Catalog Course Descriptions
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Courses
Undergraduate
Focuses on reading and writing in academic settings. Develops comprehension and retention of modified academic and informational texts and writing a variety of academic essays on concrete and abstract topics. Covers vocabulary and grammar at the CEFR B1+ level. Designed for non-native English speakers at a high-intermediate level in written skills. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 20 credits.
Focuses on listening and speaking skills in academic and social settings. Introduces note-taking and develops short formal presentations, conversation management, functions, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation at the CEFR B1+ level. Designed for non-native English speakers at a high-intermediate level in oral skills. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 16 credits.
May not be repeated for credit.
Prepares students in the International Graduate Pathways requiring the general Graduate Record Examination test for progression to take the computer adaptive version of the exam where the emphasis is placed primarily on the verbal section. This course primarily emphasizes the verbal portion of the exam along with test language and testing strategies; identifying common test-taking errors; and managing in test anxiety. Equivalent to INYO 095, INYO 096, INYO 097.
Individualized language instruction for Pathway students. Focus on reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 4 credits.
Individualized language instruction for Pathway students. Focus on reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 4 credits.
Overview of major ideas and approaches to the study of cultures around the world. Surveys kinship, social organization, political economy, religious beliefs, language and other aspects of non-Western cultures. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to the content and principles of the visual arts. Approach varies with instructor. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces study, principle, and understanding of art of architecture. Approach varies with instructor; may be historical, geographical, technical, or thematic. Notes: Field trips required. Limited to three attempts.
Explores elements and principles of two-dimensional design, establishment of visual vocabulary, and critical analysis that supports conceptual development. Studio projects build fundamental knowledge, skills, understanding of precedents, and contemporary practices in visual arts. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces computing from artist's perspective. Emphasizes computer use for artistic creation and research. Overview of image making and time-based media within the broad context of contemporary art, new media art, and mediated culture. Limited to three attempts.
This course provides students with a foundation for understanding the role of business in society by exploring business history, the social context of business, and the interaction of various stakeholders with business. A range of contemporary case studies and events will be used to analyze the dynamic relationships between business organizations and the society in which they operate. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
Students will investigate and develop their professional skill set. Topics include introduction to the business school and business world, what it means to be professional, how to consume the business press, and how to research business issues. Develop professional writing and presentation skills, explore career options and the job search process, and develop personal educational and professional development plans. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
Introduction to the use of computers in scientific discovery through simulations and data analysis. Covers historical development and current trends in the field. Limited to three attempts.
Experiments in computational and data sciences explore the connections between on-going advances in the natural sciences and the rapid advances in computing and data handling. Lab exercises demonstrate the use of computers in analyzing data, in modeling science problems, and in creating numerical simulations across the science disciplines. Limited to three attempts.
Covers use of computers to solve practical scientific problems. Topics include creating effective scientific presentations, analysis of experimental data, online literature, data/information ethics, scientific modeling, and communication/collaboration tools. Designed to equip students with the knowledge and confidence they need to use future hardware and software systems both as students and throughout their scientific careers. Limited to three attempts.
Examination of ethical issues related to access and use of information and data in the Internet age, for the general student, with special emphasis on ethical issues that apply to the proper use and interpretation of scientific and technical information. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to Mandarin, including basic grammar, oral expression, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Notes: Students may not receive credit for CHIN 101 and CHIN 109 or 110. Equivalent to CHIN 109, CHIN 110.
Continuation of CHIN 101. Notes: Students may not receive credit for CHIN 102 and CHIN 109 or 110. Equivalent to CHIN 109, CHIN 110.
Introduces elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Notes: Lab work required. Students may not receive credit for CHIN 110 and CHIN 101, 102, or 109. Equivalent to CHIN 101, CHIN 102, CHIN 109.
Survey of the scientific and societal issues associated with weather and climate variability and change. Examines physical phenomena observed in the Earth's weather and climate, providing sufficient scientific and technical background to enable students to critically examine arguments being discussed by policymakers and the public at large. Also reviews the current debate on climate change from a scientific point of view with a focus on those aspects that have the largest potential impact on global society. Limited to three attempts.
Presents principles to develop effective presentations for public and professional settings while integrating appropriate technologies. Emphasizes analyzing audience; composing meaningful, coherent messages; conducting responsible research; developing effective arguments; and improving delivery skills to strengthen confidence and credibility. Limited to three attempts.
