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Courses - Spring 2024
ANSC
Animal Science
Open Seats as of
10/06/2024 at 08:30 PM
ANSC227
Eating with Eyes Wide Open
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Are our diet and agricultural production methods sustainable? Students will investigate tensions created by trade-offs made by consumers relative to dietary choices which, in turn, can influence agricultural production methods. The course will inform students about their food supply so they can make informed dietary decisions and practice intentional/informed eating.
AOSC
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science
AOSC123
Causes and Consequences of Global Change
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Cross-listed with: GEOL123.
Credit only granted for: AOSC123, GEOG123, or GEOL123.
Study of the major components of Earth's climate system and climate change history. Discussion of 21st century climate change prediction, mitigation and adaptation efforts.
AOSC200
Weather and Climate
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with AOSC201) or DSNS, SCIS
Prerequisite: MATH107, MATH110, or MATH115.
Recommended: Concurrent enrollment in AOSC201.
What are weather and climate? Most people think they know but if you ask people to explain the differences and similarities you're bound to get a range of answers. Weather affects not just our daily activities but other important aspects of society such as transportation, commerce, security and agriculture. Most people understand what weather is to some extent. Climate and climate change are concepts that evoke strong emotional responses from people but are less well understood. In this class, students examine fundamental issues such as the greenhouse effect, severe weather, and global weather patterns and how they relate to a changing climate. Instruction in the lectures will provide the basic knowledge needed to understand these issues. In the discussion sections, students will be divided into groups to address the implications of these topics through group projects.

A Marquee Science and Technology Course designed for Non-Science Majors: http://www.marqueecourses.umd.edu/* Click here for more Marquee course information.
ARCH
Architecture Department Site
ARCH272
Sustainability at College Park
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS or DSSP, SCIS
Explore the ways and the degrees to which University of Maryland, College Park campus master planning and operations incorporate principles of sustainability including smart growth, LEED and other building rating systems, higher education rating systems, sustainable agriculture and transportation planning. Among other subjects, students will learn about the Campus and the City of College Park and survey the relationship between local, national and global sustainability concerns. Students will learn about the University's Climate Action Plan and the roles, and extent to which, the UMD Office of Sustainability and other campus units are helping develop a carbon-neutral and resource-efficient campus infrastructure.
ASTR
Astronomy Department Site
ASTR100
Introduction to Astronomy
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Credit only granted for: ASTR100, ASTR101, or ASTR120.
An elementary course in descriptive astronomy, especially appropriate for non-science students. Topics include the Sun, Moon, planets, stars, and nebulae, galaxies, and evolution of the Universe.
Discussion sections do not meet the first week of classes. Attend lecture before coming to discussion section.
ASTR220
Collisions in Space - The Threat of Asteroid Impacts
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Restriction: Must not be in the Astronomy major.
Should we defend our planet against potential asteroid impacts? Collisions in Space will evaluate the threat of asteroid impacts with the Earth using knowledge of asteroid characteristics and orbits. The merits of possible defense plans will be discussed, as well as the budgetary and political concerns associated with implementing any such plan. Appropriate for non-science majors.
ASTR300
Stars and Stellar Systems
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: ASTR100 or ASTR101; and completion of the CORE Distributive Studies requirement in Mathematics and Sciences or General Education Fundamental Studies requirement in Mathematics. Or permission of CMNS-Astronomy department.
Designed primarily for non-science majors. Study of stars-types, properties, evolution, and distribution in space; supernovae, pulsars, and black holes.
ASTR340
Origin of the Universe
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: ASTR100 or ASTR101; and completion of the CORE Distributive Studies requirement in Mathematics and Sciences or General Education Fundamental Studies requirement in Mathematics. Or permission of CMNS-Astronomy department.
Designed primarily for non-science majors. A study of our progression of knowledge about the universe. Topics include: early cosmological models, geocentric vs. heliocentric theory, curvature of space, Hubble's Law, Big Bang Theory, microwave background radiation, evolution of stars and galaxies, dark matter, active galaxies, quasars and the future of the universe.
