Biology - Major in Biology Program

Citizenship Track:

Required courses:
ECN 102 Principles of Macroeconomics

This course extends the study of consumer and producer choices to discover how they affect the nation's economy. Macroeconomics deals with the economy as a whole as measured by the key variables of inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. Emphasis is on both Keynesian and classical theories and how they predict what monetary and fiscal policies can be used to affect these variables and reach national economic goals. Fulfills requirement: Quantitative Reasoning. 3 credits.

HIS 102 Recent Pennsylvania Politics and History

This course focuses on the history and politics of Pennsylvania from the late 20th century to the present. We examine the main branches of government, voting and elections, key historical and political developments, and selected public policies. 1 credit.

HIS 103 The Ancient World: World History from the Dawn of Civilization to the Fall of the Han and Roman Empires

This course is a study of world history from the development of human civilizations around 3500 BCE to the end of the first era of empire-building in China and Rome, ca. 200-400s BCE. Topics include the advent of civilizations; the formation of great philosophies and religious traditions; and the first empires. This course is organized geographically and chronologically within the examination of the civilizations of the Near East (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia, India, China, Greece, and Rome. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. 3 credits.

HIS 105 Formation of the Modern World

This survey of modern world history (ca. 1450 to the present) explores key developments in the formation of the modern world, from the knitting together of Afro-Eurasia and the Americas to the emergence of global capitalism, colonization, and the nation-state system to the world wars of the 20th century, the Cold War and its aftermath, the process of globalization, the rise of Islamic extremism, and the intensifying impacts of global climate change. Bringing past and present together into a coherent analytical framework, the course encourages students to analyze contemporary global and domestic issues from diverse cultural perspectives, and to engage in ongoing reflections about their own culture and other cultures. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. 3 credits.

HIS 125 United States History to 1865

The major events and developments in America from Columbus to the Civil War, with emphasis on the creation of a distinctive American society from the interaction of different cultures, ethnic groups, and ideas. Major themes include the transformation of European cultural ideas in colonial America and the impact of republican ideology, democratization, and the spread of the market economy between the Revolution and the Civil War. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. 3 credits.

HIS 126 With Justice for All?

Since the end of the Civil War, Americans have changed their conception of who belongs to "We the People." Moreover, we have also reconsidered the appropriate role of government for citizens and the world. This course provides an introduction to those controversies in the past and present. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. 3 credits.

HIS 150 The Business of History

This course is designed to orient History majors (and humanities majors more generally) to the wide variety of occupations available to them. Some go into law, business, public policy or politics, while others work in museums, archives, national parks or the military. Students will be introduced to people applying their degrees to the real world, and will survey ways to research professional opportunities. 1 credit.

HIS 202 Historical and Cultural Geography

An introduction to historical and cultural geography in various parts of the world, focusing on prominent scholars and schools of thought that examine key aspects of the ways in which distinct, historically-constituted communities and cultures have interacted with the natural world over time, with special emphasis on the fossil fuel economy, climate change, agriculture, land use, urbanization, transportation, settlement, industry, migration, and disease. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of instructor. 3 credits.

HIS 250 The Historian's Craft

An introduction to the basics of historical research and writing. The most important goal of the course is to help students produce a clearly written research paper, with footnotes and a bibliography. A primary source paper and other writing assignments will prepare the students for the achievement of this goal. Class discussion will revolve around analysis of various types of primary sources, secondary sources, journal articles, issues of interpretation, and research methods. The course will also include several research trips to libraries, archives, historical societies, or local history collections. Fulfills requirement: Critical Thinking through Writing. Prerequisites: At least two 100-level history courses; or permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

HIS 251 Topics in Political History

This course will examine specific topics in political history, with a focus on either US, European, African, or Latin American political history. Specific topical emphases might include 19th and 20th Century US Political History; the impact of Colonial and Post-Colonial African Political History; Populist Politics in 20th & 21st Century Latin America; and Transformation in European Political Systems in the 20th & 21st Centuries. Topics will be announced two years in advance. Fulfills requirement: . This course may be repeated for credit as topic changes. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, and at least two 100-level courses in History; or permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

HIS 252 Topics in Economic History

This seminar will focus on topics in economic history. The modern market economy has created unprecedented productivity growth that has lifted billions of people out of grinding poverty. For the first time in history, there are more people who are overweight than underfed. This course examines the origins and the current state of a world economy with profound contradictions and possibilities. We delve into the various ways the modern economy emerged and the different paths taken by different countries, or by the United States at different points in time. We also look at the various ways that historians and other scholars have understood the economy. Fulfills requirement: . This course may be repeated for credit as topic changes. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, and at least two 100-level courses in History; or permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