This is a comprehensive communication skills course that will equip you with the communication skills that you will need to be successful in your future courses, careers, and communities. In this course, you will learn how to conduct research for, organize, and deliver effective presentations that allow you to explain complex ideas, persuade, and advocate for change. You will learn how to build and sustain meaningful relationships as well as manage conflict in those relationships. You will also develop the small group and leadership skills that will help you work successfully in teams. All of these skills will be embedded within a diversity and equity context so that you can understand, analyze, adapt messages for, and demonstrate respect and consideration for the multitude of audiences with whom you will communicate in a range of intercultural, personal, and professional contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Brief history of field, survey of key conflict resolution themes and theories, and intervention methods. Overview includes general factors of conflict and its resolution; and nature of conflict in interpersonal, group, organizational, and international situations. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of the American system of criminal justice, covering theories of justice, criminal law, policing, courts and associated pre and post-trial legal processes, punishment and corrections, and juvenile justice. Required for all criminology majors and minors. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces dance as universal human activity, expression of cultural identity, and art form. Survey of global dance includes folk, ceremonial and ritual, trance, court, classical, and theatrical. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces rhythmic structure, notation, and basic forms of music. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces global dance form through presentation of fundamental techniques, music and culture. Area of concentration may vary to include an array of global perspectives. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Performance of a popular dance form through presentation of fundamental techniques, music, and culture. Area of concentration may vary to include an array of popular dance forms. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Rotating topic. Introduction and exploration of topical studies in dance or related study areas; topic depends on instructor. Notes: May be repeated if course content differs. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Introduces fundamentals of modern dance technique. Emphasizes improving anatomical awareness and alignment, increasing strength and flexibility, and developing rhythmic sensitivity. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces fundamentals of jazz dance technique, explores the musical and cultural traditions of jazz dance, and its historical context. Emphasizes improving anatomical awareness and alignment, increasing strength and flexibility, and developing rhythmic sensitivity. Also introduces jazz improvisation and choreography. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces fundamental elements of ballet technique and vocabulary. Stresses learning vocabulary and movement characteristics of this highly stylized art form. Emphasizes improving anatomical awareness and alignment, increasing strength and flexibility, and developing musicality. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Explores movement invention and discovery. Movement explored in relation to other art forms such as literature, painting, sculpture, and architecture; enhancing kinesthetic awareness; sensitivity to others; and the environment. Prerequisite for dance composition and choreography series. Limited to three attempts.
Introductory exploration of rhythms and steps basic to the art form of tap dancing including its musical and cultural traditions. Emphasizes improving anatomical awareness and alignment, increasing strength and flexibility and developing rhythmic sensitivity. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces sound, lighting, and stage management elements and terminology as related to dance performance. Intensive workshop setting emphasizes laboratory experience. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to School of Dance, CVPA, and university resources available to dance majors. Weekly meetings focus on learning about opportunities for involvement in dance, the community, and adjusting academically. Each class addresses a topic to assist dance majors to effectively transition to college life. Limited to three attempts.
EAP 100 is to be used as an incubator for special topics courses under development in the Undergraduate Pathway program at INTO Mason. EAP 100 will be used for the various content-based English Language Support courses that are paired with major or content courses required by Undergraduate Pathways students. Language support courses such as EAP 100 run concurrently with credit-bearing undergraduate content course. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Academic Language support course for Fundamentals of Communication. Focus on increasing students' comprehension and use of key grammatical structures, vocabulary, word forms, and reading/annotation strategies in oral speech and group discussions. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. Limited to three attempts.
Academic language support course for Undergraduate Pathways students taking American Cultures. Designed to increase students' ability to comprehend and respond to readings, discussions, and lectures related to American Cultures. Emphasizes the development of successful strategies for intrapersonal and small/large group communication activities, student familiarity with anthropological and sociological terminology and effective application of reading /annotating strategies. Also listed as PROV 102. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support course for Public Speaking. Focus on increasing students' comprehension and use of key grammatical structures, vocabulary, word forms, and reading/annotating strategies in oral speech. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support course for Introduction to World History. Focus on increasing students' comprehension and use of key grammatical structures, vocabulary, word forms, and reading/annotating strategies in literacy/reading. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
This course is designed to improve students' understanding of written language and to provide mechanisms that allow students to take advantage of this flexible but structured form of communication. Providing this knowledge and these tools will improve students' abilities to identify and correct grammatical mistakes, write cohesive and coherent paragraphs, and condense essential information-necessary skills for effective academic writing. May be repeated within the degree.
