Degree Requirements

1. Content Knowledge: The student is able to apply basic scientific and quantitative principles and the relationships between them across different scales to understand issues in health and environment.
2. Epistemology of Science: Using historical and contemporary examples, the student is able to describe the process of science and the interplay between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.
3. Social Context/Interdisciplinary: The student is able to recognize the importance of the interplay between science and society.
4. Quantitative Reasoning/Visual Literacy: The student is able to use quantitative methods to solve problems, analyze scientific data, and construct conceptual mathematical models.
5. Lab Skills: The student is able to design, execute, and interpret the results of experiments in a laboratory setting.
6. Skills and Abilities: The student can locate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate sources of scientific information to address problems, make decisions, and take action. The student can communicate science effectively in a variety of forms and can work on a sustained project independently and in collaboration with others.
7. Personal Empowerment: The student expresses excitement, confidence, and passion about science and society and understands how science can be an agent for social change.

Lang’s General Degree Requirements
In addition to the requirements outlined here, Lang has specific requirements, including a minimum number of credits in liberal arts courses as well as college residency requirements. All students should read Lang’s General Degree Requirements and consult with both their Student Success advisor and their Departmental Faculty Advisor each semester to ensure that they are on track to graduate.

Degree Works
To be sure their Degree Works account reflects the information in this worksheet, students should forward any approved exemptions from the following requirements to their Student Success advisor.

Requirements for the BA in Interdisciplinary Science

As of fall 2020, students declaring the major in Interdisciplinary Science must take 12 courses, outlined as follows. An internship/research project is recommended, and a science fellowship is optional and merit-based. Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses to meet the requirements for the major in Interdisciplinary Science. Declare your major by following the process outlined in Declaring Your Major. Students declare their major at various points, but we recommend that when you declare, you review the sample course menu in the Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet below, submit a MAJORS/MINOR statement, and schedule an advising appointment with the Departmental Faculty Advisor of the Interdisciplinary Science Program so that advising can be personalized and appropriate to your interests and post-graduate plans.

Students who have declared the major in Interdisciplinary Science before fall 2020 but wish to follow the fall 2020 curriculum can consult their Student Success advisor about submitting a Change of Catalog Year request. Only specific courses satisfy the major requirements, including electives. Courses should be chosen carefully, in consultation with the Departmental Faculty Advisor and your Student Success advisor. Track your progress using the program worksheet (below). See the university course catalog for spring 2021 Interdisciplinary Science courses that fulfill these requirements.  

Advising and Resources

See Interdisciplinary Science Advising and Resources for information about:

• Identifying and selecting classes
• Funding research and internship opportunities for IS students
• Training programs, conferences, and resources related to graduate school
• Local seminars and research experiences for undergraduates (REUs)
• IS job opportunities
• IS study abroad opportunities
• Professional societies
• Conferences and journals

Major Requirements

Introductory Courses - 6 courses total (18-24 credits):

• LSCI 2040 Genes, Environment, and Behavior (spring)
• LMTH 2050 Math Models in Nature (spring)
• LSCI 2500 Chemistry of the Environment (fall)
• LSCI 2700 Energy and Sustainability (spring)
• LSCI 2320 Microbial Ecologies (fall)
• Choose 1 introductory science elective from the courses below:
  • LSCI 2300 Urban Environmental Health (spring)
  • LSCI 2840 Science and Politics of Infectious Diseases (spring)
  • LSCI 2060 Stem Cells and Social Justice (spring)

• Choose 1 Mathematics course from the list below. Consult with the Departmental Faculty Advisor:
  • LMTH 2040 Calculus I (spring)
  • LMTH 2045 Calculus II
  • LMTH 2030 Statistics with SPSS (fall/spring)
  • LMTH 2014 Quantitative Reasoning II: Research (fall/spring)
    
    
• Choose 1 Laboratory Science from below. All have prerequisites:
  • LSCI 3030 Biodiversity Achieved Lab (prerequisite: LSCI 2040 Genes, Environment, and Behavior; alternate years in fall)
  • or LSCI 3029 Water Quality Lab (prerequisite: LSCI 2500 Chemistry of the Environment; alternate years in spring)
  • or LSCI 3055 Microbiome of Urban Spaces (prerequisite: LSCI 2040 Genes, Environment, and Behavior or LSCI 2320 Microbial Ecologies; in spring)

• Choose 2 Intermediate/Advanced courses from the list below. All have prerequisites and are offered alternate years:
  • LSCI 3031 Chemistry of the Atmosphere
  • LSCI 3400 Genomes, Populations, and Identities
  • LSCI 3030 Biodiversity Achieved Lab
  • LSCI 3427 Evolution, Mutation, Computation
  • LSCI 4050 Science and Politics of Cancer
  • Other 3000-level LSCI or LMTH courses that have prerequisites

• 1 additional Science or Mathematics elective. This must be chosen in consultation with the Departmental Faculty Advisor. NOTE: The following courses do not satisfy this requirement: Quantitative Reasoning I, Pre-Calculus, and Statistics for Social Scientists. First-Year courses and History and Philosophy courses can count in some cases.
  
  
• Internship/Research (recommended)
  
  
• Science Fellowship (optional; merit-based)

Senior Capstone(3-4 credits):

• Choose 1 Interdisciplinary Science capstone in consultation with the Departmental Faculty Advisor or chair of the department:
  • LSCI 4900 IS Capstone: Planetary Health
  • or LSCI 4050 Science and Politics of Cancer 

Total credits: 37-50

To be sure you are on course to graduate, track your progress using the Interdisciplinary Science worksheet (PDF) for the year in which you declared your major: 

Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

Spring 2020:
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

2019-2020:
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

2018-2019:
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

2017-2018: 
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

2016-2017: 
- Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet (Check Sheet) and Suggested Schedule
- Major/Minor Declaration Statement

2015-2016 Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet
2014-2015 Interdisciplinary Science Worksheet