to 10 pages (excluding figures, tables, references) and in an oral presentation of 15 minutes. In case of a large number of students, the group project is replaced by a paper authored by 2-3 students and with similar structure as the group project.
BIOS 34599  Terrestrial Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The student acquires knowledge of the biotic and abiotic processes/interactions that drive the abundance and distribution of organisms (mainly plants) in the terrestrial environment. The student has insight in how different levels of biological organization interact. The student acknowledges the societal relevance of ecology and its links with environmental degradation, agriculture and biological conservation. The student can acquire knowledge present in the scientific literature and can discuss this knowledge based on her/his insight in statistics. The student can perform an integrated study of the vegetation of a site and can report the results. This includes: making releves, taking and processing soil samples, and statistically process the data using bivariate and multivariate statistics. The student can evaluate the scientific process and remediate his/her role when required.
BIOS 34600  Behavioural Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the description of the class from the KU Leuven Website: During this course a student acquires a thorough knowledge of topical research in behavioural ecology and ethology thereby building on related disciplines such as ecology, genetics and physiology. The student is able to understand recent research papers in the field of behavioural ecology and based on this can develop a research project around a given hypothesis. The student has the expertise to plan, execute, analyze and critically interpret a behavioural experiment in an international research team, thereby takes a responsible role and is able to solve problems associated with the research project. He can orally communicate in English a critical summary of the group's findings to other researchers. This is the description of the exercises classes from the KU Leuven Website: Exercises Discussion of topical research and selected papers related to the content of the lectures Formulating hypotheses, designing and executing experiment to test specific hypothesis related to key topics in behavioural ecology. Analyzing and interpreting the results of the experiment in light of the hypothesis tested and presenting this to other students.
BIOS 34601  Food and Environmental Microbiology   (3 Credit Hours)  
The course, of a theoretical-practical nature, delves into the study and role of microorganisms in different environments of professional agronomic interest. The contents focus on understanding the interactions between microorganisms, their host and the environment, emphasizing importance in the agricultural, environmental and industrial sectors related to the professional work of the Agronomist. In addition, basic aspects of food safety will be addressed in order to relate the impact of microorganisms on human health." - Prerequisites: Introductory Cellular Biology (comparable to Biology 2) and Introductory Chemistry.
BIOS 34627  Evolution and Ecology of Infectious Diseases   (3 Credit Hours)  
The recent pandemic reminds us that diseases and parasites can do great harm to their hosts and thereby affect human health, food security and biodiversity. This course provides students with an understanding of the ecological and evolutionary principles that underly disease symptoms, emergence, and outbreak. Through a series of lectures, supplemented with practicals, we will explore how natural selection acts on hosts and their pathogens, what factors facilitate disease outbreaks, and how we might prevent pathogens from escaping our control. Using examples in human medicine, animals, and plants we will explore: 1) why we get sick 2) how diseases emerge 3) super spreaders, individuals who generate many infections 4) How global warming can alter the interaction between diseases and their hosts 5) the evolution of antibiotic resistance and the evolution virulence 6) evolution proofing our drugs 7) many other concepts in evolutionary medicine, ecology, and evolution.
BIOS 34628  Ecological and Environmental Microbiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
ENVB 30100 Ecological and Environmental Microbiology at UCD; On completion of this module students should be able to: Appreciate the role and significance of physicochemical factors in the environment on microbiological processes and diversity. Describe the concept of cycling in the global environment and appreciate the importance of microorganisms in mediating cycling processes. Apply concepts pertaining to the physical environment to aquatic and soil ecosystems and to assess how these factors interact with microbial populations. Describe the methods used for the bacteriological testing of water. Appreciate how microbial populations can be manipulated for degradation of waste material.
BIOS 34715  Practical Conservation  (3-4 Credit Hours)  
The module is designed to facilitate your comprehension of the fundamental principles of conservation and to particularly apply such knowledge through problem solving, analytical- and critical thinking. Additionally, in this course there is an optional "field experience" that can be offered for additional credit. However, the field experience does not equate to lab credit.
BIOS 34716  Natural Resource Management  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course introduces a conceptual framework for analysing and engaging with current issues and debates about the management of natural resources. This is achieved by analysing the history of natural resource management and how policy has shaped the sector in a local and global context. Contemporary debates around issues such as economic value, governance, stakeholder participation and control of and access to resources are discussed, drawing on different analytical frameworks. Specific problems are drawn from different industry sectors including agriculture, tourism and conservation, forestry, water, mining and fisheries using both Australian and international case studies. In this course, students will be exposed to natural resource policy and management through the context of an individual case study critique in which the ecological sustainable development paradigm is evaluated.
BIOS 34725  Biome Ecology  (4 Credit Hours)  
Introduction to biomes and ecosystem services; key drivers; social-ecological systems of dynamics and biome-level management issues; ecology of tropical and afromontane forests, woodlands, savannahs, treeless vegetation types; wetlands; animal diversity-habitat interactions; patterns of endemism.
BIOS 34726  Earth Surface Processes, Landforms and Ecosystems   (3 Credit Hours)  
Earth s geosphere, the ground beneath our feet, may seem constant and relatively unchanging, but nothing could be further from the truth. This module examines the main processes that combine to influence the development of Earth s surface and the formation of and changes to landscapes. The origins and development of landforms, particularly in the humid tropics, is explored, as are the characteristics, functioning, dynamics and interactions within and between major associated ecosystems. Human induced landform and ecosystem modifications are also considered. The knowledge obtained in this module is applicable to broader environmental management issues
BIOS 34733  Principles of Ecology  (4 Credit Hours)  
This course aims to expose students to the fundamental principles of ecology at various scales of organization, from individuals through ecosystems to the biosphere as a system. Topics covered include lifehistory strategies, competition, dispersal, predation, mutualism, population dynamics, community assembly, keystone species, diversity patterns and the processes structuring diversity, and elements of systems ecology. The theory will be supported with examples from local terrestrial and aquatic systems, in lectures but also through hands-on exposure during a group field project. The projects will provide students with the chance to get their hands dirty doing their own research. Students will be taught how to conduct scientific research, how to write effective scientific reports and how to analyze ecological data.
BIOS 34989  Neurobiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Students gain thorough knowledge of and insights into the structure and physiology of the mammalian brain, with special emphasis on the sensory systems and motor control.
BIOS 34990  Adaptive and Stress Physiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The students have a profound knowledge of the physiological and biochemical mechanisms needed for adaptation to extreme and/or changing environmental parameters. They know how animals and plants survive similar environmental challenges and can explain the principal differences and similarities in their strategies. They have a clear understanding of the physiological regulatory mechanisms involved at the molecular, cellular and organismal level. The students are capable of gathering information on physiological adaptations to specific environmental conditions and can use this information to prepare a written report. They are also capable of setting up an experiment to illustrate such adaptations and to report on the results. In this course the students get familiar with the physiological and biochemical mechanisms allowing adaptation/acclimation to different environmental conditions. Some organisms live permanently in extremely difficult conditions, others have to adapt to changes in their environment that occur gradually or acutely during their life span. This results in various forms of stress. The students get insight into how animals on one side and plants on the other side survive adverse environmental conditions and how they use similar as well as different strategies to cope with these challenges. General principles Adaptation and acclimation Conformers and regulators, temporal and regional avoidance Types of environmental factors (constant, predictable varying, unpredictable, biotic and abiotic stress factors) Combination of stress factors and cross-protection Topics from animal adaptive and stress physiology Water deficit: osmotic problems in aquatic/transitional and terrestrial environments Thermoregulation: poikilotherm/ectotherm, homeotherm/endotherm, coping with extreme temperatures (chilling/freezing and heat), torpor, hibernation, diapause Hypoxic conditions: living at high altitude, living in the deep sea Biorhythmicity: molecular clock, circadian, seasonal and tidal rhythms, migration Ageing: different theories of ageing, healthspan vs. lifespan, cell-autonomous and cell-non-autonomous aspects, environmental aspects Topics from plant adaptive and stress physiology Water deficit: plant water status and acclimation and adaptations strategies (growth and development and fast responses) Salt and heavy metal stress as more specific types of osmotic stress. Chilling and freezing stress and heat stress Waterlogging and flooding (hypoxia) and oxidative stress Biotic interactions: symbioses and defense against pathogens and herbivores using physical barriers, chemical barriers (extensive secondary metabolism) and induced responses, including innate immunity Students design and perform experiments to test physiological adaptations to specific environmental conditions. Students search for relevant information on a specific adaptation on internet and prepare a short paper together with fellow students.
BIOS 34991  Animal Nutrition  (4 Credit Hours)  
One of the greatest limiting factors to the health and wellbeing of animals under our care is the nutritional value of their feed. Whether provided by nature or manufactured to meet the production and health needs of farmed animals, being able to provide suitable nutrition to animals in our care is fundamental to good animal health management. This Unit is broadly divided into three sections, namely: estimating the nutritive value of feeds; estimating the nutrient requirements of animals and diet formulation. The focus is on building up knowledge on animal nutrition by assessments of nutritional adequacy and solving of nutritional problems, with a particular emphasis on wildlife and animals used in agricultural production systems. The principles discussed in this course will be expanded in third year, in which species-specific systems will be described within the animal production major. In this unit you will develop the skills to create diets based on sound science, to meet animal requirements for a variety of purposes and under a variety of constraints and identify deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diets and optimising nutritional health and minimising disease risk.
BIOS 34992  Plant Function  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module will explore the physiology and biochemistry of plants and algae. It will investigate: (1) plant and algal biochemistry and metabolism specifically focusing on carbon-fixation as well as the synthesis of primary and secondary metabolites, allelopathy and plant defence, and (2) plant and algal growth and development in which the role of hormones in fundamental processes including flowering, germination, expansive cell growth and the responses of plants to light and gravity will be explored. It will also investigate the role of aspects of plant function in conservation and its biotechnological applications. Learning Outcomes 1. Appreciate how plant and algal function is modified in response to the environment 2. Understand the role of secondary metabolites in plants and evaluate how they are used by humans 3. Describe the role of the five classical plant hormones (auxins, cytokinins, ethylene, abscisic acid, and gibberellins) in plant growth and development 4. Discuss how plant metabolic processes may be harnessed for conservation and biotechnology 5. Describe carbon acquisition by plants and algae
BIOS 34993  Biogeography  (3 Credit Hours)  
This class provides an introduction to the study of biogeography. Bridging the fields of ecology and geography, biogeography is the study of the spatial patterns of biological diversity and its causes. We will identify how historical, physical, and biological factors affect present and past distributions of individuals, species, populations, communities, and ecosystems. The actions of humans are a critical force impacting other species, and the human influence on past, present and future species distributions is a central topic in this module.
BIOS 34994  Plant resources and Ecosystems   (3 Credit Hours)  
As primary producers, plants (and algae) are essential components of all global ecosystems. Throughout the world, there is a wide range ecosystems, providing the habitats for plant life on earth and the associated ecosystem services they provide. In this module, we will provide and introduction to the different global biomes, and what drives their distribution. We will also focus on the main habitat types in Ireland, and discuss their status and ecology. This module explores the key features of global biomes in marine, aquatic and terrestrial systems, and the ecology of the plant communities (and resources) within these. Specifically it addresses key components of rocky shore ecology, distribution, mapping and sustainable utilisation of seaweed bioresources. It further covers important global ecosystems, and in particular the ecology of Irish natural habitats such as grassland, woodlands, bogs, hedgerows etc. Learning Outcomes 1. Describe the main terrestrial habitat types in Ireland and discuss their current status 2. Understand global terrestrial biomes and ecosystems, and their distribution 3. Be familiar with features of seaweeds on rocky shore ecology and zonation patterns and factors driving temporal and spatial variability 4. Give an overview of the ecology of important local Irish and global seaweed habitats 5. Give an overview of important marine/coastal vascular plant communities (seagrasses, saltmarshes) 6. Appreciate the processes and methods involved in the assessment of algal bioresources for sustainable utilisation
BIOS 34995  Special Topics in Physiology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The objective of this course is to understand the basic concept on how organisms, organs, cells and biomolecules carry out the chemical or physical function that they have in a living system. In this semester, the class will introduce basic cellular physiology, neural, muscle, cardiovascular respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal and endocrine system in the animals. CAN NOT have taken BIOS 30344 or 34344
BIOS 34996  Greenhouse Production Techniques   (2 Credit Hours)  
Soilless production techniques (hydroponics) for seedlings and crops; effect of different growth mediums; different types of climate control; optimum concentrations of nutrient solutions for different crops.
BIOS 34997  Aquaculture and Practicum  (4 Credit Hours)  
Management practice of aquaculture production in relation to production systems; production planning; production management: applied biology, nutrition, water quality; including intensive and extensive systems, with reference to marine and freshwater species.
BIOS 34998  Biology Technical Elective for Engineerings  (3 Credit Hours)  
The goal of this course is to equip the learner with the knowledge of how the human body works. Firstly, cellular physiology and how cells communicate will be introduced. How various systems of the human body function, including the musculoskeletal, integumentary, urinary, cardiovascular and respiratory systems will be presented. Principles of fluid dynamics and how they relate to systems within the body will be taught. How vital signs can be monitored, and how regulation and homeostasis are achieved will be presented. Finally, case studies of normal bodily operations that require interactions of various systems will be addressed
BIOS 34999  Histology and Homeostatic Systems  (3 Credit Hours)  
his module serves as an introduction to major organ systems that contribute to the 'constancy of the internal environment' of an organism. This control of the internal environment is known as homeostasis. Physiologically, homeostasis is the body's attempt to maintain a constant and balanced internal environment for living processes to take place, which requires persistent monitoring and adjustments, as external and internal conditions change. The major organ systems covered include: 1. The Cardiovascular System. 2. The Respiratory System. 3. The Gastrointestinal System. 4. The Urinary System. 5. The Endocrine System.
BIOS 35501  Introduction to UNDERC  (1 Credit Hour)  
Open only to students previously accepted into the UNDERC program.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 35502  Practicum in Environmental Field Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Course modules include vertebrate ecology, invertebrate ecology, aquatic ecology and forest ecology with each providing background information, field research exercises, and group research projects designed by the class. Five or more weeks are spent by each student designing and conducting their own field research project under direction of faculty or graduate students.
BIOS 35504  Research Projects in Field Environmental Biology  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
An independent research opportunity offered to undergraduates that have had at least one summer or semester of summer research experience. The research will be conducted at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center (UNDERC). An UNDERC-affiliated scientist mentors each student on the development of a research proposal, implementation of the project, analyses of the data collected and the writing up and presentation of the project at the end of the summer. Past projects have ranged from behavioral, population, community and ecosystem ecology to local Native American ecosystem use.
BIOS 35506  Practicum in Field Environmental Biology-Galapagos Islands  (2 Credit Hours)  
During an ~8-day field trip to the Galápagos archipelago during an intersession period (Fall break or Spring break), this course will introduce and amplify principles of evolutionary biology, ecology, and environmental science that occur in the unique setting of the famed Galápagos Islands. Pre-trip meetings will emphasize background knowledge important to understanding the unique features of the archipelago as they have influenced evolutionary and ecological theory. On-site lectures and activities will cover the historical, geological, and biological features of the archipelago. The trip will include visits to the Charles Darwin Research Station and several scientifically significant sites in the Galápagos archipelago. Post-trip meetings will summarize the major discoveries of the trip as presented by the students. Prerequisites for this practicum include an approved course in evolutionary biology, chosen from among BIOS 30305 or 30310, which may be taken concurrently with this course. Because space is limited to 14 students, permission of the instructors is also needed to enroll in the course. This course is open to any Notre Dame undergraduate. ​The field trip to the Galápagos is optional, it is not an alternate to class requirements, and it is not a means of earning extra credit in the course.