Academic language support course for Undergraduate Pathway students taking Business in American Society. This course is designed to increase students' ability to read and analyze qualitative and quantitative information, understand and use business terminology, and utilize oral English fluency and literacy practices/strategies in anticipation of group discussions, debates, and oral/written critiques of business-related current events. Also listed as PROV 108. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic reading support for Undergraduate Pathways students in specific pathways. Designed to increase students' ability to read, summarize, and analyze texts, including information graphics and visuals. Focuses on student comprehension and utilization of discipline-specific genres/terminology and effective literacy practices/strategies in anticipation of group discussions, reading research, and responding to writing assignments. Also listed as PROV 109. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
EAP 110 is a composition course that integrates language instruction with composition instruction as a way of preparing multilingual undergraduate students to be successful academic writers across the curriculum. EAP 110 will focus on critical reading skills across multiple genres. This process will involve annotating, summarizing, and analyzing texts and will serve as the foundation for academic writing in the International Year One Program and beyond. Limited to three attempts.
Academic language support for Undergraduate Pathways students taking Information Technology. Designed to increase students' IT literacy, including familiarity and accurate usage of terms related to digital devices, computer hardware, software, telecommunications, networking and multimedia. Supports students' oral and written academic English skills in anticipation of class lectures, textbook readings, individual assignments, and online discussion boards. Also listed as PROV 111. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support for Undergraduate Pathways students taking Computer Programming. This course is designed to increase students' ability to respond accurately to computer programming problems in English, understand and use programming terminology, and utilize oral English fluency and literacy practices/strategies in anticipation of class lectures, lab work, individual assignments, and online discussion boards. Also listed as PROV 112. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support course for Undergraduate Pathways students taking program University Physics I. This course is designed to increase students' ability to respond accurately to physical problems in English, understand and use mathematical and physics terminology, and utilize oral English fluency and literacy practices/strategies in anticipation of class lectures, lab/recitation work, and online discussion boards. Also listed as PROV 113. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support for Undergraduate Pathways students taking General Chemistry I. This course is designed to increase students' ability to read and comprehend qualitative and quantitative information, understand and use general science and chemistry-related terminology, set-up and solve numerical problems in English, and take notes from oral lectures and textbook chapters. Also listed as PROV 114. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Academic language support for Undergraduate Pathways students taking Introductory Geology I. This course is designed to increase students' ability to read and comprehend qualitative and quantitative information in English, understand and use general science and geology-related terminology, take notes from oral lectures and textbook chapters, and participate in group discussions. Also listed as PROV 115. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill program requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
This is a language and academic skills course that focuses on developing English language, critical thinking and studentship skills employed by successful engineers, scientists, computer scientists, mathematicians and other STEM professionals; that is, the habits of mind used when writing and producing work within a discipline. In addition, to continue development of the language skills acquired in EAP 110, students will work on developing project analysis habits of mind as well as time and project management skills. This class is based on investigating a problem/theme/issue/situation from a disciplinary stance. Potential approaches to the problems will be developed in teams and presented by those teams in project reports and posters. Limited to three attempts.
Required to complete all standard undergraduate pathways. Provides students with opportunity to demonstrate mastery of English language skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar and/or vocabulary. Builds on work in language support classes. Includes language assessment, feedback on skills, and review of post-program support. Required during second semester of the Undergraduate Pathways program. Also listed as PROV 120. Notes: A passing grade of "S" confirms the student's English language proficiency is sufficient for degree-seeking study. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 0 credits.
EAP 121 is a composition course that integrates language instruction with composition instruction as a way of preparing multilingual students to be successful academic writers across the curriculum. Focus on connecting rhetorical elements with English language features across texts serves to make the process of writing in English more fluid and intuitive. Focus on critical reading skills across multiple genres, and analyzing texts serves as the foundation for academic writing in the International Year One Program and beyond. Limited to three attempts.
Not available to economics majors. Broad introduction to economic concepts and how they can contribute to a better understanding of the world around us. Applies and develops concepts to current economic and social problems and issues. Less formal modeling than in the 103-104 sequence. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces microeconomics in the context of current problems. Explores how market mechanism allocates scarce resources among competing uses; uses supply, demand, production, and distribution theory to analyze problems. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces macroeconomics in the context of current problems. National income analysis, money and banking, economic growth and stability, unemployment, inflation, and role of government. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to economic concepts and how they can be applied to environmental policy issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, natural resource use, and sustainability. Focus is on concepts, policy, and case studies rather than formal modeling exercises. Limited to three attempts.