ASTR350
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: ASTR100 or ASTR101; and completion of the CORE Distributive Studies requirement in Mathematics and Sciences or General Education Fundamental Studies requirement in Mathematics. Or permission of CMNS-Astronomy department.
Credit only granted for: ASTR398B or ASTR350.
Formerly: ASTR398B.
Black holes are the most exotic prediction of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity and, amazingly, the Universe seems to manufacture these bizarre objects in copious numbers. As well as being the ultimate laboratory for studying the nature of space and time, they drive some of the most energetic and extreme phenomena known to astronomers (with quasars and gamma-ray bursts being just a couple of examples). In this introduction to the physics and astrophysics of black holes, we start by examining the basic physics of black holes, which fundamentally means understanding gravity. We then look at the nature of stellar-mass black holes and supermassive black holes. We will discuss the fairly recent realization that black holes may be crucial agents for regulating the growth of galaxies. Finally, we dive into the realm of theoretical physics and probe how black holes may provide a route for uncovering new laws of physics governing the structure of space and time.
BSCI
Biological Sciences Program Department Site
BSCI120
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
A survey of the major groups of insects, their natural history, and their relationships with humans and their environment. Course not acceptable toward major requirements in Biological Sciences, Chemistry or Biochemistry.
(Sponsoring Dept.: ENTM).
BSCI160
Principles of Ecology and Evolution
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with BSCI161) or DSNS
Prerequisite: Must have math eligibility of MATH120 or higher.
Recommended: For Science majors.
Credit only granted for: BSCI106 or BSCI160.
Formerly: BSCI106.
Basic principles of biology with special emphasis on ecological and evolutionary biology.
(Sponsoring Dept.: BSCI).
BSCI170
Principles of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with BSCI171) or DSNS
Prerequisite: Must have math eligibility of MATH120 or higher.
Recommended: For Science majors.
Credit only granted for: BSCI105 or BSCI170.
Formerly: BSCI105.
Basic principles of biology with special emphasis on cellular and molecular biology.
(Sponsoring Dept.: BSCI).
CHEM
Chemistry Department Site
CHEM131
Chemistry I - Fundamentals of General Chemistry
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with CHEM132) or DSNS
Prerequisite: Must have math eligibility of MATH120 or higher.
Corequisite: CHEM132.
Recommended: For Science majors.
Credit only granted for: CHEM103, CHEM131, CHEM135, CHEM153 or CHEM146.
Formerly: CHEM103.
An overview of the Periodic Table, inorganic substances, ionic and covalent bonding, bulk properties of materials, chemical equilibrium, and quantitative chemistry. CHEM131 is the first course in a four-semester sequence for students majoring in the sciences, other than Chemistry and Biochemistry majors.
CHEM135
General Chemistry for Engineers
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with CHEM136) or DSNS
Prerequisite: Must have math eligibility of MATH120 or higher.
Credit only granted for: CHEM103, CHEM113, CHEM131, CHEM135, or CHEM146.
The nature and composition of matter, solutions, chemical reactions, equilibria, and electrochemistry, with applications to various fields of engineering.
ENSP
Environmental Science and Policy Department Site
ENSP250
Lawns in the Landscape: Environmental Hero or Villain?
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Cross-listed with PLSC250.
Credit only granted for: ENSP250 or PLSC250.
Examination of the lawn as an element in the anthropogenic landscape and its influence on global warming, regional air and water quality, ecological diversity, mammalian pesticide exposure and consumptive water use. Demographic and socioeconomic factors are examined in the context of being predictors of landscape aesthetic desires and lawn management behaviors. Policies that incentivize lawn alternatives or changes in lawn management behavior are discussed.
ENST
Environmental Science and Technology Department Site
ENST233
Introduction to Environmental Health
Credits: 4
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Examines how humans are affected by the quality of our air, water, soil and food supply as well as how human activities alter these survival necessities. Students will learn how the evolution and prosperity of human populations have resulted in degradation of our environment and the impact of environmental degradation on the health of people. The implications of individual and collective choices for sustainable food production, population management, and resource utilization will be explored.