Prerequisites: BIOS 30305 (may be taken concurrently) or BIOS 30310 (may be taken concurrently) or BIOS 30312 (may be taken concurrently)  
BIOS 36495  Junior Biological Sciences Honors Research Seminar  (1 Credit Hour)  
The Honors program will give students an exceptional background in biological research. Participation in this program will increase their level of commitment and productivity while preparing them for successful postgraduate careers. The goals of the Junior Honors seminar are to: 1) Critically evaluate research data, 2) Design scientifically defensible experiments and projects, 3) Create and present a professional research talk or poster, 4) Articulate career goals following career exploration, 5) Identify common research ethics issues and articulate solutions to these issues, 6) Write a research proposal or report supported by primary literature.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 37492  Teaching Practicum in the Life Sciences  (0-1 Credit Hours)  
Similar to BIOS 37493 except that this is an S/U-graded zero credit section.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 37493  Teaching Practicum in the Life Sciences  (0-2 Credit Hours)  
Same as BIOS 37495 except that this is a s/u variable credit section; 2.0 maximum credits allowed.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 37494  Teach Practicum/Life Sciences  (1-2 Credit Hours)  
Same as BIOS 37495 except that this is a letter-graded variable credit section; 2.0 maximum credits allowed
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 37672  Special Studies  (1-4 Credit Hours)  
Special topics in the field of interest for individual or small groups of undergraduate students or for the one-time introduction of new course materials will be covered. Spring. Repeatable course.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 40132  Introduction to Computational Genomics  (3 Credit Hours)  
Dive into the Code of Life: Computational Genomics! This exciting course provides a comprehensive introduction to modern genomics analysis, designed for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Students will gain hands-on experience in processing and interpreting complex genomic datasets, focusing on three core modules: Genomics Quality Control (QC), Bulk RNA-seq analysis, and Single-Cell RNA-seq analysis. The course emphasizes the development of essential bioinformatics skills and the use of cutting-edge software tools to explore biological data. Throughout the course, students will apply their knowledge to real-world datasets, culminating in module-based projects that showcase their analytical and presentation skills. This course aims to equip students with the necessary tools and knowledge to tackle contemporary research questions in genomics, fostering critical thinking and data interpretation skills.
BIOS 40200  Unlocking the Secrets of Rare Cancers: Mutations and Targeted Therapies  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will provide students with in-depth understanding of the research involved with development of targeted therapies for rare cancers. Through lectures by faculty experts, active discussion, and group work, students will develop skills to evaluate the clinical presentation of rare cancers, assess the effects of specific mutations on cancer cells and their regulatory networks, and investigate current treatments and novel targeted therapies based on this information to propose potentially effective treatments for patients. Prior completion of CHEM 40420 strongly encouraged.
BIOS 40202  Developmental Neuroscience: Experience Dependent Plasticity  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is an upper level NSBH biology elective that is also a community-based learning course. Through reading and discussion of primary literature, the developmental literature will offer students an opportunity to investigate and construct conceptual frameworks of the circuitry that underlies human species expectant experiences. Using the expectations of the developing nervous system as the guiding framework, class and community work will explore how individual experience becomes a powerful moderator of the nervous system function as we age. The community-based aspect of the course partners students with organizations that are engaged with the regional Self-Healing Communities Collective; a community-capacity building network that uses neuroscientific evidence to inform organizational and community strategies supporting neurobiological safety and resilience. Success in this course requires consistent time and engagement every week in class and can be well suited for students wishing to explore intersections of neuroscience, plasticity, health, behavior and well-being.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 11161 or BIOS 20201 and BIOS 21201) and (BIOS 20450 or BIOS 30338 or BIOS 30339 or SC 20450)  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WRIT - Writing Intensive  
BIOS 40203  Neuroinfectious Diseases  (3 Credit Hours)  
Despite the advancement achieved in the last few decades fighting various infectious diseases (smallpox, polio, malaria, active tuberculosis, syphilis), infections of the central nervous system still are the ones with the highest morbidity and mortality. This course will review the reasons why treatment of these infectious diseases is so challenging: the physiology of our anatomy, the mechanisms exploited by neuropathogens, and recent medical advancements that ironically, makes us susceptible to these diseases. Lastly, certain non-infectious neurological conditions share pathological features with that of infectious agents. These will be compared and their potential treatments discussed based on their similarities.
BIOS 40309  Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course will examine the interacting processes of the physical environment and the biota as they influence the flux and distribution of chemical substances in the biosphere (i.e. biogeochemistry & ecosystem ecology). The course will also explore major chemical, biological, and geological processes that occur within and between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at the scales of organisms, functional groups, ecosystems, and the globe. The course is open to upper-level undergraduates with a strong interest in ecology and environmental biology and who have had a minimum of one semester of ecology (i.e., general ecology, aquatic ecology). Offered on demand.
BIOS 40310  Cancer Immunotherapy  (3 Credit Hours)  
Immunotherapy, believed to be the most promising new form of cancer treatment since the emergence of chemotherapy, is now being celebrated as a top advancement in cancer care. Tremendous advances in biological mechanisms underlying tumor immunology started to guide the development of successful new cancer immunotherapy strategies after decades of bewildering disappointments. This course will introduce the advanced undergraduate students and early career graduate students to the basic principles of tumor immunology and immunotherapy, classical and novel classes of treatment that enhance anti-tumor immunity, and recent progresses in treating a number of highly lethal cancer types with immunotherapy. The course will also teach the students how scientists have achieved the groundbreaking landmark discoveries in tumor immunology and immunotherapy through critical examination of primary literature. At the completion of the course, the students should have had a comprehensive grasp of the key principles and practices of cancer immunotherapy, and gained the ability to interpret new advances and breakthroughs in this field. Students with goals in both basic research and medical track will benefit from the course.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 or BIOS 24241 or BIOS 30341 or BIOS 34341  
BIOS 40339  Human Gross Anatomy  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course will consist of a description of human gross anatomy. The content will be organized as a regional approach to gross human anatomy with descriptions of the back, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and perineum, lower limb, upper limb, and head and neck. Within each region, subtopics will include bones, ligaments, muscles, vasculature, lymphatics, peripheral nervous system, and regional viscera. The content emphasis will be basic human anatomy although there will be a moderate amount of clinical anatomy.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 11161 and BIOS 10162 and BIOS 11162) or (BIOS 20201 and BIOS 21201 and BIOS 20202 and BIOS 21202)  
BIOS 40340  Human Anatomy  (4 Credit Hours)  
The course will consist of a description of human gross anatomy. The content will be organized as a regional approach to gross human anatomy with descriptions of the back, thorax, abdomen, pelvis and perineum, lower limb, upper limb, and head and neck. Within each region, subtopics will include bones, ligaments, muscles, vasculature, lymphatics, peripheral nervous system, and regional viscera. The content emphasis will be basic human anatomy although there will be a moderate amount of clinical anatomy. The required laboratory portion of the course will consist of regional dissection of partially dissected human cadavers, as well as identification of structures of previously dissected human cadavers. The course should serve as a foundation for students planning future human anatomy studies and/or an independent elective. Spring.
Corequisites: BIOS 41340  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in PreProfessional Studies, Biological Sciences, Science- Business or PreProfessional.

BIOS 40411  Biostatistics  (4 Credit Hours)  
Basic principles of statistical analysis and their application to biological problems, including statistical inference, analysis of variance, regression, non-parametric approaches, and introduction to statistical computing. This course's "lab" is a tutorial; it does not fulfill the laboratory elective requirement (after 1993). Students may not take both BIOS 40411 and MATH 20340. Spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202) and (MATH 10360 or MATH 10560 or MATH 10092 or MATH 10860 or MATH 10460)  
Corequisites: BIOS 42411  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKQR- Core Quantitat Reasoning  

Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 40412  Introduction to Systems Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The goal of this course is to illuminate the elementary design principles inherent in biology. Many of the underlying principles governing the network of biochemical reactions in a living cell can be related to circuit motifs with multiple inputs/outputs, feedback and feedforward. This course draws on control theory, elementary chemistry and first-year calculus to provide a framework to discover and understand the performance of these networks. The topics examined in the course are drawn from current research and include: transcription networks, stochastic gene expression, adaptation, oscillators (circadian rhythms and the cell cycle), metabolism, pattern development, neural networks and cancer. The course is intended for advanced undergraduates in biology and engineering, but will appeal to graduate students as well. (Prerequisite course: elementary chemistry (a course such as CHEM 10171 OR CHEM 10181); Recommended courses: elementary calculus (a course such as MATH 10560 may be taken concurrently); OR linear algebra and differential equations (a course such as MATH 20580 may be taken concurrently.)
Prerequisites: CHEM 10171 or CHEM 10181  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 40414  The Biology of Stem Cells and the Emerging Field of Regenerative Medicine  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will examine the biology of stem cells and explore their uses and applications of stem cells.
Prerequisites: BIOS 20241 or BIOS 24241 or BIOS 30341  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 40415  Medical and Veterinary Parasitology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The animal parasites of humans and related hosts are reviewed. The pathology caused by these parasites, epidemiology, life cycles, prophylactic and therapeutic control are considered. Spring.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 10162) or (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 20202) or (BIOS 20201 and BIOS 20202) or (BIOS 20201 and BIOS 10162)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 40416  Virology  (3 Credit Hours)  
A study of viruses as primitive biological entities and as disease-inducing agents in humans and other animals: characteristics of viruses and virus infections; molecular aspects of virus replication; methods for diagnosis and prevention of infections; artificial use of viruses. Spring.
BIOS 40419  Immunology  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course we will cover one of the most interesting biological systems in you…the immune system! We will cover the different types of immune responses, how they are triggered by exposure to foreign microbes or in response to the presence of tumors. We will also discuss what happens when the immune system goes wrong leading to autoimmune diseases. Finally, we will cover how we can use immune modulation as a mechanism to treat various diseases. The course will use a mix of text-book information, lectures, videos and primary research articles to cover the material.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202) and (BIOS 20250 or BIOS 20303) and (BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Pre-Health Studies (Supp.), Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Science- Business or PreProfessional.

BIOS 40420  Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases  (3 Credit Hours)  
In a world ever more connected, and inhabited by an increasing human population, the number of infectious disease outbreaks is rising. Understanding the epidemiology of viruses, bacteria, and parasites is crucial for the design of strategies to interrupt transmission. In the last two decades, molecular methods to study DNA, RNA, proteins, and antibodies have increasingly been used for such studies. Diagnosis by molecular tools increases the sensitivity over traditional methods such as microscopy. The genetic diversity of the pathogen and the host can be exploited to identify genes responsible for drug resistance, or to establish transmission networks. Antibody measurements allow the study of the human response to infection. This course will provide an overview of current laboratory methods to study infectious disease dynamics and discuss examples from the literature.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 20241 or BIOS 30341)  
BIOS 40425  Mammalogy  (4 Credit Hours)  
This course will explore the rich taxonomic diversity of mammals, and investigate mammalian physiology, ecology, and behavior. Students will use a general text for foundation and implement their learning experience with primary literature.
Prerequisites: BIOS 10172  
Corequisites: BIOS 41425  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Sciences (Supp.).

BIOS 40427  The Epidemiology and Ecology of Infectious Diseases  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will introduce students to basic principles of the epidemiology and ecology of infectious diseases, familiarize students with mathematical and statistical modeling approaches for applying those principles to data, and provide students with opportunities to use empirical data to apply those approaches. This course will involve programming in the R computing language.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 40436  Introduction to Molecular and Medical Pharmacology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will cover the general principles of pharmacology and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of various drugs. The major topics covered will be drugs affecting the nervous system, drugs affecting the cardiovascular system, drugs treating cancer, and the major steps involved in new drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. We will also discuss pharmacogenomics, an emerging field of medical research and application in the post-genomic era
Prerequisites: BIOS 30344 and (CHEM 40420 or CHEM 30341)  
BIOS 40450  Introduction to Science and Patient Advocacy  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course serves as the foundational entry point to the Minor in Science and Patient Advocacy. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the genetic, molecular, and clinical mechanisms underlying rare diseases. Through scientific inquiry, literature reviews, and natural history studies using rare disease medical records, students integrate complex scientific data to inform patient advocacy efforts. The course prepares students to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration and develop skills needed to engage with those affected by rare disease and their families.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 or BIOS 20201) and (BIOS 10162 or BIOS 20202)  
BIOS 40451  Rare Disease Advocacy Immersion  (1 Credit Hour)  
This experiential course serves as the community engagement component for the Minor in Science and Patient Advocacy (MSPA). It bridges classroom learning with real-world application, allowing students to participate in a community-based experience that builds upon the academic context and skills acquired from the minor's gateway coursework. The primary objective is to provide students with hands-on opportunities to work as advocates for patient service organizations or community groups in need, with a particular focus on understanding the unique challenges faced by rare disease patients. Through active participation, students will identify unmet patient needs in the community, develop tools for effective patient advocacy, and build meaningful relationships with community organizations dedicated to promoting quality of life and optimal health outcomes.
BIOS 40491  Current Topics in Environmental Science  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught by the Director of the ES major. Environmental sciences first and second majors only. The course will be divided into various modules taught by experts on and off-campus. The modules will include environmental law, risk assessment, environmental ethics, advancements in environmental science, current topics of national interest in environmental science, and others. This course is required of all first majors and recommended of all second majors. Fall.
BIOS 40500  Translational Research: bringing lab work into the clinic  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course, we will discuss important basic science results that have led to impactful human therapeutics, and we will take you through the process of taking a method/product from the “bench to bedside.” In the first part, we will use classical and current primary literature to discuss the rationale, technologies, and models developed in the discovery of a variety of products designed to improve health. The second part will provide the students with a clear understanding of the concepts of translational research, including the steps post-research, namely, invention disclosure, patent protection, searching for investors, and commercialization. Both parts work together as the students will come up with their ideas on the first part, based on the topics discussed, and then work on developing their ideas on the second part, culminating with a final presentation of their product.
BIOS 40507  Epigenetics: Genetics, Ecology, and Plasticity  (3 Credit Hours)  
Have you ever wondered how a single cell could possess all the genetic information in an organism but only display certain phenotypic traits? Have you ever questioned how genetically identical organisms can be morphologically distinct under certain conditions? Have you noticed how the environment can induce aberrant gene expression resulting in disease, including reproductive disease in humans that can be transmitted across generations? Epigenetics: Genetics, Ecology, and Plasticity covers the emerging field of epigenetics, detailing mechanisms and their understood functions. The course applies epigenetic knowledge to evolutionary concepts, like phenotypic plasticity, demonstrating how environmental stimuli can incite change within- and across generations. The course assesses how these changes can remain within a population, resulting in a new phenotypic trait that changes how humans see and interact with the organism. Finally, the course 1) provides model organisms for studying epigenetics, 2) challenges students to formulate a hypothesis to address how an organism could respond epigenetically to an environmental change, and 3) explain how their hypothesis would work by synthesizing information given in this course and the prerequisites listed.