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations with a special focus on the role of language in written communication. Multilingual students—students who are fluent in English and/or students for whom English is an additional language—develop rhetorical reading and writing strategies that attend to the linguistic features and moves enacted in a range of non-fiction genres. Students learn to: engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on their linguistic choices and research and writing processes. Note: Students must attain a minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Equivalent to ENGH 101, ENGH 122.
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations through particular attention to rhetorical flexibility and inquiry-based research. Students learn to engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution. Students learn to analyze and respond to a range of rhetorical situations (writing in various genres for different audiences and purposes); develop strategies to critically read a range of non-fiction genres; engage in in-depth inquiry and writing processes; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on what they are learning and how they are applying new knowledge, as well as on their research and writing processes. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Equivalent to ENGH 100, ENGH 122, ENGH 123.
Provides intensive practice in drafting, revising, and editing essays in common academic genres such as description, exposition, and analysis, with additional language support for building English fluency. Addresses logical, rhetorical, and linguistic structures of expository prose. This course is the first of a two-part course for students in the Undergraduate International Pathway Program. Limited to three attempts.
Provides intensive practice in drafting, revising and editing essays in common academic genres such as argumentation and research based writing, with additional language support for building English fluency. Addresses logical, rhetorical, and linguistic structures of expository prose, and builds critical reading strategies. This course is the second of a two-part course for students in the Undergraduate International Pathway Program. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill Mason Core degree requirement for written communication (lower level). Equivalent to ENGH 100, ENGH 101.
Provides student writers with the skills and mindsets needed to effectively respond to a range of academic and public writing situations, with additional language support for building English fluency. Multilingual students with developing proficiency in English learn rhetorical reading and writing strategies that attend to the linguistic structures and moves enacted in non-fiction genres. Students learn to: engage in a process of discovery and consider diverse perspectives before making a judgment, taking a stance, or proposing a solution; locate, evaluate, and synthesize source material to discover and answer complex questions; and reflect on linguistic choices and research and writing processes. Students develop linguistic proficiency in English through context-specific instruction and practice in the interplay of grammatical structures and rhetorical aims and receive individualized feedback on language usage/writing development. Min. grade of C required to meet degree requirement. Equivalent to ENGH 101.
This course studies components and interactions that make up natural systems of our home planet. It teaches basic concepts in biological, chemical, physical, and earth sciences in integrated format with lecture, laboratory, and field exercises. Note: EVPP 108 and 109 can be used to fulfill a 4-credit lab science requirement. Limited to three attempts.
This course studies components and interactions that make up natural systems of our home planet. It teaches basic concepts in biological, chemical, physical, and earth sciences in a laboratory format. Note: EVPP 108 and 109 can be used to fulfill a 4-credit lab science requirement. Limited to three attempts.
Studies components and interactions that make up natural systems of our home planet. Teaches basic concepts in biological, chemical, physical, and earth sciences in integrated format with lecture, laboratory, and field exercises. Notes: One of two semesters of environmental lab science that fulfills Mason Core science requirements for non science majors. Along with EVPP 111, can be taken in any order. Limited to three attempts.
Studies components and interactions that make up natural systems of our home planet. Teaches basic concepts in biological, chemical, physical, and Earth sciences in lecture format, focusing on major environmental issues from a scientific perspective. Note: EVPP 112 and 113 can be used to fulfill a 4-credit lab science requirement. Limited to three attempts.
Studies components and interactions that make up natural systems of our home planet. Teaches basic concepts in biological, chemical, physical, and Earth sciences in a hands-on laboratory format, focusing on major environmental issues from a scientific perspective. Note: EVPP 112 and 113 can be used to fulfill a 4-credit lab science requirement. Limited to three attempts.
Introductory overview of the game development process with an emphasis on game design. Through detailed study of historical and current games, students will learn the language and structure needed to develop their own game ideas. Students will learn the many aspects of a game development team and how each of these roles contributes to a game's overall design.Limited to three attempts.
Explores elements and principles of two-dimensional design in the digital game context. Digital painting programs are used to create 2d game assets using proper production techniques and industry standard pipelines. Technical and aesthetic aspects of 2d art production are discussed as traditional visual art elements are leveraged to create introductory game surfaces and layouts.Limited to three attempts.