GEOG
Geographical Sciences Department Site
GEOG140
Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Floods, and Fires
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Catastrophic Environmental Events (CCE) that are becoming more common in this time of global environmental change and it is essential that today's students be equipped with the knowledge and skills to be leaders as we, as a society, understand the upheaval that these CCEs are causing. Students will examine how CEEs shape human society and ecosystem from the interdisciplinary perspective afforded by the field of Geography. Students will use the latest geographic science concepts and techniques in exploring these events. Using satellite imagery they will gain a multi-scale perspective of the ecological and societal aspects of the events.
GEOG172
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Earth observations from space enable the mapping and monitoring of our changing planet. This survey course reviews current observational capabilities and examines scientific applications in quantifying global environmental change. Drivers and outcomes of key dynamics will be illustrated and discussed, including sea and continental ice loss, deforestation, ocean warming, urbanization, agricultural expansion and intensification, and vegetation response to climate change.
GEOL
Geology Department Site
GEOL100
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with GEOL110) or DSNS
Credit only granted for: GEOL100 or GEOL120.
Additional information: CORE Distributive Studies Physical Science Laboratory Course only when taken concurrently with GEOL 110.
A general survey of the rocks and minerals composing the earth, its surface features and the agents that form them, and the dynamic forces of plate tectonics.
GEOL120
Environmental Geology
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with GEOL110) or DSNS
Credit only granted for: GEOL100 or GEOL120.
A review of geologic factors underlying many environmental problems and the interactions between population and physical environment: geologic hazards, land-use planning, conservation, mineral resources, waste disposal, land reclamation, and the geologic aspects of health and disease. The course is aimed at lower division students in education and liberal arts, and should be useful to any student concerned with geologic perspectives of environmental problems.
GEOL123
Causes and Consequences of Global Change
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Cross-listed with: AOSC123.
Credit only granted for: AOSC123, GEOG123, or GEOL123.
Study of the major components of Earth's climate system and climate change history. Discussion of 21st century climate change prediction, mitigation and adaptation efforts.
GEOL204
Dinosaurs, Early Humans, Ancestors, and Evolution; The Fossil Record of Vanished Worlds of the Prehistoric Past
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
What good is the fossil record? What relevance or insights might the remains of ancient living things have for our modern world? This course examines how the record of ancient life was made, and how we use diverse scientific techniques to reveal the information it contains. We will look at how the various inhabitants of our planet changed through time, and how different ecosystems such as reefs, forests, and grasslands were assembled. We will see how our own species came to be, and of our spread across the world from our ancestral home in Africa. We'll examine how the fossil record contains evidence of climate changes and extinction events far exceeding what we are currently experiencing, and how we can use these as warnings for our future. We'll address who are the owners and stakeholders in the evidence of the fossil world. Students will learn how to read and interpret the primary scientific literature, and how to present scientific information to others through various media.
HNUH
University Honors
HNUH228B
Redesigning Life: Prospects and Consequences
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
What is at stake for our world as humans seek to redesign biological organisms? Biotechnology advances are enabling us to read, edit and write genomes, including our own. This revolution has been fueled by the quest to understand and cure disease. Yet, these innovations have far-reaching consequences beyond medicine and will reshape our world in ways we can only imagine - or fear. The course will challenge students to confront the risks and rewards for them, their family, their community, and their future, as biotechnology moves out of specialized laboratories and into homes. A demystifying, low-tech approach will introduce them to contemporary genome redesign, clarifying the current limitations and future goals of the field. Students will debate whether redesigning plants and animals will enhance or inhibit momentum in human genome engineering, and formulate their own arguments about who should be able to use these tools and where, who decides, and how much society is willing to risk.
Restricted to UH students matriculating in Fall 2020 or later.

HNUH228B is the required I-Series course in the Redesigning Life thematic cluster. Redesigning Life courses will be offered through Spring 2024.