BIOS 40508  Population Genetics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will describe and mathematically analyze the processes responsible for genetic change within populations. See Graduate Bulletin of Information
BIOS 40522  GLOBES: Humans, Genes, and the Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
Globally humans inhabit and alter landscapes creating anthropogenic ecologies impacting all resident organisms. The distribution and structuring of genomes, the movement and virulence of pathogens, and the patterns of coexistence of organisms are all interconnected at multiple levels.This course focuses on the dynamic transactions between organisms and environments at multiple levels, with a specific consideration of impacts on health, interspecies interfaces, and population genetics. It considers theoretical perspectives and specific examples from population genetics, ecology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and political ecology to examine scenarios of interaction between humans, genes, and the environment.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 40524  Global Change and Civilization  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
All human populations, from the simplest to the most complex, interact with their natural environment. Humans alter the environment and, in turn, are altered by it through biological or cultural adaptations. Global environmental chanages helped to create and shape our species, and modern industrial societies are capable of altering the environment on scales that have never been seen before.This course explores the ways that humans are altering the global environment and the ways that global environmental changes alter humans in return. Students will complete the course with an understanding of the metrics and physical science associated with each type of change, their ecological implications, and the ways in which environmental changes continually reshape human biology and culture.
BIOS 40525  Community Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Community ecology is the study of the direct and indirect interactions among species and the environment that determine the structure, abundance, and composition of communities. Foundational topics within the field of community ecology include: ecological and evolutionary processes that create, maintain or modify patterns of biodiversity; the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function; island biogeography; metacommunity dynamics; niche and neutral theory; species interactions (e.g., competition, predation, and mutualism) and species coexistence; and effects of natural- and human-mediated environmental change (e.g., climate change, habitat alteration, invasive species) on biodiversity. As such, central concepts and theories in community ecology have also shaped our understanding of related fields, including population, ecosystem, and evolutionary ecology. Through discussion of foundational literature and related contemporary papers, this course seeks to provide graduate and advanced undergraduate students a broad overview of the central concepts of community ecology, as well as an appreciation for how these ideas have changed over time and inspired ongoing research.
BIOS 40527  Stream Ecology  (4 Credit Hours)  
This course explores the interaction of biological, chemical, and physical features of streams and rivers. Human impacts on flowing waters are explored, along with current theory of stream ecology.
Corequisites: BIOS 41527  
BIOS 40528  Global Change Biology: Ecosystems, Society, and Health  (3 Credit Hours)  
Humans have had a profound impact on the environment since the beginning of recorded history. Humans have modified ecosystems, altered waterways and oceans, impacted the chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere, changed the geography of organisms and diseases, and built societies that are reliant on the modification of natural ecosystems. Many of these activities have resulted in unsustainable practices that threaten the future biosphere and human societies. In this class, we will explore the many facets of human (i.e. anthropogenic) impacts on Earth’s biosphere as well as the impact to ecosystem services that humanity depends on to thrive. The course will mostly focus on the impacts of industrialization and global climate change on the current and future functioning of the biosphere and human society. The course will be organized into five modules that cover human impacts from the level of the individual organism to the biosphere and human society. The course will end with the current state of environmental and engineering solutions to minimize our impact on the environment.
BIOS 40550  Topics in Pathobiology: Personalized medicine  (2 Credit Hours)  
The primary purpose of this course is to introduce current and emerging technologies in scientific research with a specific focus on concepts relevant to precision-based individualized medicine. Examples will include- personalized genome analysis and GWAS, metabolome and microbiome studies, genetic basis of rare disease disorders, and biochemical aspects of mechanisms of rare disease. The overall format for this class will be a detailed discussion of highlighted journal articles relevant to the topic discussed. This class will meet once weekly and will be open to both juniors and seniors enrolled in the minor program. This class will also include graduate students interested in advanced topics of research. Having a class composition of both undergraduate and graduate students is a particular strength of this course, as it maintains a standard of rigor typical of an advanced level class.
BIOS 40552  Bayesian Statistics and Biological Forecasting  (3 Credit Hours)  
Forecasts incorporate data and models (our ideas of how biological systems work) to produce predictions, and are thus both useful for both applied (a COVID forecast) and basic (hypothesis testing) biology. It will help to have some experience coding in R (or another language), but if you've got moxie you can pick this up along the way.
BIOS 40565  Topics in Rare Disease Advocacy and Policy  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
The main purpose of this advanced biology course is to engage undergraduate students in clinical research and patient advocacy in rare diseases. BOIS 40565 is the capstone course for the Minor in Science and Patient Advocacy but those students not enrolled in the minor are welcome to take this course with approval.
BIOS 40568  Malaria Control  (3 Credit Hours)  
Malaria remains to be one of the deadliest infectious diseases globally. After a first, failed attempt to eliminate the parasite in the 1960ies, the world aims again for malaria elimination. In this class, we will discuss different strategies for malaria control and elimination. We will assess strategies that target the parasite and/or the vector, and will talk about the recently approved malaria vaccine and other vaccine developments. We will discuss case studies of countries that succeeded in malaria eradication, and talk about the financial aspects of different control strategies. After completing this class, you will have a comprehensive understanding of different strategies for malaria control, elimination, and prevention of reintroduction to malaria-free regions.The class will focus on reading and discussing original research papers and reviews. Students will prepare presentations, and discus papers with the class.
BIOS 40571  Topics in Physiology  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
Consent of instructor to enroll. Subject matter changes depending on students' needs. Prospective subjects include invertebrate and vertebrate physiology. (On demand)
BIOS 40572  Clinical Research Rare & Neglected Diseases  (3 Credit Hours)  
A main purpose of this course is to engage upper level undergraduate and graduate students in clinical research in rare and neglected diseases. The focus for each semester is on neglected/infectious diseases with emphasis on worldwide eradication strategies. A major goal is to have Notre Dame students work on a clinical research project in class on some rare and/or neglected disease of major importance. We hope this class will also help the students become advocates for these diseases. The class is intended for juniors and seniors.
BIOS 40573  Restoration Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course focuses on the ecological principles that underlie ecosystem restoration and the evaluation of actual restoration efforts with case histories. We give balanced attention to terrestrial (e.g., forests, prairies, arid lands) and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., lakes, streams, wetlands, estuaries). The format is lecture/discussion of current literature, and each student leads the discussion of several papers over the course of the semester. The goals of the course are (1) to familiarize students with the theory and practice of ecosystem restoration, (2) to understand the ecological basis of restoration, and (3) to evaluate examples of restoration from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
BIOS 40580  Neurobiology of Pain  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will provide students with a background on the biological basis of pain. The course will not only explore tradition pain pathways and the contribution of inflammatory mechanisms in the perception of pain, but also consider how factors such as emotions, memories, and prior painful experience contribute to the neural processing of pain. Students will examine how different neurobiological pathways and functional systems contribute to the complexities of pain sensation and come to understand that specific injuries do not indicate specific levels of pain. In addition, clinical pain models and pharmacological/non-pharmacological treatments of pain will be discussed.
BIOS 40600  Coding and Data Analysis for Neuroscience and Behavior  (3 Credit Hours)  
This elective course will cover the basics of analyzing complex, time-series data common to neuroscience, such as rodent electrophysiology and behavior data, using the programming language R. Using open-source datasets (Neuroscience Without Borders) we will conduct analysis of rodent behavior and electrophysiology sample data from start to finish, at which point students will be equipped with the necessary skills to perform their own analysis and graphical data representation for their final project.
BIOS 40601  Neurobiology of Social Bonds  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course examines the neural and endocrine underpinnings that regulate social behavior. We will explore how sex steroids, neuropeptides, and other molecules signal within various networks in the brain to shape affiliative and aggressive behaviors. A central theme of the course is the reciprocal relationship between biology and environment: investigating how social interactions influence endocrine activity and how these systems adapt to shifting social landscapes. Additionally, throughout this course, students will sharpen their ability to critically evaluate primary scientific literature and independently interpret study implications. The semester culminates in the development of an original research proposal, where students identify novel questions and design a formal plan to answer them.
BIOS 41340  Human Anatomy Laboratory  (0 Credit Hours)  
This laboratory consists of regional dissection of partially dissected human cadavers, as well as identification of structures of previously dissected human cadavers. The course should serve as a foundation for students planning future human anatomy studies and/or an independent elective. Spring.
Corequisites: BIOS 40340  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Pre-Health Studies (Supp.), Biological Sciences, Science- Business or PreProfessional.

BIOS 41344  Vertebrate (Human) Physiology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
This laboratory provides students the ability to investigate physiology by asking them to demonstrate hands-on application of physiological concepts through identification of anatomical structures, utilizing the scientific process and clinical techniques to delve into physiological processes, and communicating across multiple scientific formats to explain how the processes of an individual system, and what governs integrated body function.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 30344 or BIOS 30421) or BIOS 34344 or BIOS 40421  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 41415  Medical and Veterinary Parasitology Laboratory  (1 Credit Hour)  
The laboratory introduces students to the microscopic world of parasites. Extensive microscope work is needed. Spring, on demand.
Prerequisites: BIOS 40415 (may be taken concurrently)  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 41425  Mammalogy Laboratory  (0 Credit Hours)  
In conjunction with Mammalogy lecture, this course will provide a hands-on experience in the study of mammals, including how to capture and identify mammals, some unique aspects of mammalian physiology, and use of the scientific method to understand mammalian ecology and behavior.
Corequisites: BIOS 40425  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.

BIOS 41527  Stream Ecology Laboratory  (0 Credit Hours)  
Quantitative analysis of stream biota and periodic physical features is conducted during field laboratory sessions.
Corequisites: BIOS 40527  
BIOS 42411  Biostatistics Tutorial  (0 Credit Hours)  
The biostatistics tutorial is to be taken concurrently with the lecture. Students may not take lecture alone or the tutorial alone.
Corequisites: BIOS 40411  
BIOS 44033  Omics and Systems Biology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Recent progress in high-throughput omics technology has revolutionized the biological research. Genome-wide profiling of various biomolecules simultaneously by omics technology generates huge amounts of data, providing the potential to obtain a global and holistic view of the system. This course aims to introduce the state-of-the-art technologies of Omics and Systems Biology, and overview of various applications of omics technology in agricultural, biomedical, environmental, and nutritional sciences. This course will also provide students hands-on experience in large scale data analysis. The course covers proteomics, genomics, bioinformatics, and systems biology with special focus on sequence alignment, microarray, next generation sequencing, computational modeling with systems biology, and statistic programming. This course will make the state-of-the-art knowledge of Systems Biology and know-how available to those working on an omics projects as well as those preparing their research proposal.
BIOS 44103  Plant-Environment Interactions  (3 Credit Hours)  
Plant growth is significantly influenced by the surrounding physical, chemical and biological environment. This module will address the key inter-related concepts of carbon assimilation and sequestration, plant water relations and energy balance components across the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. The physiological response of plants to respond to a broad range of environmental conditions including abiotic and biotic extreme events will be explored, and the implications for natural and production-based systems will be assessed.
BIOS 44104  Plant and Agri-Biotechnologies  (3 Credit Hours)  
This module provides an advanced understanding of plant and agri-biotechnologies via weekly lectures on current topics given by experts conducting research in that area. Such biotechnologies encompass a wide range of technologies and they can be applied for a range of different purposes, such as the genetic improvement of plant varieties and animal populations to increase their yields or efficiency; genetic characterisation and conservation of genetic resources; plant or animal disease diagnosis; vaccine development; and improvement of feeds. Some of the technologies may be applied to all the food and agriculture sectors, such as the use of molecular DNA markers or genetic modification, while others are more sector-specific, such as tissue culture (in crops and forest trees), embryo transfer (livestock) or triploidisation and sex-reversal (fish). When appropriately integrated with other technologies for the production of food, agricultural products and services, biotechnology can be of significant assistance in meeting the needs of an expanding and increasingly urbanised population. Course meets twice a week (8 weeks total) each for two hour lectures (4 hrs per week). The course runs for Assessment is one multiple choice exam at midterm and one final written exam, as well as keeping track of attendance for participation.
BIOS 44200  The RNA World  (3 Credit Hours)  
Life probably originated as a self replicating ribonucleic acid, or RNA, molecule. This was enabled by RNAs unique versatility, simultaneously encoding information, catalysing chemical reactions and adopting complex structures, features upon which every living cell depends to this day. In the intervening 4 billion years of evolution, specialized roles have been outsourced to DNA and protein. Nevertheless, RNA remains at the heart of molecular biology, playing fundamental roles in translation and gene expression. Recently, we have come to appreciate that a diverse cast of regulatory RNAs underlie the complex gene regulatory networks that direct both healthy and diseased cells. Today, RNA based tools are at the forefront of biotechnology and medicine. This module will cover the entire scope of RNA biology, with a particular emphasis on its regulatory roles in mammalian cells and biotechnological and biomedical applications.
BIOS 44309  Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Ecology  (2 Credit Hours)  
The fluxes of C, N, P, Si and S through and between ecosystems and earth compartments (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere) reflect to a large extent the functioning of the Earth system, and perturbations of these cycles due to human activities are the basis of a range of environmental and climate-related problems. We will focus on the major biological processes driving these element cycles, the role of weathering processes, and compare the role of different major ecosystems (terrestrial, oceans, and freshwater systems) and exchange between the Earth surface and the atmosphere. An overview will be presented of the evolution of these element cycles over geological time scales, and the recent impact of anthropogenic disturbance. Finally, a number of key methods will be discussed which are frequently used to unravel and quantify element cycles, from microbial to global scales.
BIOS 44340  Human Body Structure  (3 Credit Hours)  
Human Body Structure is delivered by the anatomy department to students at the first, second and masters level in university for whom anatomy is not a core degree element who require a sound basic knowledge of the structure of the human body. The content will cover topics including the following: Organization of human body, anatomical terminology, the principles of support and movement, the control systems of the human body, maintenance and continuity of the body and finally, biomechanics and functional anatomy of the limbs.
BIOS 44341  Animal physiology and environmental adaptation  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course covers the major aspects of animal physiology for environmental adaptation in terrestrial & aquatic habitats. Stress will be given to the functional interactions between animals and the environment, especially on the mechanisms by which animals obtain resources for survival from the environment, detect environmental changes via sensory structures, and respond to adversities in the environment by altering their body forms & functions.
BIOS 44411  Statistics and Computation  (3 Credit Hours)  
Through lectures (content delivery, explanation), interactive drop-in sessions (reinforcement of learning), practicals (practise) and formative assessment (problem solving) we will provide students with a broad overview of the kinds of statistical and computational approaches that are commonly used across the biosciences. We will introduce the basics of programming techniques that are transferable across programming languages. This module will emphasise the importance of hypothesis generation and testing for different data types. We will introduce the basics of data driven modelling. We will enable students to work individually and in small groups to problem-solve and communicate the problem and solution in different formats.
BIOS 44415  Medical and Veterinary Parasitology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The animal parasites of humans and related hosts are reviewed. The pathology caused by these parasites, epidemiology, life cycles, prophylactic and therapeutic control are considered. Course objectives: Describe the impact of parasites on human and animal health, including how access to clean water, proper sanitation, and vectors affect disease transmission around the world. Explain the mechanism of the host-parasite relationship, how this relationship affects the overall health of the host including how the life cycle and epidemiology of the parasite play a key part in the pathology, and the importance of zoonotic transmission. Synthesize pertinent facts and apply them in order to educate the public about parasite prevention and control strategies to support both human and animal health
BIOS 44419  Introduction to Infectious Diseases and Immunology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Taught as MICR2209 - Introduction to Infectious Diseases and Immunology' at a host institution. This unit concerns the role and activity of microbes as agents of infectious disease, the way in which the host's immune response deals with infectious agents and how it can be exploited to elicit protection against these agents, investigates disease transmission and spread, and considers applications of a knowledge of infectious disease and immunology, including identification and diagnosis. The unit introduces essential knowledge and principles in the fields of infectious disease, immunology and epidemiology, and provides a foundation for more advanced studies in these disciplines.