This entry-level course teaches students basic coding techniques used when implementing game logic. Through hands-on implementation of several simple text-based and 2D sprite-based games, this course prepares students for the coding challenges they will face in future GAME courses.Limited to three attempts.
Systematic study of weather, climate, energy, and hydrologic systems viewed from a geospatial and global perspective. Studies the spatial distribution and relationships of the Earth's climate and hydrologic systems to other Earth systems, as well as the processes driving and changing them, including energy, climate, weather, and water resources. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys wide range of global topics: previous periods of globalization, international organizations and law, transnational corporations and global economy, immigration and refugees, world environmental concerns, world culture, war and peace, paradoxical presence of nationalism and fundamentalism in global world, and antiglobalization movement.Limited to three attempts.
Comparative exploration; topics include contemporary analysis of the meanings of liberty, equality, representation, property rights, voting rights, and civil responsibilities.Limited to three attempts.
An overview of key organizing principles of American government, including its institutions, history, and various aspects of political participation.Limited to three attempts.
Nature of international politics, approaches to study of international politics, state and nonstate actors in international system, patterns of action and interaction between nation-states, international institutions, and major global issues.Limited to three attempts.
Discusses methods and subject matter of comparative political analysis. Includes political systems, politics, participation in politics, government structures, policy-making process, and evaluation of political performance.Limited to three attempts.
The complexity and diversity of the international system gives rise to myriad security threats outside of the traditional force- and conflict-based study of international security. This course provides the tools to understand, reflect on, and critically examine broad contextual threats to global security, including: demographic change, environmental (climate change, pollution and habitat destruction) change, technological change (impact on jobs, decent work and job creation), sustainable development (keeping in mind climate change and impact on agriculture, for example), forced migration, humanitarian emergencies, and the United Nations (UN) human security approach to identify challenges and approaches to tackle these issues.Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the roles of government and industry in the rapid developments in information and communication technology. Presents major issues in technology development and regulation in the U.S. and around the world. Considers the legal, economic, political, sociological, public health and moral perspectives in examining the worlds of data, networks and computation.Limited to three attempts.
History of Western civilization from ancient Mediterranean origins through medieval and modern development of Europe to contemporary world. Notes: Students who take HIST 100 may not receive credit for HIST 101 or HIST 102. Equivalent to HIST 101, HIST 102.
Evolution of Western culture from ancient Mediterranean world to formation of modern Europe in 17th century. Notes: Students may not receive credit for HIST 101 if they have taken HIST 100. Equivalent to HIST 101T.
History of Western institutions and ideas from 17th century to the present. Notes: Students may not receive credit for HIST 102 if they have taken HIST 100. Equivalent to HIST 100, HIST 102T.
Social, political, economic, and intellectual growth of American institutions from colonization through Reconstruction. Limited to three attempts.
History of the United States since 1877. Limited to three attempts.
By focusing on historical experiences that reflect the diversity of Mason’s student body, students will be able to see how their families and communities fit within, and contribute to, global history from the pre-modern period to our present day. This course offers a long-term historical perspective on structural issues challenging our world today, including demographic and environmental changes, national and global inequalities, and the underrepresentation of marginalized groups. Students will gain an understanding of how interconnections and inter-dependencies have been forged through the global movement of people, pathogens, goods, and ideas. Limited to three attempts.
Assists first-year international and multilingual Year One students with their transition from high school to college life. It helps prepare students for successful progression to their chosen degree plan the promoting acculturation to academic norms and expectations at Mason, the development of self-efficacy, and engagement with the Mason community. It encourages to seek out and take full advantage of a wide range of campus resources. Equivalent to UNIV 100, UNIV 140.
This course provides an introduction to US cultures with a focus on diversity within U.S. American society. The course uses the concept of culture as a basis for discussing differences in Americans' experience of family life, work, education, the arts, national and ethnic identities, gender, religion and more. Through ethnographic readings, literature, film and field projects, students develop a better understanding of similarities and differences across the American experience. Limited to three attempts.
This course, using both lecture and laboratory practice, introduces students to basic computer concepts in hardware, software, networking, computer security, programming, database, e-commerce, decision support systems, and current developments in 3-D printing, virtualization, and Siri-like systems. Additional lectures examine social, legal, ethical issues including privacy, intellectual property, health concerns, green computing, and accessibility. Students learn techniques to search, evaluate, validate, and cite information found online. Hands-on lab includes spreadsheets, databases, presentation, HTML 5, CSS, cybersecurity, blogs, wiki, and mobile app development. Limited to two attempts.