HNUH228W
Planetary Protection vs. Planetary Imperialism
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
GenEd: DSNS
International space agencies, such as NASA, ESA, and CNSA, continue to push the boundaries of deep space exploration, buoyed by public excitement, scientific ambition, and political motivation. However, the invasion of alien environments warrants an ethical consideration. What are the risks of forward contamination? What are the potential consequences of reverse contamination? How do we avoid a "space race" incentivized by imperialism? What happens next if we do discover life on another planetary body? This course equips students to grapple with such questions in light of the current state of planetary science, world affairs, and the near-term prospects for the commercialization of spaceflight.
This course is part of the Redesigning Life thematic cluster and pairs with HNUH228B to complete the cluster. Redesigning Life courses will be offered through Spring 2024.
HNUH258U
The Basis of Behavior: Evolution and the Origin of Actions
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F
GenEd: DSNS
Why do some monkeys spend time grooming each other in large groups, while others lose their minds with rage if another monkey comes too close? Complex organisms exhibit behaviors that both fascinate and confound, and the way an animal behaves dictates how it interacts with its environment, with profound consequences. Individual behaviors can have dramatic effects on individual fitness, an individual's groupmates, and even the evolution of species. This leads to a fundamental question in behavioral evolution: why do animals do the things they do? The answer lies in the interaction between individual experiences and eons of natural selection. In this seminar, students investigate what organisms were, what they have become, and why. With a focus on the transitions in behavior that caused single cells to evolve over time into complex societies, students will apply evolutionary principles to individual development and explore how and why individuals choose certain behaviors over others.
This course is part of the Metamorphosis thematic cluster and pairs with HNUH258B to complete the cluster. Metamorphosis courses will be offered through Spring 2025
KNES
Kinesiology Department Site
KNES260
Science of Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS or DSSP
Course details (1) the public health importance of and the processes underlying cardiovascular disease, (2) the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and the methods whereby they were identified, and (3) the principles of the scientific evidence supporting the use of physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease.
LING
Linguistics Department Site
LING272
Biophysics of Language
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Examines the nature of mental representation of language in the physiology of the mind/brain, how it evolved, how it emerges in learners' minds, and how it decays through injury and illness. Insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, animal behavior, molecular biology, and biophysics are brought to bear on how an abstract systematic behavior can arise within an animal brain.
NEUR
Neuroscience
NEUR200
Introduction to Neuroscience
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in BSCI170 and BSCI171.
Cross-listed with: PSYC202.
Credit only granted for: PSYC309U, NEUR200, PSYC202 or PSYC301.
Formerly: PSYC309U.
In an evolutionary sense, the job of the nervous system is to produce, control, and coordinate behaviors that help an animal survive and reproduce. Neuroscience is the study of how the nervous system does that. Provides a broad introduction to neuroscience, always keeping the behavioral consequences in view.
NFSC
Nutrition and Food Science Department Site
The following courses may involve the use of animals. Students who are concerned about the use of animals in teaching have the responsibility to contact the instructor, prior to course enrollment, to determine whether animals are to be used in the course, whether class exercises involving animals are optional or required and what alternatives, if any, are available.
NFSC100
Elements of Nutrition
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Fundamentals of human nutrition. Nutrient requirements related to changing individual and family needs.
PHYS
Physics Department Site
PHYS137
The Quantum Wave: understanding the potential impact of quantum information on society
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Additional information: This class is not open to students in the STEM major.
Advances in quantum information science and engineering (QISE), particularly quantum computing, have the potential to significantly disrupt and change the day-to-day lives of every person. In this course, we'll learn about the confluence of engineering, physics, and computer science that make this field so promising and develop tools to make sense of the scientific, societal, and ethical implications of these emerging technologies. Students will study, in depth, applications of QISE that are of particular and personal interest to share with others how they envision navigating a facet of day-to-day life that has been disrupted by advances in QISE. No prior background in STEM required. This course is only open to non-STEM majors.