BIOS 44491  Current Topics in Environmental Science (Online)  (3 Credit Hours)  
This is the online version of Current Topics in Environmental Sciences specifically for a senior ES student participating in study abroad. Taught by the Director of the ES major. Environmental sciences first and second majors only. The course will be divided into various modules taught by experts on and off-campus. The modules will include environmental law, risk assessment, environmental ethics, advancements in environmental science, current topics of national interest in environmental science, and others. This course is required of all first majors and recommended of all second majors.
BIOS 44497  Independent Study  (3 Credit Hours)  
Protein S mediated TAM signaling in development: Using advanced transgenic mouse models, we have recently identified PROS1 expression in adult hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) (Zelentsova et al, Stem Cells, 2016). NSC proliferation and differentiation are essentially developmental processes that also occur postnatally, in the adult organism. PROS1 expression in adult NSC biology is multi-functional. We found that PROS1 functions as a stem cell quiescent factor, and maintains NSC quiescence through regulation of Notch. Later on, PROS1 is instructional for the birth of new neurons, in a process termed neurogenesis. Previously, we found that PROS1 is important for the development of blood vessels and for their healthy function in adulthood (Burstyn-Cohen et al, (2009) JCI). We are interested to learn more about the role of TAM signaling in the developing vasculature and the developing nervous system. Specifically I am comparing brain cells between knockout mice and control mice for Protein S in microglia to see if knockout in these cells affect the rate of neural stem cell regeneration and differentiation into astrocytes (it has already been shown that knockout of Protein S in neural stem cells do affect these rates). If you need me to, I can talk more about the specific procedure that I am responsible for.
BIOS 44498  Special Studies  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
Participation in this course requires the pre-approval of the College of Science. It offers students the opportunity to conduct independent research while participating in an off campus program of studies. When taught at UCD Dublin, Ireland the course description is: SCI 30010 Introduction to Scientific Research at UCD; This module introduces students to the principles of scientific research through attachment to an active research group in the College of Science. Students will become active members of a research group and work under the direction of the group's Principal Investigator. Students will learn about the research focus of the group and conduct independent research into the scientific literature of relevance to the group's activity. They will shadow a member of the research team in the laboratory and master one basic and one advanced laboratory skill. Based on the research activity of the research group, students will learn about developing a research hypothesis and designing experiments to test the hypothesis. Using data generated by themselves and/or the group, students will learn how to analyse the research data and, where appropriate, how to determine whether the differences between control and test data are significantly different from each other. Students will also learn how to write a scientific abstract and a scientific report as well how to make a scientific presentation.
BIOS 44625  Global Change, Ecosystems and Sustainability   (3 Credit Hours)  
The student acquires detailed knowledge of the impact of global change on biotic and abiotic processes/interactions that drive the abundance and distribution of organisms in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The content focuses mainly on anthropogenic modifications to the landscape and what that means for nature. The practical evaluation is two reflections written on topics that we discuss in the time allocated for the practical.
BIOS 44626  Restoration Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is aimed at undergraduate students interested in knowing the fundamentals of ecological restoration in terrestrial ecosystems degraded by physical, biological and chemical disturbances. Once the course has been passed, the student will have acquired methodologies to address the problem of restoring a terrestrial ecosystem with different states of degradation.
BIOS 44708  Grapevine Plant Science  (3 Credit Hours)  
Grapevine resources for wine and table grape production (rootstock and scion cultivars and varieties); ampelography; seasonal cycles; vine growth and metabolism.
BIOS 46490  Biological Sciences Honors Research Seminar  (1 Credit Hour)  
One or more seminars in a select discipline(s) will be offered every semester and is required of all participating in the biological sciences research honors program. The purpose of these disciplinary groups is to create a small learning community where students and practicing scientists can connect. The seminar learning goals are to support and develop each student's independence, scientific communication skills, critical review skills, and understanding of their research in the context of the larger field. As appropriate, the groups will meet as a whole to foster interdisciplinary habits of mind and skills. The seminar will have the added benefit of helping students prepare for graduate applications and fellowships.
Course may be repeated.  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Biological Sciences.

BIOS 46494  Directed Readings Environmental Sciences Opinion Editorials  (1 Credit Hour)  
The purpose of the Directed Readings Environmental Sciences Opinion Editorials course is to give students a better understanding of the process of writing Opinion Editorials about Environmental Sciences issues. There is already a long-standing tradition of experts writing Opinion Editorials to affect change but this can be a difficult medium for science professionals to master given the contrasting nature to the usual technical writing in the discipline. Students will meet one to two hours a week at a mutually convenient time and place to discuss existing, published Opinion Editorials and then use those discussions to revise and update the Opinion Editorials they have already produced during their participation in the ES major capstone course, Current Topics in Environmental Sciences. The revisions of their Opinion Editorials will take place in their own time.
BIOS 46497  Directed Readings  (1-3 Credit Hours)  
This course provides the opportunity for independent study through readings on specific topics in biological science. Readings are chosen with the advice of the supervising instructor. Students may not register for more than three credits per semester; only two credits per semester may be counted as BIOS elective credits by majors. Offered all semesters.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 48498  Undergraduate Research  (0-3 Credit Hours)  
Research in collaboration with members of the faculty. Evaluation of performance will be accomplished through regular discussions with the faculty member in charge of the course. Enrollment must be completed before the end of the first week each semester. Students may not register for more than three credits per semester; only two credits per semester may be counted as BIOS elective credits by majors. Offered all semesters.
Course may be repeated.  
BIOS 48499  Undergraduate Research  (0-10 Credit Hours)  
Research in collaboration with members of the faculty. Evaluation of performance will be accomplished through regular discussions with the faculty member in charge of the course. Enrollment must be completed before the end of the first week each semester. Students may not register for more than three credits per semester; only two credits per semester may be counted as BIOS elective credits by majors. Offered all semesters.
Course may be repeated.  

Sustainability (SUS) 

SUS 10010  The Climate Crisis: Intersections between Biology and Christianity   (3 Credit Hours)  
The Climate Crisis will explore how science and religion intersect in their analyses of climate change. We will emphasize two questions: (1) How has climate change over the past 30 years impacted biological organisms and ecosystems? (2) How ought Catholics respond to climate change, and how does such a response inform your own response? Readings will be drawn from a basic science textbook, writings from recent popes and from other Christian writers. The class sessions will be active, and focused on discussion and activities. This course is open to all, and is inspired by the UND mission that various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all forms of knowledge.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines  
SUS 10700  Sustainable Development in a Changing World   (3 Credit Hours)  
World population has doubled in the last 50 years, and sustainable development in the face of global change is the greatest challenge of our time. The class provides an overview of the origin, scale and complexity of the challenge. We focus on two specific areas (water and energy), where we, as engineers, scientists and professionals, have a particularly important role to play to address that challenge. We will learn simple quantitative tools to measure and evaluate environmental and resources problems. The course will conclude by discussing the tradeoffs, ethical dilemmas and opportunities involved in factoring sustainable development into policy and engineering decisions.
SUS 13200  Sustainability-Focused Writing & Rhetoric  (3 Credit Hours)  
Course Focus: Rhetoric and Our Common Home This Writing & Rhetoric course incorporates experiential learning and personal service to the Michiana community into a focused study of sustainability rhetoric. We'll consider challenges in stewardship of the earth, and also possibilities for motivating pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. We will explore how positive encounters with nature can help people to thrive as human beings and to claim their roles as engaged citizens, consciously striving to share what Pope Francis calls "our common home," the created world. In your academic writing and in our class as a whole, you'll take an active part in this community and strengthen your connection both to the land and to the people. In this Community-Engaged course, each student is required to complete at least 10 hours of service for our community partners, in lieu of some of the regular reading and writing work.
SUS 14700  Sustainable Development in a Changing World  (3-5 Credit Hours)  
SD1000 investigates the role of sustainability from a political, human, and natural science lens. The course covers perspectives of sustainability through a variety of sources and looks into how individuals can live sustainably (and what living sustainably means).
SUS 14704  Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges & Opportunities  (5 Credit Hours)  
Building on the introduction and broad overview of Sustainable Development (SD) provided in SD1000, SD1004 offers a detailed investigation of a selection of core issues in SD and of how these issues are addressed by key players. Utilising the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, the module is organised around five thematic clusters. These themes are explored from various disciplinary perspectives, explaining: (i) how each theme can be understood and what it entails in practice, (ii) who the key stakeholders are and the nature of their involvement, and (iii) how we can critically analyse the evidence in the context of SD and go beyond conventional paradigms and behavioural patterns. The module also highlights recurring, cross-cutting themes such as values, partnership, and diversity as ambitions of SD.
SUS 20010  Sustainability: Principles and Practices  (3 Credit Hours)  
This interdisciplinary course explores the challenges of environmental sustainability through social, economic, scientific, and ethical lenses. Taught jointly by professors from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, the course aims to instill broad, integrative and critical thinking about global environmental problems whose solutions will depend on multidisciplinary approaches. This gateway course to the Minor in Sustainability is open to all students interested in a deep exploration of these critical issues. Students considering the Minor in Sustainability are encouraged to take this course during their sophomore year.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 20054  Climate Physics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is a one-semester investigation of the processes leading to balance in the Earth's climate system. The course will study the physical processes driven by the laws of thermodynamics, convective hydrodynamics, and radiative energy transfer. The course is appropriate for undergraduate science as well as non-science majors and will count for science credit for science majors.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
SUS 20110  Creation, Ecology, Technology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Environmental degradation and climate change are among the most pressing scientific, economic, political, and social issues of our time. These problems seem to require technological solutions. But they also seem to be the result of the increasing technological sophistication of human societies. This means that the ecological crisis is inextricable from questions about the proper use of technology. This course will equip students to reflect on these interrelated challenges from a theological perspective. Drawing on scripture and other texts from the Jewish and Christian traditions (Genesis Rabbah, Augustine, Basil of Caesarea, Moses Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, and others), students will consider three distinct models of creation, the relationship between God and creation, and the place of human beings in creation. We will also reflect on the moral and theological significance of ecology and technology through some of the literary classics of the environmental movement (Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Wendell Berry). Finally, we will explore how local communities might develop virtues and practices that would constitute a theologically-informed response to our "eco-technological" crisis. By the end of the course, students will have deepened their capacity for theological reflection and will understand how theology provides a compelling framework for moral formation and collective action in response to some of today's most urgent global challenges.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKDT-Core Devlopment. Theology  
SUS 20111  Planet Earth  (3 Credit Hours)  
An introduction to the Earth, its processes, composition, evolution, and structure. The course introduces the student to mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, oceanography, surficial processes, geophysics, environmental geology, and planetology. Lecture and laboratory meetings.
Corequisites: CE 21110  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
SUS 20200  Introduction to Ecological Horticulture  (1 Credit Hour)  
Globally, the agricultural sector is the largest cause of habitat loss, aquifer depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions. The need to transform agricultural systems to meet the needs of the world's growing population while addressing these ecological impacts is one of the 21st century's grand challenges. This course will include principles, concepts and practices of sustainable food production including biodiversity, soil quality, and nutrient, water, pest and disease management, while focusing on a production culture that is environmentally regenerative. Every class meeting will involve experiential learning that will build students' skills in growing healthy food in a way that protects and restores the earth. This class will also address the environmental and social consequences of industrial farming and public health impacts of quality food accessibility in communities.
Prerequisites: (BIOS 10161 and BIOS 10162) or (BIOS 20201 and BIOS 20202)  
SUS 20203  Design Matters: Introduction to Design Thinking   (3 Credit Hours)  
Design thinking has emerged as a powerful methodology to catalyze breakthrough innovation for an array of complex business, social and humanitarian challenges. Business and industry have embraced design thinking as one of the most potent drivers of innovation, growth and prosperity for its’ deeply human-centered approach to problem solving. During this fast paced, hybrid, hands-on journey through the design thinking process, students will immerse themselves in a series of overlapping modules that introduce the various phases in the design thinking process and familiarize students with the tools and techniques. This course will unleash your creativity and ingenuity in addressing problems through a human centered framework and mindset, applying this methodology to a vast array of human-centered problems, and complementing disciplines from science and engineering to business and the liberal arts. This course fulfills a Core Curriculum Liberal Arts 4 Way of Knowing (Arts) as well as the gateway to the Collaborative Innovation minor and cross-listed with other minors including: Sustainability, Computing & Digital Technologies, Education, Schooling & Society, Entrepreneurship and Anthropology.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKAL - Core Art & Literature  
SUS 20204  Environmental Chemistry  (3 Credit Hours)  
Discussion of basic chemical processes occurring in the environment, particularly those relating to the impact of humanity's technological enterprise.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
SUS 20300  Local Flora  (1 Credit Hour)  
This is a field-based course that explores the rich biodiversity of plant life in northern Indiana. Through hands-on experience in a diverse array of field sites, you will be introduced to various plant communities and learn to identify the plants within them. Plant communities and species distributions reflect patterns and processes as ancient as plate tectonics and as recent as glaciers and European settlement. They reflect the influence of temperature and moisture patterns as well as competition within and among plant species. They are shaped by interactions with animals, insects, and disease, as well as the actions of humans. Plants are the foundation of every terrestrial habitat, but are often overlooked. By developing a greater familiarity with plant communities and skills for identification, you will be better prepared to appreciate natural habitats, participate in conservation work, and conduct field research.
SUS 20309  Data in a Changing Planet: environmental data and sustainability  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course presents an introduction to the socio-technical study of knowledge infrastructures in the context of a rising quest for environmental sustainability. It examines the critical role of data in supporting scientific research, environmental action, and sustainability efforts. The goal is to critically discuss the central place of data in a changing world where the proliferation of new digital technologies supports new capabilities for sensing, sharing, processing, and visualizing rapidly accelerating environmental change. This course will bring forward the interconnected technical, cultural, historical, political, and social efforts that make environmental data possible. Applying socio-technical lenses to environmental data, we will go through the different stages of an environmental data workflow, all the way from data collection to visualization and reporting. The course will pay special attention to the local and global entities, past and present, that environmental data supports. We will focus on the implications of digital technologies for participatory and citizen sciences, open data, and data governance in the environmental space. Leaning on these critical tools, we will revise ongoing environmental struggles and data-fueled sustainability efforts to assess the implications of data in ongoing and future attempts to restore and reinvent the integrity of our planet and its life-supporting systems. The course will resort to practical examples using environmental datasets and a network of socio-environmental practitioners who will present selected topics throughout the semester.