For students with no knowledge of Korean. Introduction to Korean, including elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Notes: Students may not receive credit for KORE 101 and KORE 110. Equivalent to KORE 110.
Continuation of KORE 101. Notes: Students may not receive credit for KORE 102 and KORE 110. Equivalent to KORE 110.
Introduces elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Equivalent to KORE 101, KORE 102.
Exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions, and analytic trigonometry. This course does not satisfy the university's quantitative reasoning requirement. May not be taken for credit after receiving a C or better in MATH 105 or in any MATH course numbered 113 or higher. May not take MATH 105 for credit after receiving a C or better in MATH 104. Limited to three attempts.
Reviews mathematics skills essential to studying calculus. Topics include equations, inequalities, absolute values, graphs, functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, and trigonometry. This course does not satisfy the university's quantitative reasoning requirement for the BA degree. May not be taken for credit after receiving grade of C or better in any MATH course numbered 113 or higher. Limited to three attempts.
Quantitative skills for real world. Topics include critical thinking, modeling by functions, graphs, growth, scaling, probability, and statistics. Limited to three attempts.
Functions, limits, derivative, and integral. Applications of differentiation and integration. Notes: Credit for both MATH 108 and any of the following courses: MATH 113, 115, or 124 will not be given. Limited to three attempts.
Elementary set theory, probability, and statistics. Limited to three attempts.
Matrix algebra, systems of linear equations, Markov chains, difference equations, and data fitting. Limited to three attempts.
Functions, limits, the derivative, maximum and minimum problems, the integral, and transcendental functions. Notes: credit for both Math 108 and Math 113 will not be given. Equivalent to MATH 115, MATH 124.
Methods of integration, conic sections, parametric equations, infinite series, and power series. Equivalent to MATH 116.
More challenging version of MATH 113. Functions, limits, the derivative, maximum and minimum problems, the integral, and transcendental functions. Notes: credit for both Math 108 and Math 115 will not be given. Equivalent to MATH 113.
More challenging version of MATH 114. Methods of integration, conic sections, parametric equations, infinite series, and power series. Equivalent to MATH 114.
Math 123, with 124, is a two semester sequence for students with limited math background who desire careers in the sciences. In two semesters, students progress from algebra through the basic calculus covered in Math 113. Math 123 integrates the beginnings of calculus through the derivative with relevant precalculus algebra and trigonometry. Notes: Students who successfully complete Math 123-124 are considered the same as having successfully completed MATH 113 and can sign up for Math 114, Calculus II. Limited to three attempts.
Math 123, with 124, is a two semester sequence for students with limited math background who desire careers in the sciences. In two semesters, students progress from algebra through the basic calculus covered in Math 113. Math 124 will review basic differentiation and applications and then proceed to cover integration including transcendental functions. Notes: Students who successfully complete Math 123-124 are considered the same as having successfully completed MATH 113 and can sign up for Math 114, Calculus II. Notes: credit for both Math 108 and Math 124 will not be given. Equivalent to MATH 113.
Introduces ideas of discrete mathematics and combinatorial proof techniques including mathematical induction, sets, graphs, trees, recursion, and enumeration. Limited to three attempts.
Every day, 143,000 terabytes of data are transferred across the internet, including financial transactions, medical records, and sensitive client data. Half of this traffic is secured through encryption, relying on mathematical algorithms such as the RSA to encode the data in a way that only the recipient can decode. In this class, we will see how cryptography works first-hand. We will start with classical ciphers (Atbash and Caesar ciphers) and develop our mathematical techniques and programming abilities until we are able to implement RSA from scratch. Topics covered in the course lead into the following majors: mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, and cyber security engineering. Limited to three attempts.
Investigates popular music styles and development in the United States with particular emphasis on the past 50 years. Lectures, recordings, and video enhance critical listening skills and examine stylistic and social contexts of popular music. Notes: Music majors may take only as free elective. Limited to three attempts.
Exploration of leadership in a specific career field(s); changing nature of that industry; understanding of organizational structures in the field(s); and introduction to career and internship opportunities for students who aspire to a career in that field. May be repeated within the term.
Introduces psychology as scientific discipline. Examines concepts and methods in learning, motivation, development, personality, and measurement. Limited to three attempts.