HIS 253 Topics in Comparative History

This seminar will focus on topics in comparative history with a focus on European, Asian, and African history. Topics might include World War I, imperialism, nineteenth-century Europe, revolutions, or religion and violence. The comparisons might be within the context of European history, or might compare topics across the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Fulfills requirement: Critical Thinking through Writing. This course may be repeated for credit as topic changes. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, and at least two college level history courses; major or minor in history, politics or global studies; OR permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

HIS 254 Topics in the History of the Americas

This seminar focuses on questions, issues, and themes in the history of the Americas (i.e., the Western Hemisphere). Topical and thematic emphases might include: Race, Class & Gender in the Americas from the Age of Revolution to the Present; Comparative Slavery & Post-Emancipation Societies in the Americas; Social Movements & State Formation in the Americas; and the Americas during the Cold War. Topical focus will be announced two years in advance. Fulfills requirement: . This course may be repeated for credit as topic changes. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, and at least two 100-level courses in History; or permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

POL 110 American Politics and Government

This course provides students with a critical understanding of the U.S. political process and analytical tools to evaluate authority structures that exercise power and influence. Fulfills requirement: . 3 credits.

POL 210 Comparative Politics

This is an introduction to the study of comparative politics: the comparison of political systems in order to understand how and why these systems function differently. The course is built around three fundamental questions: What is comparative politics? What kinds of phenomena do we compare? What are the major theoretical approaches that guide our studies? We also examine distinctions between the "developing" and the "developed" worlds, and between authoritarian and democratic political regimes. The last half of the semester is devoted to the study of individual country case studies, with an emphasis on those in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Fulfills requirement: Intercultural Competence. 3 credits.

POL 245 International Relations

This course uses the levels of analysis approach to understand international politics and theories in international relations to draw connections between concepts and world issues. Fulfills requirement: Critical Thinking through Writing. 3 credits.

One of the following:
ECN 099 Essentials of Microeconomics - Academic Leveling Course

This course offers an alternative to ECN 101 only for students pursuing a Secondary Teaching certification in Social Studies or Citizenship education. Students may take ECN 101 and 102, or ECN 099 and 102 to fulfill the PDE requirement for economics. The course examines how individuals and firms decide how much to produce an in some cases what price to charge for their goods. Together these choices determine what is produced, how it is produced, and for whom it is produced in our economic system. Graded pass/fail. 0 credits.

ECN 101 Principles of Microeconomics

The course examines how individuals and firms make choices within the institution of free-market capitalism. Individuals decide how much of their time to spend working and what to buy with the earnings of their labor. Firms decide how much to produce and in some cases what price to charge for their goods. Together these choices determine what is produced, how it is produced, and for whom it is produced in our economic system. Fulfills requirement: Quantitative Reasoning. 3 credits.

Three credits from the following:
HIS 460 Undergraduate Research

This course is designed to provide students in political science, history, and international studies opportunities to obtain credit for engaging in undergraduate research projects under the faculty supervision. Students engage in research projects with faculty on a range of topics, subject to approval of the individual faculty member. Course may be repeated up to a limit of 12 credits; but only up to 6 credits can be applied to the major. Prerequisites: Completion of one course in History; sophomore standing, 2.5 GPA, and permission of the instructor/chair. 1-6 credits.

HIS 499 Senior Seminar in History

Focus on a theme in history such as World War I, the industrial revolution, or the Enlightenment. These topics will be approached from a variety of perspectives (economic, political, or social for example) and from the viewpoint of many national histories. Class meetings will include discussion of course readings, research methods, and the historiography related to the theme of the course. Students will write a research paper on some aspect of the course topic utilizing a variety of primary and secondary sources and present their research to the class. Fulfills requirement: . Prerequisites: Senior history majors or permission of instructor. 3 credits.

One HIS elective or one of the following courses:
COE 204SS Past Imperfect

Utopian thinking builds on the ancient parts of our brain that quickly categorize people into insiders or outsiders. Such implicit biases shape the social movements claiming to perfect the world that are as old as Islam and as recent as free-market capitalism. Marx inspired reformers who banned child labor but he was also used by communist regimes that justified their dictatorships by appeals to his ideals combined with a police state. Adam Smith's thinking inspired economic changes that have raised global living standards but have also been used to rationalize corrupt police states throughout the world. Understanding the appeal of perfection, the good and bad that it has done, provides a window into the messy nature of the human condition and the world itself. Fulfills requirement: Connective Experience. Students must register for all four courses in this Connective Experience in the same academic year. All courses carry the same course number. 3 credits.