SUS 20350  Sustainability at Notre Dame and in the Holy Cross Charism  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course will address sustainability in the context of the local academic community and its institutions. In light of the recent papal encyclical, Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home, this course will provide students interdisciplinary opportunities to explore the challenges of sustainability and to develop collaborative strategies for making our common campus homes more sustainable. This course will be offered concurrently at ND, SMC, and HCC, and will be co-taught by faculty from all three campuses. It will meet in rotation on each of the three campuses once per week for two hours. Students will be invited to examine the course materials in conversation with the mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross through immersion at each of the campuses and encounters with the sisters, brothers, and priests of Holy Cross and with sustainability professionals.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKDT-Core Devlopment. Theology  
SUS 20626  Theology and Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
We live and act in an ecological theater created by God that includes all other living organisms and their ecosystems within the biosphere. Urgent questions abound today about what our relationship is to the rest of the natural world. What is our place in the world? This course investigates the Christian understanding of God as Creator, creation, and our human relationship to God, one another, and the natural world. We will examine the theology of creation beginning with Scripture and the Creed and progressing through the Early Church, Medieval, and modern time periods. We will also discuss theological anthropology in terms of our identity and mission within our ecological home. To this end, we will apply Pope Francis' notion of integral ecology to the specific case of the Great Lakes watershed in which we live, examining topics such as biodiversity, water, agriculture, and energy. As ecological citizens and creatures of God, we will also address the connection between liturgy and ecology. This course will have a special appeal to students interested in the intersection of theology and science, especially ecology and environmental studies.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKDT-Core Devlopment. Theology  
SUS 20650  (Un)Sustainable Philosophies  (3 Credit Hours)  
The aim of this course is to ask how our ways of thinking about nature, material things, and ourselves supports and/or obstructs our ability to engage in more sustainable environmental practices. Our questions will include, but are not limited to: What is nature and how are humans connected to, distinct from, or part of this nature? What does it mean to be sustainable? If our aim is to exist more sustainably, how should we think about nature to help achieve this end? What is waste, exactly? Whose way of life is being preserved by our present sustainability efforts in the West? How does gender, race, and culture shape how one is affected by (un)sustainable practices? To what extent are the formal structures of oppression conserved across sexism, racism, and environmental destruction? This course will draw heavily on ecofeminist philosophy to help answer these important questions.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKSP - Core 2nd Philosophy  
SUS 20651  (Un)Sustainable Philosophies  (3 Credit Hours)  
The aim of this course is to ask how our ways of thinking about nature, material things, and ourselves supports and/or obstructs our ability to engage in more sustainable environmental practices. Our questions will include, but are not limited to: What is nature and how are humans connected to, distinct from, or part of this nature? What does it mean to be sustainable? If our aim is to exist more sustainably, how should we think about nature to help achieve this end? What is waste, exactly? Whose way of life is being preserved by our present sustainability efforts in the West? How does gender, race, and culture shape how one is affected by (un)sustainable practices? To what extent are the formal structures of oppression conserved across sexism, racism, and environmental destruction? This course will draw heavily on ecofeminist philosophy to help answer these important questions.
SUS 20666  Environment, Food, & Society  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is an introduction to environmental sociology, the sociology of food, and Catholic social teachings on creation, solidarity, human dignity and rights, and social justice as they relate to the environment and food issues. The course has two directly linked central purposes. One is to learn descriptive and analytical sociological perspectives on environmental and food issues, as well as related matters of agriculture, globalization, consumerism, rural America, health, social movements, and human futures. A second purpose is to learn Catholic social teachings on the environment and food issues, in order to deepen our capacity to reflect normatively from a particular moral perspective about crucial social problems. Achieving these two purposes will require us recurrently to engage the sociological and the Catholic perspectives and contributions in mutually informative and critical conversation. This is fundamentally a sociology course, but one in which Catholic social ethics stand front and center. In other words, this course will engage in multiple, ongoing exercises of "reflexivity," engaging the sociological imagination, issues of environment and food, and Catholic social teachings - to consider what possible fruitful understandings each may provide for and about the others. Students need not be Catholic (or even religious) to benefit from this course, but everyone must be open to learning about and reflecting upon Catholic ethical teachings as they relate to the environment and food. This course will explore a number of interconnected substantive issues, descriptively, analytically, and normatively. These will include technological development, energy consumption, global warming/climate change, neoliberal capitalism, interests of nation states, corporate power, the role of mass media, population dynamics, the maldistribution of wealth, political decision-making, the status of agrarianism, human dignity, the common good, the option for the poor, the universal destiny of the earth's goods, creation care, and the moral goods of solidarity, subsidiarity, and participation, among other relevant topics.
Corequisites: SUS 21666  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines  
SUS 20760  Witnessing Climate Change  (3 Credit Hours)  
The Earth's climate is changing faster than expected. Industrialization, fossil fuel use, consumption, and exploitation are radically transforming the planet we live on. In "Witnessing Climate Change," we work to make sense of the science behind this planetary crisis and practice writing about it for the public. This is a large, writing-intensive, public-facing course that engages key contemporary issues and core ways of knowing from a values-oriented perspective, through large lectures and small group workshops. Readings include Jeff VanderMeer, Nukariik, Barry Lopez, Aldo Leopold, Wanda Coleman, J.M. Coetzee, and St. Francis, among others. Find out more at witnessingclimatechange.nd.edu. Please note: for this class students are required to sign up for a discussion section (ENGL 22760).
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKAL - Core Art & Literature, WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines, WKIN - Core Integration, WRIT - Writing Intensive  
SUS 20888  Science, Theology, and Creation  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course investigates the Christian understanding of creation and how this doctrine relates to contemporary scientific issues. We will examine the development of the doctrine beginning with Scripture and the Creed and progressing through the early Church period into the Medieval and Scholastic era, focusing on the concepts of creation ex nihilo, creation continua, divine Providence, and divine action in the world. With the rise of the modern era, we will analyze the origin of and principles involved with the purported conflict between science and theology. We will bring the doctrine of creation into dialogue with three contemporary issues in the sciences: cosmology, evolution, and ecology. Integral to this course will be the relationship and response of humankind to God and to creation. This course will have a special appeal to students interested in the intersection of science and theology.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKDT-Core Devlopment. Theology  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 21203  Design Thinking Lab  (0 Credit Hours)  
This once weekly lab session is a mandatory requirement for students enrolled in the Design Thinking course. These sessions focus on practical application of the topics and materials presented in class with students working in teams to employ techniques and methodology on assigned projects. This hands-on lab will having students exploring the research, brainstorming, ideation, iterative prototyping and presentation techniques that lead to creative innovation and disruptive breakthroughs applicable to students of any discipline.
Corequisites: SUS 20203  
SUS 21666  Environment, Food & Society Lab  (1 Credit Hour)  
This is the 1-credit lab associated with 20666, Environment, Food, and Society.
Corequisites: SUS 20666  
SUS 23005  Introduction to Complex Problem Solving in the Public Sphere   (3 Credit Hours)  
The central aim of the course is to explore the tensions between technical problem-solving and the public interest as we move into an increasingly technological future - e.g. Smart Cities, climate adaptation. While this is in some ways the perennial broader question of how science integrates into society, we are focusing on issues particular to community planning and development as more and more tasks, from transportation to water management, are informed, if not controlled by nonhuman processes or algorithmic rules. For example, if we have ‘smart sewers' and can control where the water goes during a flood, do we minimize property-value damage or the number of residences impacted? If climate change modeling indicates a new 30-year flood plain, do individuals have the right to not be moved out of harm's way? What are the moral and public interest questions embedded in these decision points? In asking these questions, we revisit this tension from the mid-20 th century to set the stage and examine the interface of these issues in complex settings, including challenges with: defining the public interest, power and civic agency, measurement and data quality, objectives, variables, and constraints in optimization problems, and contextually/culturally situating ‘optimal' solutions.
SUS 23201  Art and Social Change  (1 Credit Hour)  
Students will work with a South Bend neighborhood to explore a structural challenge and, with the guidance of a local artist, respond to this challenge alongside community members in creating an artistic piece that serves the good of the neighborhood. This seminar will also provide a "hands-on" experience as students are exposed to practices of participatory research methods and the art-making process.
SUS 23911  Franciscan Land Experiences: Studying and Working in the Spirit of Laudato Si’  (1 Credit Hour)  
This fall break service learning course combines hands-on outdoor work experiences with community living and study in the spirit of Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si'. The course is held at the Franciscan Life Process Center, a Franciscan retreat center founded by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist and located on 230 acres of rural land outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The center is a small working farm and outdoor education center with three miles of nature trails, a restored native prairie, animal barns, rain gardens, an orchard and vegetable gardens. Students will stay in simple rooms in the retreat center building and have access to the kitchen, chapel, library, nature trails, outdoor stations of the cross and outdoor rosary walk. Prayer/liturgical opportunities will be available. During the week students will work outside on environmental projects such as building a rain garden and assisting with native prairie restoration, as well as with the farm and animals. Students will also be guided in learning how to cook meals with homegrown foods. Daily seminar-style meetings complement the outdoor work and focus on readings from Laudato Si', as well as Catholic and non-Catholic writers who reflect on the nature of creation and the unique role of humans in caring for it in today’s world. The course could be a valuable experience for those majoring in both technical and non-technical disciplines, as well as those interested in social concerns.
SUS 23918  The Costs of Fast Fashion  (1 Credit Hour)  
Taught by a veteran of the global apparel industry, this one-credit practical course explores “fast fashion.” This revolutionary approach to clothing manufacturing is taking the world by storm, based on unimaginably low prices that make clothing, essentially, disposable. We will together focus on the costs of this approach to fashion, starting with fast fashion brands themselves. With prices so low, how is this business model even viable? How does this affect what had previously been associated with the industry of fashion? And, importantly, what is the impact of fast fashion brands’ severe cost-cutting on the people who make our clothes? What other externalities – like pollution, waste, and damage to ecosystems – come into play? And how can we begin to calculate the true cost of this explosive mode of global apparel production? In workshops and class discussions, students will learn the unique way in which costing in fashion’s global supply chains is typically done. They will also engage in hands-on, real-life calculations of how living wage increases for the people making our clothes would impact the prices brands and consumers pay for a t-shirt or pair of jeans. Armed with their new skills and knowledge, students will be well-equipped to envision innovative solutions that can deliver a transformed and more hopeful future for global fashion.
SUS 24874  Contemplative Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
In his encyclical on the environment, Laudato si', Pope Francis wrote that "more than in ideas or concepts as such, I am interested in how such a spirituality [an ecological spirituality] can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world. A commitment this lofty cannot be sustained by doctrine alone, without a spirituality capable of inspiring us, without an ‘interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity.'" This course will explore the resources for such a "contemplative ecology" in both Christian writers and non- Christian ones, with a focus on the United States. There is a rich tradition in the United States of writing on nature—often with the intent of inculcating environmental sensitivity and promoting an environmental ethics. Many of these writings operate by inviting one into a deeper, contemplative stance of experiencing and relating to the natural world of which we are a part. While some of these authors (Thomas Merton, Denise Levertov) are Christian (Catholic, in these two cases), others are less formally associated with a Christian church (John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson). Yet even in some of the latter cases, there often is evidence that, minimally, a "biblical imagination" inspires their writing—just as great Christian mystics through the ages had a profoundly biblical imagination, which shaped how they prayed and how they taught. There is, thus, a rich opportunity in the United States for a "contemplative ecology" that is dialogical and ecumenical, even reaching out to those of other faiths, to agnostics and the "spiritual but not religious," while also exploring Christian doctrinal themes and spiritual practices with roots going back to the Desert Fathers and Mothers, and beyond that to the Bible itself. This course is intended as an initial exploration of this terrain. It aims to be integrative in nature, covering works in theology and Christian spirituality, but also from the genres of nature-writing, poetry and film; and it will have an experiential component that will take advantage of the beauty of the Irish countryside. It concludes with a close reading Laudato si' and Querida Amazonia, enriched by the consideration of resources unearthed earlier in the course, in order to explore the possibilities for a distinctively American, but also Catholic, way of receiving and implementing the pope's vision.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKDT-Core Devlopment. Theology  
SUS 25000  Introduction to Sustainable Development  (1 Credit Hour)  
The current generation of colleges students will face a host of challenges in their lifetimes, including a global population that will potentially reach 9 billion by the early 2040s, depleting resources, and declining ecosystems. Additionally, the world is currently experiencing the worst global pandemic it has faced in over a century, whose effects will linger for years to come while foreshadowing the potential impact of other impending shocks. If current economic growth continues in a "business as usual" framework, future generations will face an increased dearth of decent jobs, growing social divisions, and devastating threats to the environment. This course will explore this confluence of issues and help students to consider a new roadmap for economic development and human flourishing that respects the dignity of every individual and the environment. Readings and lectures will look at the intersection of economic growth, industry, food security, water scarcity, health, religion, innovation science, and climate change. Case studies and real world examples will link theory to policy and practice. A major component of this course will be in-class discussions and case studies that will push students to think critically and debate the important questions within the study of sustainable development. The objective of these discussions will be to a) explore the interconnectedness of many of these issues and their varying degrees of impact on the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor or marginalized; b) understand different models of governance at international, national, and local levels that are trying to work through these issues; and c) bridge theory to policy and practice. This course requires active student participation in class as well as group projects and quizzes to gauge how well students are absorbing the material.
SUS 30009  Writing the Anthropocene  (3 Credit Hours)  
We face worldwide ecological catastrophe, accelerating global warming, and political upheaval: this is the Anthropocene. What problems does the Anthropocene pose to narrative? What storytelling skills and rhetorical strategies do journalists, scientists, memoirists, bloggers, and philosophers need in order to adequately address and communicate about the epochal crisis we all face? Through journalism, essays, and other media, this course will explore the question - in practice - of what it means to write the Anthropocene.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKAL - Core Art & Literature, WRIT - Writing Intensive  
SUS 30010  Writing the Anthropocene  (3 Credit Hours)  
We face worldwide ecological catastrophe, accelerating global warming, and political upheaval: this is the Anthropocene. What problems does the Anthropocene pose to narrative? What storytelling skills and rhetorical strategies do journalists, scientists, memoirists, bloggers, and philosophers need in order to adequately address and communicate about the epochal crisis we all face? Through journalism, essays, and other media, this course will explore the question - in practice - of what it means to write the Anthropocene.