Teaches basic golf terms, rules, and techniques for the full swing, putting, chipping, and pitching, as well as playing on a golf course. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to the practice of Hatha yoga. Emphasizes yoga asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises) to enhance physical fitness and mental concentration. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to basic sociological concepts. Examines aspects of human behavior in cultural framework, including individual and group interaction, social mobility and stratification, status and class, race and gender relations, urbanism, crime and criminology, and social change and reform. Limited to three attempts.
Examines and analyzes important global issues and processes. Considers historical development of globalization and implications for different societies and cultures. Investigates perceptions of global processes by different cultures and nations, and efforts of international institutions to address social, political, economic, and cultural changes in global society. Limited to three attempts.
For students with no knowledge of Spanish. Introduction to Spanish, including elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Notes: Students may not receive credit for SPAN 101 and SPAN 110. Equivalent to SPAN 110.
Continuation of SPAN 101. Notes: Students may not receive credit for SPAN 102 and SPAN 115 or 110. Equivalent to SPAN 110, SPAN 115.
Introduces elements of grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, and reading. Notes: Students may not receive credit for SPAN 110 and SPAN 101, 102, or 115. Equivalent to SPAN 101, SPAN 102, SPAN 115.
Reviews elements for students who have studied Spanish previously. Equivalent to SPAN 102, SPAN 110.
This course assists first-year students with their transition from high school to college life at Mason. It helps students to be successful through academic skill-building, educational planning, and career preparation. It provides information regarding campus resources and ways to engage in the Mason community. Although all sections have a core curriculum, certain sections also focus on a particular theme, student population, or course of study. Equivalent to UNIV 106, UNIV 108, UNIV 140, UNIV 150, UNIV 160.
This course serves as a continuation of University 100 into the second freshman semester. It extends the transition support of international students, and other students in special sections of University 100. Equivalent to INYO 101, INYO 102, UNIV 141, UNIV 151.
Introduction to financial and managerial accounting. Financial accounting from viewpoint of those who prepare and use financial information. Financial accounting topics include recording financial transaction, creating financial statements, the study of cash and internal controls. Managerial accounting topics include introduction to job order costing, breakeven analysis, standard costs and variances and short term decision making. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Equivalent to ACCT 204.
Introduction and exploration of the fundamentals of drawing methods and materials, with emphasis on observational study and critical analysis of the effective and expressive use of line, mass, value, perspective, and formal composition. Emphasis on problems involved in representational and abstract visual interpretations of forms. Notes: AVT majors encouraged to take AVT 222 with AVT 104. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to basics of hand printing. Emphasis on translation and transferal of images, tools, equipment, and technical skills for making a well-defined print. Students explore drawing, synthesis, and multiplicity in this interactive and collaborative course. Presentations and field trips focus on aesthetic and cultural concerns of making multiple images. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to the digital camera as a tool for electronic photographic image making. Students will be introduced to principles and exploration of the aesthetics of digital photography and also learn basic image-editing skills in a computer environment. Limited to three attempts.
Projects in sculpture that emphasizes contemporary theory and issues, the development of individual concepts, and creative solutions. Explores the application of materials, tools, and imaginative processes. Faculty demonstrations, lectures, gallery and museum visits, and regular student work critiques. Limited to three attempts.
Investigates ways in which contemporary artists employ tools in response to social, political and cultural conditions. Students create meaningful works of art that demonstrate conceptual and contextual awareness plus technical ability. Limited to three attempts.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, businesses are playing a larger role in mediating relations among people across national boundaries. This course provides an overview of the global environment of business through the use of a structured analytic tool that conveys the perspective of a US business seeking to navigate various economic and political systems, international institutions and international trade theories, and global conflicts and cooperation around issues (environmental sustainability, labor, human rights, and distribution of income). Designated a Green Leaf Course. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
Limited to two attempts.
Course introduces business analytics and why businesses use analytics to create and sustain competitive advantage. Topics include data types, summarization and graphical display of data, application of basic probability rules, and probability distributions. Introduces fundamentals of spreadsheets and their use in business applications. Learn how to apply appropriate analytical tools to gain useful insights from real-life datasets. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
This is general elective course is designed to give students the opportunity to gain practical and professional experience in conjunction with their academic development. The internship must be completed within the same academic semester to receive course credit. Limited to two attempts.