PHYS161
General Physics: Mechanics and Particle Dynamics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: Must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in MATH141.
Credit only granted for: PHYS141, PHYS161, or PHYS171.
Additional information: General Education Natural Sciences Lab (DSNL) Course only when taken concurrently with PHYS275.
First semester of a three-semester calculus-based general physics course. Laws of motion, force, and energy; principles of mechanics, collisions, linear momentum, rotation, and gravitation.
Physics Clinic, PHY 1214, MTWHF 11, 1, 2. If purchasing used books additional software may be required.
PHYS171
Introductory Physics: Mechanics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: MATH140; or permission of CMNS-Physics department.
Credit only granted for: PHYS141, PHYS161, or PHYS171.
Additional information: General Education Natural Sciences Lab (DSNL) Course only when taken concurrently with PHYS275.
First semester of a three semester sequence for physics majors and those desiring a rigorous preparation in the physical sciences: kinematics, Newton's laws, energy and work, linear and angular momenta.
Jointly offered with PHYS171H.
PHYS171H
(Perm Req)
Introductory Physics: Mechanics
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: MATH140; or permission of CMNS-Physics department.
Credit only granted for: PHYS141, PHYS161, or PHYS171.
Additional information: General Education Natural Sciences Lab (DSNL) Course only when taken concurrently with PHYS275.
First semester of a three semester sequence for physics majors and those desiring a rigorous preparation in the physical sciences: kinematics, Newton's laws, energy and work, linear and angular momenta.
Jointly offered with PHYS171.
PLSC
Plant Sciences
PLSC110
Introduction to Horticulture
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNL (if taken with PLSC111) or DSNS
Credit only granted for: PLSC100 or PLSC110 and PLSC111.
Formerly: PLSC100.
An overview to the art and science of horticulture. Relationships between plant science and plant production, the use of horticultural plants and plant stress as influenced by cultural practices.
PLSC250
Lawns in the Landscape: Environmental Hero or Villain?
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS, SCIS
Cross-listed with ENSP250.
Credit only granted for: ENSP250 or PLSC250.
Examination of the lawn as an element in the anthropogenic landscape and its influence on global warming, regional air and water quality, ecological diversity, mammalian pesticide exposure and consumptive water use. Demographic and socioeconomic factors are examined in the context of being predictors of landscape aesthetic desires and lawn management behaviors. Policies that incentivize lawn alternatives or changes in lawn management behavior are discussed.
PLSC303
Global Food Systems
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in BSCI170 and BSCI171; or students who have taken courses with comparable content may contact the department.
An introduction to the global food system and its agricultural, biophysical, and socioeconomic domains. The problems and potentials for increasing world food supply based on current agronomic knowledge. Emphasis on international aspects of food crop production as its interrelationships with people and the environment in the developing world.
PSYC
Psychology Department Site
The following courses may involve the use of animals. Students who are concerned about the use of animals in teaching have the responsibility to contact the instructor, prior to course enrollment, to determine whether animals are to be used in the course, whether class exercises involving animals are optional or required and what alternatives, if any, are available.
The Department of Psychology enforces course prerequisites. Students who do not meet the course prerequisites will be administratively dropped from the course.
PSYC100
Introduction to Psychology
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSHS or DSNS
A basic introductory course intended to bring the student into contact with the major problems confronting psychology and the more important attempts at their solution.
Discussion sections do not meet until after first lecture. Research requirement: may involve participation in research.
PSYC304
Biological Psychology
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
GenEd: DSNS
Prerequisite: PSYC100, BSCI170 and BSCI171; or equivalent.
Credit only granted for: PSYC301 or PSYC304.
Formerly: PSYC301.
Biological Psychology is the study of the physiological basis of behavior. In this course, we will first cover the basic principles of brain organization and neural transmission. We will then introduce traditional and modern research techniques in the field of behavioral neuroscience. The last portion of the course focuses on specific topics including psychopharmacology, learning and memory, emotion, stress, drug of abuse, neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) and schizophrenia.
Restricted to PSYC students only.