SUS 30027  Appalachia: Land and People  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course tells the history of Appalachia through human's relationships with the natural environment. The class starts in geologic time with the formation of the mountains and spools forward through ebb and flow of Native American homelands, the colonial wars and the fur trade, the American invasion, the growth of an agrarian economy centered on corn, pigs, and whiskey, the arrival of the railroads and the extractive industries of coal and timber, and finally the difficulties wrought by de-industrialization, climate change, and the opioid epidemic. The central characters throughout are the men and women who wrested their living from the mountains and the hollows, and their struggles as a series of political, economic, and ecological transformations dispossessed them. Over time, Appalachia was impoverished and made marginal; in the eyes of many, the place and the people were deemed exploitable and expendable. This class seeks to understand how Appalachia became synonymous with grinding poverty and environmental degradation. The class argues that ecosystems and people advanced and declined in tandem and that history shows neither were destined for impoverishment. This course is intended to give current Notre Dame students who have or who might visit and volunteer in Appalachia the historical perspective they may need to fully appreciate the region's problems and potential.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 30105  Sustainable America  (3 Credit Hours)  
This CAD course looks back to 1850, when urban industrial America began, and looks forward to 2050, when Notre Dame promises to be carbon neutral, to critically engage competing visions of individual, communal, and ecological flourishing. Students explore how US political culture, the discipline of American Studies, and Catholic social teaching have clashed and converged over the proposed solutions to poverty, racism, and environmental degradation. After an introduction to American Studies, we turn to visions of the good life in foundational US political documents (the Declaration, the Constitution, and Inaugural Addresses) and in Catholic tradition (scriptural passages, theological reflections, and papal encyclicals, from Rerum Novarum to Laudato Si'). Then the course's three main sections consider, in turn, economic equity, racial justice, and environmental restoration. Each section ends with a "faith in action" case study and a Take-a-Stand essay. In the concluding section of the class, Learning Groups present their joint proposal, and, during the exam period, each student submits his or her own integrative essay. That essay critically and constructively engages at least three Catholic sources as the student defends a position on one of the issues—poverty, racism, or environmental degradation—and identifies what American Studies might learn from the Catholic Tradition and what the Catholic Tradition might learn from American Studies.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines, WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30111  Green Japan  (3 Credit Hours)  
Around 1600, Japan closed itself off for 250 years, neither importing food nor exporting people. It was, in short, an almost hermetic ecological system, and yet, instead of outstripping their natural resources, Japanese people managed to attain a level of well-being above that of most other people. Some scholars have acclaimed this era an "eco-utopia" while others point to problems with this view. This course explores the interplay between political, social, economic, and ecological forces asking whether Tokugawa Japan modeled resilience.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 30112  Germany and the Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
Germany is globally recognized as a leader in the fields of renewable energy, sustainable development, and environmental protection. But how did this come about? In this course, we will examine the roles that culture and history play in shaping human attitudes towards the environment. Our case studies will range over two centuries, from damming projects in the Rhine valley at the start of the nineteenth century to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster at the end of the twentieth. We will study novels, films, and philosophical essays alongside works by leading environmental historians. Over the course of the semester, students will develop a richer understanding of German environmentalism that also includes an awareness of its dark sides, such as the role that nature conservancy played within Nazi ideology.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKAL - Core Art & Literature, WRIT - Writing Intensive  
SUS 30113  Sports and the Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
With help from athletes such as Billie Jean King, Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Megan Rapinoe, Americans are growing accustomed to thinking about sports as embedded in the politics of gender, class, race, sexuality, and the nation. Consider the variety of places where sports happen, however, and the ways we develop and consume those places, and it becomes apparent that sports are also environmental in significant and complex ways. This course will examine the environmental politics of sports from conservation to climate change through the lenses of history and cultural studies. Course content will range from 19th century hunting, Indigenous surfing, and BASE jumping, to pick-up basketball, pro stadiums, and Notre Dame Athletics. Topical sections include outdoor sports and conservation, mountain sports and public land use, parks and recreation, stadiums and environmental justice, sports and climate change, and sustainability in the NCAA. Course requirements include regular reading and discussion, midterm and final essays, and a research project on a topic of the student's choice.
SUS 30131  Energy Systems for Decarbonization  (3 Credit Hours)  
“Energy Systems for Decarbonization” is a lecture-based class primarily targeted at undergraduates. It is designed to introduce you to our energy system as it currently exists, then to the work we have ahead of us to transform it for justice and decarbonization to address climate change and other issues. Energy systems are crucial drivers of both social and environmental outcomes. Structural transformation of both supply and demand side energy systems is necessary for climate change mitigation, with a number of other major implications that will vary based on the transition approach. Transforming these systems in a way that centers justice and human dignity is possible, but not guaranteed. This course will cover both supply and demand-side energy systems, including fossil, nuclear, and renewable fuels, and buildings, transportation, industry, and infrastructure energy uses, with an emphasis on what exists today and what would need to happen for decarbonization to proceed. The course will also address policy and emphasize cobenefits and disbenefits of specific paths forward, for US and international contexts.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKST-Core Science & Technology  
SUS 30160  Corporate Sustainability Accounting and Reporting  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course students will learn about current and emerging U.S. and international corporate sustainability accounting and reporting frameworks, the differences between mandatory and voluntary corporate sustainability disclosures, and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ecosystem. The course includes but is not limited to, these topics: factors influencing stakeholders' demand for sustainability information, shareholder primacy and stakeholder capitalism, single vs. double materiality, accounting for greenhouse gas emissions, climate risk, ESG metrics and raters, independent third-party assurance of corporate sustainability information, current and emerging corporate practices that link executive compensation to ESG metrics, and an overview of how investment strategies deliver societal and environmental impact. Students will interact with guest speakers, participate in lively debates, and will analyze and discuss case studies, research papers, and business press articles. The course concludes with team-based capstone project presentations.
SUS 30165  Rising to the Global Housing Crisis  (3 Credit Hours)  
Our world is grappling with a global housing crisis. With demonstrated impacts on educational, economic and health outcomes, adequate housing lifts up individuals and entire communities. Still, more than 1.8 billion people around the world lack adequate housing, and 150 million more are living in homelessness. These numbers are tragically on the rise with an estimated 15 million people forcibly evicted every year and a growing number of individuals -- an estimated 100 million at present -- displaced by conflict, disaster or economic desperation. Driven by economic expansion, growing inequality, and a failure to contend with root causes, rising to the housing crisis will require our best thinking…and solutions. This course examines the scope and implications of the global housing crisis, both in the United States as well as across the Global South. Our discussions will grapple with the complex issues underpinning one of society’s most vital but overlooked social goods. We will dissect the entangled root causes, including growing urbanization and coastal migration, tracing the role of federal policies that facilitated the commoditization of housing as an asset – rather than a basic human right. We further consider whether the historical failure to properly account for disaster risk and environmental impacts may be a deadly accelerant of a housing crisis now unfolding in a rapidly changing climate. Our collective learning will center on case studies from different contexts, using student-selected housing innovations to collectively shape the locales we explore globally and diversify our perspectives on housing struggles. The course will demonstrate the application of systems thinking and the engagement of wide-ranging disciplinary perspectives from fields like political science, anthropology, finance, law, economics, architecture, urban planning and engineering. These are applied with a solutions-oriented perspective, identifying the bright spots that can deliver affordable housing solutions that restore dignity, promote sustainability and build resiliency.
SUS 30167  Reimagining the Global Corporation: Embracing Sustainability  (3 Credit Hours)  
Contemporary corporate CEOs are facing stiff social, political, and market headwinds to rethink the core purpose and values of their corporations. It’s no longer sufficient to simply ensure year-on-year profitability. Shareholder value is no longer the sole indicator of good performance. Corporations are increasingly expected to demonstrate their broader value to society and to the common good. They are expected to broadly embrace environmental, social, and governance principles and incorporate them into the core fabric of their business. They are expected to engage a broad spectrum of stakeholders and be held to ever-higher, more diverse standards of accountability. Why is this happening? What is driving it? How is it changing the core identity, purpose, and values of global corporations? How is it changing the overall corporate structure and performance? How is it changing the relationship between companies, shareholders, clients, consumers, and broader civil society? How is it changing the performance metrics that companies must present to investors and diverse stakeholders? These are the central questions we will grapple with in this class. These are broad and complex questions. We will delve into the core dynamics driving this change process, so you can see the connections between what is happening in the boardroom and how it affects the factory floor and global supply chains. Our goal is to expose you to dramatic tectonic changes underway that are redefining the role of the CEO and global business, but are not presented in the popular press. The course will focus in sequence on: 1) evolving corporate ethics and norms; 2) corporate systems and structure; and 3) key management challenges, analytical metrics, and frameworks.
SUS 30174  American Wilderness  (3 Credit Hours)  
How is a national park different from a national wilderness area, a city park, the lakes at Notre Dame, or your back yard? Why are some considered wilder than others, and why is wilderness such an attractive idea? Writers, historians, painters, photographers, and politicians have described American landscapes as wild to great effect, in concert with identities of gender, class, race, and nation. This class will explore how the idea of wilderness - and the places associated with that idea - has developed during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will examine how wilderness has supported the growth of a national identity but largely failed to recognize the diversity of the American people. Course themes include: 1) developing the wilderness idea; 2) national parks and the problem of wilderness; 3) wilderness experience and politics; and 4) wilderness narratives. Readings will range from Henry David Thoreau and John Muir to Edward Abbey and Jon Krakauer, and there will be a strong visual culture component. For their final project students will choose a wild place of their own to interpret.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 30202  International Conservation and Development Politics  (3 Credit Hours)  
Conserving the earth's rich biological heritage while enhancing the well-being of some of the world's poorest people stands as a critical global challenge. This course examines this complex issue using the lens of political science and related fields such as political ecology, gender studies, and sustainability science. It will demonstrate how insights and approaches from these areas of scholarship can help understand and address the twin problems of biodiversity loss and poverty in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Examples will focus on forest and wildlife conservation and management. This course will be of interest to students from a wide range of natural and social science disciplines.
SUS 30211  Modern Materials: The Sustainability of Designed Objects  (3 Credit Hours)  
This interdisciplinary course explores the relationship between the production of material goods and their environmental impacts. Modules are designed around specific industries, such as fashion, electronics, furniture, construction, and packaging, allowing students to examine the unique technical, economic, and social conditions in each category. Students will trace products back to raw materials and forward to their "end-of-life" (whether that be re-manufacture, regeneration, or landfill), while employing various techniques for assessing impact. Students will hear from sustainability professionals about their approaches and visit production facilities to see firsthand how goods are made. Significant time in the course is given to an independent project in the West Lake Design Studio, allowing individuals to apply their unique backgrounds and skills to the teardown and redesign of a particular product or service.
SUS 30251  (Un)natural Disasters  (1 Credit Hour)  
What does "disaster" mean? In this class, we seek to question, challenge, and comprehend the socio-historical, economic, cultural, spatial, and geopolitical components of "natural" disasters. How are some events deemed a disaster? How do communities recover and reconstruct after events of disaster? As disasters become more frequent and devastating due to global climate change, growing economic precarity and political instability, it is imperative to understand the multifaceted socio-ecological nature of disasters. First, we seek to examine how certain communities are more disaster-prone than others, and how these vulnerabilities to risk, hazard, and exposure have historical, political, and social underpinnings. These same underpinnings impact how people live through disaster, as well as the aftermath that follows the "event"; so much so that oftentimes, it is more accurate to speak of disaster "processes" rather than finite events. This one-credit module will unpack many of these questions alongside critical case studies, drawing from an interdisciplinary array of approaches, ranging from history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, geography, and urban planning. These approaches cover a broad range of methodologies and theoretical approaches that will inform and enrich our critical thought toolbox and, I hope, will prove to be useful even outside the classroom.
SUS 30300  Introduction to Environmental Engineering  (3 Credit Hours)  
An introduction to the fundamental concepts and principles to qualitatively and quantitatively assess complex natural and engineering systems relevant to environmental engineering. This course serves to assist students to identify, evaluate and solve problems involved in the control of water, air, and land pollution and challenges for environmental sustainability. The course introduces how fundamental science and engineering methodology is applied to solve real world environmental problems. This is the first course in the environmental engineering track.
SUS 30312  General Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
The study of populations and communities of organisms and their interrelations with the environment. Fall and spring.
SUS 30313  Indigenous Environments  (3 Credit Hours)  
The ancestors interrelated with the environments we live in today and will interact with in the future. This course explores indigenous cultures and perspectives on the importance of traditional knowledge and the environment. In this seminar-style course, we will learn about how indigenous groups in the Americas, both past and present, think about the world around us and how their cultural livelihoods are threatened by climate change and ongoing development. The goal is to provide students with a strong foundation in indigenous environmental issues. We will cover a range of topics that intersect with traditional ecological knowledge, land use and perceptions, reciprocity, sense of place, memory-making, and environmental justice.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30319  Environmental Change and the Contemporary Human Niche  (3 Credit Hours)  
The rate and expanse of human-caused global environmental change is unmatched in our evolutionary history. It is widely argued that these actions have produced enough change that the stable conditions found in the Holocene epoch of the last 11,000 years are over and we are transitioning to a new Earth Systems trajectory and epoch dubbed the Anthropocene - the time when humans are the single largest driver of geologic change. In this course, we will seek to understand what characteristics of the contemporary human niche - the myriad socio-ecological practices, policies, institutions and lifeways that comprise how humans live their everyday lives around the globe - are producing the Anthropocene and what the implications are for different groups of people. We will pay specific attention to the distribution of global environmental change and corresponding risk to human health, historical and contemporary contributions to the production of this change, and what the implications are for human health, equality, and environmental justice. The focus of this course is more towards breadth than depth - we will sample and discuss many topics but will be unable to fully dive into each in a holistic way. But, this is by design, as the point is for us to develop a mutually negotiated and understood functional language and base understanding of the topics such that after this course you are empowered to engage the topics most compelling to you and have the skills requisite to effectively dive in.
SUS 30402  The Geopolitics of Energy  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course examines how oil and natural gas have shaped international relations from the early twentieth century to the present, with a particular focus on conflict. It begins by introducing students to the fundamentals of global energy production, consumption and trade, and then briefly surveys the political history of oil as it relates to the great powers. The course then moves on to contemporary issues, including the political significance of "fracking" technology, the role of the United States in protecting Persian Gulf oil, and the extent to which Russia's dominant natural gas position might translate into political influence in Europe. These and other topics are examined through numerous theoretical lenses, including theories of resource conflict, economic interdependence, political coercion, and petro-aggression.
SUS 30408  Global Environmental Issues and Policy  (3 Credit Hours)  
Fracking, Water Wars, Deforestation of the Amazon, Droughts, Global Warming, Climate Change, Unsustainable Agriculture, Hurricanes, Pollution, Species Extinction, Invasive Species, Poaching, Overfishing, Depletion of Fossil Fuels, Overpopulation, Wastes, Ocean Acidification, Wildfires, Oil Spills, Overpopulation, Overconsumption, Land degradation - the list goes on! These complex environmental problems are occurring constantly and rapidly; their consequences are global in scope and transcend national boundaries; and they embody the complex relationship between humans and the natural environment. This course is about developing an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationship between humans (society) and the environment. We will examine the historical and contemporary environmental challenges of global concern, the underlying role of humans, and attempts by society to address, mitigate, and adapt to such complex problems through policies, institutions, and governance. We will pay attention to the roles of different state and non-state actors in environmental policy making. Overall, students will draw from both the social and natural sciences to develop a deeper understanding of how society - through consumption, culture, politics, power, ethics, values, economic growth, location, etc - contribute to, or solve, environmental problems.
SUS 30500  Geomorphology for Eng & Sci  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course introduces students to principles and processes of landform evolution with emphasis on large-scale Earth processes, volcanic & tectonic geomorphology, weathering processes & soils and mass movement. Processes and landform evolution in fluvial, desert, glacial, coastal and karst environments are investigated, and the effects on human structures and developments are explored. The course concludes with a discussion on the impact of climate change on Earth's surface features.
SUS 30559  Environmental Economics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course introduces the role of economics in environmental issues and in the formation of environmental policy. Topics covered include choice, externalities, market failure, cost-benefit and environmental valuation analyses, and climate change. The course aims to encourage students to think about pressing environmental issues in economic terms and equip students with the diverse set of economics tools to contribute to the evaluation and implementation of wise policy choices. There is no prior knowledge of economics required, and students will have the opportunity to learn basic economic principles and frameworks that guide decision-making regarding environmental issues.