COE 212SS Cyber Attacks and Disinformation: Asymmetric Tactics and Hybrid Warfare in the 21st Century

In this course, students will be challenged to understand the roles played by state and non-state actors engaging in cyberattacks, direct disinformation, and covert influence campaigns to undermine and undercut democratic political systems, confuse citizens, and shape public opinion around the world. Fulfills requirement: Connective Experience. Students must register for all four courses in this Connective Experience in the same academic year. All courses carry the same course number. 3 credits.

COE 215SS Religious Violence and Memory in the Twentieth Century

This course focuses on the role that memory plays in cycles of religious violence. To examine this question, the class focuses on four key episodes of religions violence in the twentieth century: the Holocaust, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Indian Partition in 1947 and the Bosnian crisis in the 1990s. Fulfills requirement: Connective Experience. Students must register for all four courses in this Connective Experience in the same academic year. All courses carry the same course number. 3 credits.

COE 224SS Evolutionary History

This course allows students to apply evolutionary theory and evidence to the study of history from the earliest beginnings of humanity to the recent past. Fulfills requirement: Connective Experience. Students must register for all four courses in this Connective Experience in the same academic year. All courses carry the same course number. 3 credits.

COE 248SS Paths to Enlightenment

This course addresses the history and philosophy of the Enlightenment of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Topics of discussion will include new political and economic ideas such as liberalism and laissez-faire capitalism, the beginning of religious tolerance, experiments in science and education, and the ways in which colonialism and cross-cultural contacts changed the perspectives of the thinkers of the time. The course will also address the social history of the period in order to understand the society that produced Enlightenment ideas and how they circulated. Fulfills requirement: Connective Experience. Students must register for all four courses in this Connective Experience in the same academic year. All courses carry the same course number. 3 credits.

Secondary Education Courses:
SED 115 Introduction to Teaching and Learning

This course is designed to provide an introduction to secondary education majors about how people learn and how to successfully use that information in the classroom. It will cover the characteristics of secondary schools and students and the management of teaching and learning resources. 2 hours a week of fieldwork is required. 3 credits.

SED 363 Teaching of Social Sciences in the Secondary Schools

This course will offer comprehensive preparation for teaching social studies in secondary schools through discussing, reading, writing, and completing projects. As part of this course, students will establish and practice appropriate classroom management strategies; design lessons/units of study that meaningfully integrate different and varied aspects of social studies; develop appropriate assessment strategies for all students including those with disabilities; explore and utilize materials, techniques and methods of classroom instruction for a variety of populations including those with disabilities; synthesize, reconfigure and connect what they have learned within the areas of social studies literacy, writing and education; evaluate student work by creating their own rubrics to assess learning; use technology effectively as an instructional tool. 4 hours a week of fieldwork is required. Prerequisite: Social Studies major or permission of the instructor. 3 credits.

SED 421 Content Area Literacy

This course will guide preservice students to develop competencies in teaching literacy strategies in their content area subject(s) in middle and high school. Emphasis will be placed on teaching activities, specialized skills, technology skills and study strategies for learning substantive content. 4 hours a week of fieldwork is required. Prerequisite: SED 115. 3 credits.

SED 431 Practicum and Methods II

This course is designed to provide preservice secondary education students with the skills to develop an integrated approach to teaching and learning. Students will create lesson and unit plans and develop integrated curricula. 4 hours a week of fieldwork is required. Prerequisites: SED 115, 421; secondary teacher certification candidate; junior or senior status; permission of the instructor; must be taken the semester prior to SED 440. 3 credits.

SED 440 Student Teaching

Students spend an entire semester in an area school under the supervision of a cooperating teacher. Fulfills requirement: Immersive Experience. Prerequisites: A cumulative grade point average at or above the minimum GPA specified by PDE for the secondary 7-12 certificate, SED 431 and the appropriate teaching of course for the content certification, completion of all Chapter 354 and Act 49-2 course requirements. 12 credits.

SED 450 Curriculum and Instruction for the Young Adolescent

Learn about teaching and working with young adolescents aged 10-15. You will explore the social, emotional, physical and intellectual development of young adolescents, through different media, a school visitation, possible conference attendance, discussions, and research. Fulfills requirement: Critical Thinking through Writing. Prerequisite: Take SED 115, SPE 250 and 255. 3 credits.