SUS 30592  The Indigenous Southwest  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course seeks to explore connections between environment and culture change by introducing students to the diversity of cultures living in the Southwest. We begin by learning about indigenous people living in the Southwest today including the Pueblo peoples (e.g., Hopi, Zuni, Santa Clara, Cochiti, Acoma), Navajo, Ute, and Tohono O’odham using ethnography and contemporary native histories. We will then travel back in time to learn about the complex histories of these people, particularly the ancestral Pueblo, to places like Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, the Rio Grande, the Mimbres Valley, and the Phoenix Basin. Our explorations will cover from the earliest Paleoindians (11,500 years ago) to the 13th century Migrations to European contact, the establishment of Spanish Missions, and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680-1692. We will then bring this discussion full circle to today. Along the way, we will explore the impact of large-scale, long-term processes such as the adoption of agriculture, village formation, religious change, migration, and warfare on the rich historical landscape of the Southwest.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30632  American Environmental History  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is an introduction to the new field of environmental history. While many people think "The Environment" suddenly became important with the first "Earth Day" in 1970 (or a few years earlier), environmental issues have in fact long been of central importance. In recent decades historians have begun actively to explore the past sensibilities of various groups toward their surroundings and fellow creatures. They have also increasingly paid attention to the ways environmental factors have affected history. This course will range widely, from world history to the story of a single river, from arguments about climate change to the significance of pink flamingos, and will survey a number of types of history including cultural, demographic, religious, and animal.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30668  The History of Energy in American Life  (3 Credit Hours)  
Please see description in HIST 30998
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30714  Sustainable Communities & Global Business  (3 Credit Hours)  
Effective, ethical business leadership in a global context requires the ability to understand and synthesize inputs from a variety of sources, to discern information from multiple, often conflicting perspectives, and to communicate complex data and information clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholders. Through reading and writing, discussion, and engagement with classmates and outside experts including international faculty, students will examine the intersections of sustainability and global business, with a focus on the role of business decision making and action in the interrelated areas of sustainable environmental and social impact. The topic is more salient than ever, as communities around the globe ask whether the pandemic and related economic crisis will prompt a new vision for society that focuses on justice and sustainability, or will simply continue to exacerbate existing inequities. The course complements courses on campus that address sustainable development, but differs in its focus on mainstream companies in advanced economies, and their engagement with community stakeholders. Through written work, reading, and exploration of key concepts, the students will work toward their culminating assignment, a research paper that presents an informed perspective on a specific topic of their choosing within the course theme.
SUS 30715  Sustainable Communities & Global Business  (3 Credit Hours)  
Effective, ethical business leadership in a global context requires the ability to understand and synthesize inputs from a variety of sources, to discern information from multiple, often conflicting perspectives, and to communicate complex data and information clearly and persuasively to diverse stakeholders. Through reading and writing, discussion, and engagement with classmates and outside experts including international faculty, students will examine the intersections of sustainability and global business, with a focus on the role of business decision making and action in the interrelated areas of sustainable environmental and social impact. The topic is more salient than ever, as communities around the globe ask whether the pandemic and related economic crisis will prompt a new vision for society that focuses on justice and sustainability, or will simply continue to exacerbate existing inequities. The course complements courses on campus with a focus on sustainable development, but differs in its emphasis on existing companies in advanced economies, and their engagement with community stakeholders. Through written work and exploration of key concepts, the students will work toward their culminating assignment, a research paper that presents an informed perspective on a specific topic of their choosing within the course theme.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WRIT - Writing Intensive  
SUS 30725  Sustainability in Food, Beverage & Agriculture  (1.5 Credit Hours)  
This course will use Food and Beverage and Agriculture industries to unpack a wide range of topics to provide a broader view and understanding of the sustainability challenges faced by the companies today, the innovative approaches to address sustainability as they work toward future sustainability goals, and how companies make short/mid/long term business decisions as they strive to make sustainability a part of the company's values and long-term strategy. A deep dive into the consumer evolving mindset toward sustainability will expose consumer motivations, needs, and "demands" the consumers place on the business and how business can effectively communicate their commitments, track the progress, and communicate back to the consumer to gain their trust.
SUS 30800  Climate, Econ, & Bus Ethics  (3 Credit Hours)  
As an Integration course, students successfully completing the class will have fulfilled a University core curriculum requirement. Reflecting an integration of key considerations from the disciplines of Economics and Business Ethics, the course will allow students the opportunity to examine the complexities of climate change, public policy, environmental and social sustainability, and impacts on global economies and communities. Economics will provide the foundation of knowledge of labor market structure, market failures such as externalities, taxation, migration decisions, discrimination, and income inequality measures. The management approach will address business in practice, and organizational and societal dimensions of effective and ethical business. Topics will include climate change; resilience and its measures; climate change-driven migration around the world and its impacts on labor markets and the business environment; ethical frameworks for guiding business; stakeholder analysis; environmental justice and the disproportionate effects on communities by socio-economic status, race and gender; and regulation and international agreements. Students will participate in experiential activities in real-world contexts, examine indicators of societal resilience, present relevant data in a compelling way through individual and team projects, reflect understanding through assessments including quizzes and exams, and present a policy proposal, all reflective of an integrative approach.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration  
SUS 30903  Policy Lab: Sustainable Finance  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course will explore the role of global business in reducing poverty, inequality and attending to the needs of all stakeholders. Students will be introduced to the rapidly growing fields of impact investing and sustainable finance which support socially conscious and environmentally friendly innovations. Students will gain a broad overview of the financial and economic tools available, beyond government assistance and philanthropy, to support broad based wealth creation, equality of opportunity and natural resource preservation. Students will be invited to participate in policy debates on certain topics and will read mini case studies on subjects such as microfinance, "place based" community investment and the role of CDFIs, and the issuance of green/blue sustainability bonds. Guest speakers/practitioners will be invited to engage the students in real world problem solving. The course will culminate in a small group project or paper to "reexamine business" as a force for good, which will be presented in class. It is open to students of all intended majors with no prerequisites, and should serve as a foray to several future areas of study such as global affairs, social entrepreneurship and sustainability.
SUS 30905  Financing Social Impact  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course examines the financial and economic tools that support sustainable solutions to social challenges, with a focus beyond traditional government aid and philanthropy. Students will explore the rapidly expanding fields of impact investing and microfinance, evaluating their roles in advancing social entrepreneurship, broad-based wealth creation, and equality of opportunity. Topics include emerging approaches to microcredit, the benefits and limitations of financial innovations, and the role of public policy in fostering effective initiatives. Through a combination of case studies, critical analyses, and applied projects, students will engage directly with real-world challenges such as poverty alleviation and inclusive economic development. No prior background in business or finance is required; the course is designed for students from all disciplines who bring curiosity, creativity, and a commitment to social problem-solving.
SUS 30983  History of Food & Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Food feeds culture. It nourishes societies as well as bodies. No discipline is intelligible without it. It provides economics with products, physiology with sustenance, social sciences with classes and relationships of power. and intellects with food for thought. Food's also essential in ecology. Our most intimate contact with the environment occurs when we eat it. From interdisciplinary perspectives, we'll approach the history of food in all cultures (including, by the way, those of non-human cultural creatures) in all periods that we can say something about, from the origins of carnivorism and cannibalism through famines and fushion to the food-related environmental problems of the future. There may even be time to explore cuisines.
Corequisites: HIST 22085  
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 30998  Our Global Environment  (3 Credit Hours)  
The question that this course asks is which political formations have been most conducive to environmentally sustainable communities and why. Historians have long been interested in political questions about power, state structures, democracy, and economic development, but only now, with the emergence of the global environmental crisis, is the relationship between politics and ecology becoming clearer. This course has four sections. It begins by examining the contemporary phenomenon of "climate collapse" and the problem of how to conceptualize this global problem historically. We then turn to the issue of which social values and modes of production and consumption have caused this dramatic transformation of our planet, tracing the effects of state formation and industrial development. Using major books, essays, and film, we compare capitalist, socialist, and fascist approaches to the nature. The purpose of the course is to provide students with a firm grasp of environmental problems and their relation to political communities.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKHI - Core History  
SUS 33305  Decarbonizing Catholicism and the Common Good   (3 Credit Hours)  
How has the use of fossil fuels for heat, energy, and raw material shaped contemporary Christian ethics and social teachings? Has the Catholic pursuit of virtue and the common good driven climate change? Is there a need to “decarbonize” Christian concepts, cultures, and communities? While the concept of decarbonization is most commonly applied to technology, policy, and the economy, what would a “decarbonized” vision of human flourishing and the common good look like? In this course, we will generate responses to these questions by examining the extent to which fossil fuels have shaped Catholic concepts of moral virtue, human dignity, and the common good in the modern world, as well as how Catholic moral and social teachings can inform a just transformation of energy systems. In recent years, scholars from multiple disciplines have argued that there is a two-way influence between the material properties of things, like coal and oil, and human values and cultural ways of life. These dynamics are the object of our study in this course. In addition to engaging with developments in history, we will also explore emerging models of non-carbon intensive human flourishing and the common good as well as the virtues and practices needed to sustain them. Throughout the course, each student will conduct a case study of one moral virtue or Catholic social principle both to examine how it has been “carbonized” and to develop an argument about whether or how it should be “decarbonized.” This course in energy and environmental studies engages with perspectives drawn from history, environmental/climate studies, ethics, theological studies, philosophy, and cultural anthropology. There are no required prerequisites.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKCD-Core Cathol & Disciplines, WRIT - Writing Intensive  
SUS 33317  Environmental Justice and Social Transformation  (3 Credit Hours)  
Environmental justice has emerged as one of the most significant frameworks shaping contemporary environmental policy and scholarship at local, national, and international scales. Less well known is that it originated and has been led at the grassroots level with social movements making connections between racial, gender, and economic justice, political empowerment, and vastly unequal exposure to environmental harms and hazards. In short, the meanings, values, strategies, and concepts that make up the environmental justice (EJ) framework have been driven by grassroots leaders and organizations with a transformative vision. This course in environmental humanities and social sciences examines this transformative approach to EJ as it has emerged in places as diverse as rural North Carolina, urban New York, Louisiana's “Cancer Alley,” tropical forests around the world, and most recently transnational networks of grassroots leaders responding to climate change. Through interdisciplinary engagement with scholarship in environmental studies, religion, ethics, history, sociology, anthropology, and politics, as well as analysis of primary source documents, this course equips students to analyze the dynamic relationship between human cultures and environmental realities at local and global scales. In particular, it equips students to answer questions such as: To what extent has the EJ movement been shaped by religion and culture? How do transformative approaches to EJ differ from other approaches? How do diverse concepts of the sacred, nature, and justice factor into contemporary debates about environmental and climate action? What moral and political resources do EJ communities draw on to sustain their commitments? What commitments inform students’ personal approach to EJ issues?
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration  
SUS 33950  Appalachia  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course is designed to introduce students to the cultural and social issues of the Appalachian region - its history, people, culture, challenges, and strengths - through study and experiential learning. The course also provides engagement with the people of Appalachia through a required immersion over break. The Appalachia Seminar utilizes a Catholic Social Tradition (CST) framework to build skills around social analysis, critical thinking, and theological reflection. Students examine the relationship between solidarity and service and consider how the Common Good is expressed in local communities across the region. This course has a fee.
SUS 33961  Discernment & The Common Good  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course provides undergraduate students an opportunity to reflect on their undergraduate education and to explore their respective vocations as it relates to the common good. Whether considering a change in major, deciding on postgraduate plans, navigating a relationship, or seeking greater intentionality in daily life, students in this class will accompany each other as they consider their vocation, learn different methods of discernment, and develop practices to listen and respond to these callings. Content will include Catholic Social Teaching, cultural critique, narrative theology, spiritual practices, and the arts. Must be a sophomore, junior or senior to take this course.
SUS 33965  Organizing Power & Hope  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course will take place in a local neighborhood and students will learn fundamental concepts and skills of community organizing alongside residents of South Bend. Together, neighbors and students will learn the art of organizing through relational meetings, house meetings, power-mapping, and research actions. The culmination of the course will include participation in a public action with local officials addressing a pressing issue in our community. Through a series of trainings and hands-on application, students will build public relationships, amplify their voices, cultivate power and leverage it for justice.
SUS 33999  Social Concerns Seminar: Engaged CST Leadership Seminar  (1 Credit Hour)  
The Engaged CST Leadership Seminar is a course designed to take CST values and ethics and apply them to concrete practices and postures of leadership in various post-graduate fields of work. Reserved for upperclassmen, this Engaged Leadership Seminar is focused on sustainability. This course is focused on collaborative group projects and learning experiences that will help students sharpen their capacity to lead in their field from a deep well of CST animated values. It will help students move from learning about how CST intersects and informs their field to the work of learning how to then lead out in that field in a manner that uplifts a commitment to justice as informed by CST. This seminar does not have a spring break immersion.
SUS 34002  Environment and Sustainability  (3 Credit Hours)  
Recognizes the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment in order to highlight the relationship and dependence of human life on them. Explains sustainable development and the circular economy to identify the best products, services, and/or technologies that contribute to economic development. Proposes multidisciplinary and sustainable solutions to the negative impacts caused by the products, processes, and/or services of the different areas of study within the programs. Is aware of the negative impact that actions specific to their area of study have on the environment, in order to emphasize the importance of natural resources for health and quality of life.
SUS 34100  Sustainability  (3 Credit Hours)  
In this course, students will analyze the current socio-environmental crisis and its potential global and local solutions. For this a critical and interdisciplinary vision will be offered inspired by the Papal Encyclical Laudato Si on the care of our common home, and structured in around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the Organization of United Nations. The course includes the participation of keynote lectures given by experts from various disciplines, weekly learning circles, the development of a semiannual project and field trips associated with the latter.
SUS 34101  Religion, Peace, and Development in Africa  (3 Credit Hours)  
One of the factors that strike many about the African continent generally is the role that religion seems to play in all spheres of life. Africa thus remains a religiously diverse and dynamic continent, where not only Catholicism, Christianity in general, Islam, and African indigenous traditions are at home. While this is the case, on the political and economic front, things do not seem to be so positive. Political instability, civil wars, poverty, and increasingly ecological degradation are ever growing challenges. How do we understand and account for this apparent contradiction between a culturally and religiously rich continent and an economically and politically distressed continent? What role does religion, Christianity in particular play in development? The course engages these and similar questions through a 3 week immersive cultural, international and educational experience in Uganda. The overall objectives of the course are: To provide students with an opportunity to learn about Uganda's cultural, religious and political history - as an introduction to the broader trends that shape history in sub-Saharan Africa. Offer students with an immersive experience into the natural, cultural and social dimensions of African life To provide students with an opportunity for community engagement as a way to deepen their understanding of the challenges and possibilities of peace and development in a Ugandan rural setting.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration  
SUS 34220  Social Policy and the Environment  (3-5 Credit Hours)  
The context for this module is the significant environmental challenges faced by public policy makers, both those associated with climate change (e.g. greenhouse gases and global warming, droughts, flooding, and rising sea levels) as well as other environmental challenges (e.g. resource depletion, waste, pollution and biodiversity). The module focuses on the important linkages between economic, environmental and social development. It examines the risks associated with environmental challenges and their implications for human habitats, livelihoods and well-being. It explores the potential for managing these risks via a range of responses. While the particular challenges facing developing countries are outlined, strategies to promote more sustainable development in high consumption societies are the main focus of the module. These include international (UN, OECD, EU), national, and local regulations and policies. Questions of equity, and environmental justice in relation to particular policy outcomes are explored, as well as the distribution of costs and burdens between social groups and how polices might redress these. The module examines the different roles and potential contributions of various actors (governments at all levels, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society). The second half of the module focuses on the promotion of sustainable communities in particular the role of key policy areas such as: housing, planning and land use; urban policies; transport; employment; health; and education. Particular attention is paid to issues relating to water, energy, fuel poverty, and food security. Finally, it explores the utility of a range of tools such urban sustainability reporting, ecological foot-printing and sustainable development indicators.
SUS 34338  Palaeoecology: Reconstructing Past Environments  (3 Credit Hours)  
The Irish landscape as we know it today is governed by what has happened in the past. Both climate change and anthropogenic factors have played significant roles in shaping the development of the landscape. The objectives of this module are to introduce the student to palaeoenvironmental methods, in particular pollen analysis, as a means of interpreting the past 15, 000 years of vegetation and environmental change in Ireland. The course will consist of a series of c.20 lectures. In addition to the lectures, 3 laboratory-based 2-hour sessions will form part of the course where students will use microscope techniques to identify and count fossil pollen grains. They will also participate in one 2-hour field class on campus. Details on dates, times etc to follow.
SUS 34370  Urban Sustainability: Theory and Case Studies in Greece  (3 Credit Hours)  
The course provides an exploration of how the contemporary discourse on the ever-evolving concept of sustainability, transforms the ways we produce and manage built space. The environmental, but also the social and economic implications of the ways we plan and construct human settlements, and particularly cities and infrastructure, will be traced and discussed. Students will be introduced to approaches and methodologies for setting and achieving sustainability targets across spatial scales, from buildings to city planning. These concepts will be juxtaposed with the reality of large urban projects, currently in progress in Athens amidst the special conditions created by the current financial situation that will shape the city for the next decades. The case studies will be approached through site visits and discussions with stakeholders involved. The course will offer a solid understanding of the complex concept of sustainable development but most importantly help develop analytical and critical thinking before the issues and the challenges involved.
SUS 34380  Environmental Economics  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course provides an introduction to the theory and evidence behind environmental pollution and the management of scare resources. We will discuss the sources of environmental problems, policy instruments to resolve environmental issues, and monetary valuation of the environment. Key theoretical concepts include externalities, market failure and government intervention, public goods, property rights, command and control policy, market-based policy instruments (taxes/charges, subsidies, cap-and-trade) and cost benefit analysis. The application of these tools in present-day environmental policies will be discussed. During the tutorial sessions students will work in groups to research and design a scientific poster on a real-life application of a market-based environmental policy. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory.
SUS 34514  Urban Ecology  (3 Credit Hours)  
Demographic trends reveal that the proportion of people living in cities is increasing worldwide. In this time of global change, we will examine how both nature and humans have responded ecologically and evolutionarily to urbanization. The course will examine physical and biological factors that drive the ecology of urban areas. A central goal will be to understand how interactions between humans and the environment drive and are driven by the built environment especially in the context of the physical and biological. We will examine both conceptual underpinnings and the application of theory to practice to improve human welfare and environmental quality. Where possible, we will take a comparative approach examining differences and similarities between Europe and the US.
SUS 34526  Sustainable Development in Northern Europe B  (3 Credit Hours)  
Sustainable development has emerged as one of the most important discourses of the 21st century. It is a multi-dimensional concept, which aims to integrate environmental, social, and economic objectives, and no single academic discipline definitively addresses its problems or solutions. This course explores some of the key issues and themes of sustainable development, as well as pragmatic and practical strategies for promoting a more sustainable future.
SUS 34725  Sustainable Food Bev & Agriculture   (3 Credit Hours)  
This course gives student insights on how to establish sustainable agriculture.
SUS 34758  Getting There: Transportation in Urban Europe  (3 Credit Hours)  
Through combination of mobile lectures, field studies and class discussions we study not only the transportation infrastructure systems used in Copenhagen and other European cities, but the impact of individual and collective decisions about where we live, work, go to school, relax, and shop, as well as our choices of how to get around. Additionally, the European project to develop and deploy low-carbon and sustainable modes of transport are examined to understand the impacts on existing modes of travel and urban form.
SUS 34817  The Politics & Ethics of Food  (3 Credit Hours)  
A common notion is; we are what we eat. In this course we analyze some of the core discussions on how we eat and produce food in different societies around the world. We look at political, economic, social and cultural dimensions and cover themes such as animal ethics, environment, health, food distribution, world hunger and bioengineered food. We seek to answer ethical and political questions like; should we eat animals? How does food effect our health? Can (and should) politics change what people eat? How is food a part of our culture? What are our responsibilities toward our environment when we produce food? Do we have a responsibility to reduce hunger in the world and how can we do it? Should we embrace or avoid GMOs and bioengineered food? Furthermore, we analyze the politics of our food systems. We look at the decision-making processes in the USA, EU and Denmark and ask; who decides what, for whom, why and how? We will explore what people eat, why they eat it, how it has changed over time, and will most likely keep changing. We ask how political actors (including NGO's) influence this development.
SUS 34930  Environmental Governance I  (2.5-5 Credit Hours)  
The environment emerged as a new object of concern in the 1960s. Since then, and largely through the work of citizens, scientists, environmental justice movements, and NGOs, many different environmental problems have been raised from chemical contamination to climate change, from oil spills to plastic filled oceans. Despite growing awareness of these many forms of environmental degradation, the political and societal response has been far from adequate. How can we explain this? One starting point is to interrogate the contested history and development of environmental politics since the 1960s. What we learn from such an approach is that there have been radically different ways of framing environmental problems, giving rise to radically different proposals on how to deal with these problems. This historically informed understanding thus invites us to consider how reframing current environmental problems may help us to orientate society towards a more just and sustainable future. This module will introduce students to the emergence of environmental politics as a unique field of policy-making, scientific production, and conflict since the 1960s. It will discuss key texts, writers and thinkers, whose work has been instrumental in shaping how we think about the environment, as well as how private, public and civil society actors have responded to environmental problems in recent times.
SUS 38002  Capstone Independent Research Prep   (0 Credit Hours)  
This course is required for all juniors (and 4th-year Architecture students) in the Minor in Sustainability. Students will work independently on defining their capstone projects with the guidance of the instructor and their project advisor. There are no class meeting times; advisory meetings will be scheduled individually. Students will enroll in a one-credit independent study course during each semester of their senior year in order to carry out their capstone projects.
SUS 40113  Climate and Environmental Justice  (3 Credit Hours)  
“Climate and Environmental Justice” is a lecture- and discussion-based class primarily targeted at undergraduates. It is designed to introduce you to the core and crucial concepts of climate justice and environmental justice, with a particular emphasis on existing legacy injustices and the injustices we are currently creating as environmental pollution, climate change, and human systems interact. We will discuss existing patterns of burden, inequality, poverty, and threats to human dignity, and discuss opportunities and mechanisms to repair and avoid injustice. In particular we will discuss environmental injustice as a widely experienced but largely localized experience of disproportionate burden (e.g., on the basis of race and class) associated with extraction, industrialization, and non-greenhouse gas environmental pollution, alongside climate injustice as a global and emergent phenomenon of severe and disproportionate impacts from climate change. We will address concepts of reparations and remediation, as well as governance and other strategies for enacting justice. We will also address links between climate and environmental justice with related movements focused on adaptation, energy, housing, transportation, health, and land. Our focus will be both domestic and international, with attention directed to power dynamics, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for corrective action. Climate change and the energy transition will be major themes given their deep relationship with both climate and environmental justice, particularly as processes of industrialization and deindustrialization associated with decarbonization proceed. Overall, the course will focus on patterns, drivers, and opportunities for corrective action associated with severe injustices associated with climate change and environmental burden.
Satisfies the following University Core Requirements: WKIN - Core Integration  
SUS 40160  Accountability in a Sustainable World   (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is designed to develop future sustainability leaders through active engagement with key participants, critical synthesis of research on the measurement of climate change effects, and movement toward quantifiable achievable goals. The course is open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students from all disciplines across the university. The interdisciplinary nature of the class ensures lively debate.
SUS 40161  Accountability in a Sustainable World   (3 Credit Hours)  
This course is designed to develop future sustainability leaders by active engagement with key participants, critical synthesis of research on measurement of climate change effects and movement toward quantifiable achievable goals. The interdisciplinary course will focus on measurement and assurance of measurement (auditing) both of which fall within the clear purview of accountants. The course is offered for juniors, seniors, accounting honors and graduate students.
SUS 40300  Digital Commons  (3 Credit Hours)  
From the late 1960s debates on environmental degradation and overpopulation to the present concerns with sociotechnical and climate change, the "commons" has returned as a key symbol for social analysis, political organizing, and collective resource management. Since then, various currents have claimed and reclaimed the concept under the guide of "communality," "conviviality," and "common-pool resources" as concrete alternatives to public and private modes of governance of tangible and intangible goods. In the past two decades, the concept has been central for the discussion of the "digital commons" with decentralized, community-based governance of information production and sharing. In this seminar, we will map out the key definitions of the "commons" with a focus on the introduction of algorithmic forms of governance. This course will be organized as a seminar for the study of concepts, case studies, and methodological approaches for the study of the digital commons. We welcome students working on Internet-based research and Free and Open Source technologies as well as climate change, conservation, and sustainability to join the seminar.
SUS 40302  Environmental Anthropology and Intersectionality of Justice   (3 Credit Hours)  
As the Flint, Michigan water situation began to attract attention and condemnation, Michigan State Representative, Sheldon Neeley, describing the troops on the ground and the Red Cross distributing water bottles, said that the Governor had "turned an American city into a Third World country." At a Congressional hearing, the Chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee said, "This is the United States of America - this isn't supposed to happen here. We are not some Third World country. What is a "third world problem?" This introductory environmental anthropology course examines how such imaginaries materialize in development programmes and literature, and bespeak charged geopolitical, racial histories; and invites reflection on what futures for working in common they enable and constrain. We will examine how crises are imagined and constructed, and the governance regimes they give rise to. How does water - as natural resource, public good, kin, human right, need, commodity - determine the contours of such regimes? We will also study chronic, quieter environmental problems and the responses they (do not) generate. Working through a variety of writing genres - ethnography, policy literature, and corporate publicity material - will enable students to appreciate what anthropology can contribute to the conversation on environmental justice. Class readings will draw on examples from a wide range of settings across the world, and group projects, in partnership with local environmental organizations and efforts (or done independently), will (i) narrate histories and map geographies of water access and toxicity, and (iii) imagine futures of more equitable water access in South Bend. The course is offered as an introduction to environmental anthropology and takes students through key themes - infrastructure, race, class, privatization, justice, violence - by focusing on water. It requires no background in anthropology. Students will cultivate the ability to read and write with care and to critique responsibly; develop a sense of overarching trends in anthropological approaches to categories such as nature, environment, ecology, violence and justice; relate contemporary issues of water in/accessibility, toxicity and privatization across disparate geographies.
SUS 40361  Envir Colonialism & Irish Lit  (3 Credit Hours)  
This course bridges the theories of the environmental humanities and ecocriticism with the study of Irish literature from 1600 to 1900. We will analyze critical theory of the environment in relation to Irish novels, tales, plays, and poems written during the height of British colonialism in Ireland - by authors like Jonathan Swift, Maria Edgeworth, William Carleton, J.M. Synge, Emily Lawless, and W.B. Yeats. Our readings will cover environmental events and colonial systems, such as the deforestation of Ireland, shipwrecks and rebellions, tenant farming, the Irish Famine, and island ecosystems. In class, we will discuss how these environmental contexts impacted the expression of Irish identity and colonial struggle. We will read Irish literature not just for plot, character, and style, but also for the environmental narratives it contains, exploring how each one illuminates the other.
SUS 40409  Peace, Ecology, and Integral Human Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
A major source of conflict - increasingly so - is environmental issues; both climate change-related conflicts about (more and more scarce) resources as well as secondary conflicts (conflicts that arise because of the resource conflict, i.e. climate migrants) pose a major challenge to the planet. Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si has offered ways to think about an "integral ecology" that takes the environment, life on the planet, the human condition and culture seriously. The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor cannot be separated. Laudato Si has to be read against the background of the concept of "Integral Human Development." This concept, inspired by the works of Joseph Lebret, OP, was introduced by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Populorum Progressio (1967). It refers to "the development of the whole person and the development of all persons." The course explores the connection (intersectionality) between peace, (integral) ecology, and (integral human) development. It will do so with in-class room teaching sessions and working with select case studies on integral ecology.
SUS 40491  Solutions: Science, Politics, and Saving the Planet  (3 Credit Hours)  
Studying environmental politics can be a gloomy pursuit. There are a myriad of devastating problems and a seeming scarcity of scientific and technological fixes. Technical fixes aside, there is the even more problematic scarcity of political fixes. Political institutions often seem to obstruct rather than facilitate environmentally sound policies, and the mass public and political leaders often prioritize competing goals and policies. This course is designed to understand whether the pessimism is warranted and to search for the optimism: What are the best opportunities, scientific and political, for saving the planet? What can realistically be accomplished?
SUS 40534  Economics of Climate Change  (3 Credit Hours)  
Human induced climate change is one of the major problems facing society. Economics provides a powerful intellectual basis for understanding, analyzing and correcting these problems. This course will cover basic science of climate change, the associated market failure and tragedy of the commons, cost-benefit analysis of climate mitigation, computation of the social cost of carbon, empirical research on economic effects of climate change, adaptation, and carbon taxation.
SUS 40805  GLOBES: Global Change and Civilization  (3 Credit Hours)  
All human populations, from the simplest to the most complex, interact with their natural environment. Humans alter the environment, and are in turn altered by it through biological or cultural adaptations. Global environmental changes helped to create and shape our species and modern industrial societies are capable of altering the environment on scales that have never been seen before, creating many questions about the future of human-environmental coexistence. This course explores the ways that humans are altering the global environment and the ways that global environmental changes alter humans in return. Four major topics are examined: global climate change, alterations of global nutrient cycles, biodiversity and habitat loss, and ecosystem reconstruction. Students will complete the course with an understanding of the metrics and physical science associated with each type of change, their ecological implications, and the ways in which environmental changes continually reshape human biology and culture. This course is for graduate students and upper-division undergraduates. This course meets a core requirement for GLOBES students.
SUS 43611  Carbon Neutral Development  (3 Credit Hours)  
Knowledge about the relationship between built environment development and global and local challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, environmental impact, justice and health, is of key importance to move towards a sustainable and resilient future. This course takes a trans-disciplinary approach to understanding how to decarbonize the built environment. Linkages between and perspectives from engineering, architectural design, and social sciences are emphasized throughout the course. This course provides students with real-world problems to work with such as urbanization-related pollution in China and urban revitalization needs for the aging building stock in Germany. This course is composed of two modules: (1) Carbon neutral development at the urban scale is examined through three real case studies to explore the different development principles, design strategies and patterns. (2) Net zero building design and related environmental impact are examined through research literature and real case projects.
SUS 43707  Society, Faith, and the Future of Nature  (3 Credit Hours)  
"Society, Faith, and the Future of Nature " is an upper-level course that examines the relationship between contemporary society and the natural world from a sociological vantage. The readings and lectures are designed to be accessible to all. They introduce theory by means of concrete historical and cultural cases, so that history and theory illuminate one another. Students who have been exposed to sociology will find that it builds on the foundations they already have gained. Topics covered include population and demography, industrialization, capitalism as a system, consumer culture, social justice, the environmental movement, global environmental issues, the role of culture and religion when it comes to framing and mobilization, and civic responsibility. The main focus of the course is American society, but it also takes into account other societies and cultures. After taking this course, the students will have honed a range of powerful insights and tools for making sense of the environmental issues that we confront.
SUS 48001  Sustainability Capstone Independent Research  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course is required for all seniors (and 5th-year Architecture students) in the Minor in Sustainability. Students will work independently on their capstone projects with the guidance of the instructor and their project advisor. There are no class meeting times; advisory meetings will be scheduled individually. Students will enroll in an additional credit of independent study during the spring semester in order to complete their capstone projects.

Enrollment is limited to students with a program in Sustainability.

SUS 48002  Sustainability Capstone Independent Research  (1 Credit Hour)  
This course is required for all seniors in the Minor in Sustainability. Students will work independently on their capstone projects with the guidance of the instructor and their project advisor. There are no class meeting times; advisory meetings will be scheduled individually.