This course examines sustainable business models – those that meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – and related issues such as over-consumption, over-production, and resistance to change. The course also will consider metrics for measuring sustainability, including the Triple Bottom Line (TBL); environmental, social and governance (ESG); and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Students will examine sustainable business models in practice by analyzing the sustainability initiatives of well-known global companies and will consider the concept of circular economy including examples of companies that have transitioned from a linear model to a circular one. Finally, the course will examine the importance of developing a culture of sustainability in organizations and strategies for and challenges of managing change. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
Undergraduate-level introduction to computational concepts, principles, and modeling approaches in social sciences, emphasizing simulations and elements of complexity theory as they apply to social phenomena. Survey includes systems dynamics, cellular automata, and agent-based models. Limited to three attempts.
Undergraduate-level introduction to Agent-based Modeling. Provides a background onto why agent-based models and hands-on examination of agent-based models in the social sciences by examining and experimenting with a variety of social simulation projects. Limited to three attempts.
This course expands upon the foundation provided by CDS 130. Fundamental computational modeling techniques are used in a variety of science and engineering disciplines. Continued development of algorithmic thinking skills will be done using different computational environments. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on elements of programming using the Fortran language and selected elements of the C language with emphasis on the aspects used in the computational and data sciences. Conducted through a combination of lecture and interactive computer laboratory. Limited to three attempts.
Selected topics in Computational and Data Sciences. May be accepted for credit by CDS majors and CDS minors. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
A broad introduction to network methods and applications that examine systems based on relations, structures, connectivity, location, interactions, and other network properties. This class includes, but is not limited to, social networks. Example applications covered will include: infrastructure networks, politics, diseases, and organizations, along with a variety of other phenomena. Limited to three attempts.
Further development of skills acquired in CHIN 101 and 102, including grammar, oral expression, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Notes: CHIN 201 and 202 must be taken in sequence. Limited to three attempts.
Continuation of CHIN 201. CHIN 201 and 202 must be taken in sequence. Notes: Students may not receive credit for CHIN 202 and CHIN 209. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the relationship between media and society through the study of the development of various media systems in the United States, including print media, radio, television, film, the recording industry, and new communication technologies. Introduces media effects and basic theories. Limited to three attempts.
Examines common persuasive message strategies and approaches. Covers basic principles of persuasive process. Case studies include advertisements, speeches, and persuasive activities from all segments of society. Limited to three attempts.
Field training and experience related to one of the five communication department concentrations through faculty-approved activity support. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 4 credits.
Students will utilize critical thinking and analytical skills to begin an in-depth examination of the major theories of conflict analysis and resolution. Theories and case studies will include root causes and dynamics of conflict and methods of conflict analysis and resolution. Limited to three attempts.
Imaginative fiction can prompt self-reflection, expose varied perspectives and experiences, reflect social understandings of conflict, and allow us to examine, at a distance, the challenges and dynamics of conflict. This course will focus on themes reflecting perennial concerns related to identity, the human condition, collective violence and social values. Examining conflict through literature will challenge, complicate, and elaborate our understanding of human conflict and experience.
The course begins with a discussion of how to read/interpret texts as a mechanism to understand social narratives of conflict, a topic that will recur throughout the course. We then read and discuss roughly one novel every two weeks, as well as short stories, poems, and a play. The last part of the course is spent writing original stories about conflict and participating in a writer’s workshop. Limited to three attempts.
Covers aspects of anatomy and kinesiology that directly apply to correct development of dance technique. Emphasizes exercise correctives and imagery to correct insufficient muscle pattern and reduce stress on the body. Limited to three attempts.
Further develops knowledge, skills, and appreciation of modern dance through continued exploration of techniques, aesthetics, and creativity. Continuing the development of anatomical awareness and alignment, technical clarity, and rhythmic sensitivity. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Further study of the concepts of jazz dance technique, and in-depth study of 21st century jazz dance forms. Emphasizes furthering anatomical awareness and alignment, developing technical clarity, rhythm and syncopation. Continues exploration of jazz improvisation and choreography. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Further develops fundamental elements of ballet technique and vocabulary. Stresses increasing vocabulary and movement characteristics of this highly stylized art form. Continuing emphasis on improving anatomical awareness and alignment, increasing strength and flexibility, and developing musically. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Introduces basic principles for composing dance movement. Focuses on simple compositional forms as they apply to solo performer, discussion, analysis, and evaluation of artistic choices. Students maintain video and written journals to document their artistic process. Limited to three attempts.
Explores compositional elements in dance as they apply to group forms. Offers continued experience in developing and manipulating movement phrases using a variety of compositional forms. Introduces conducting rehearsals and selecting music. Students discuss, analyze, and evaluate artistic choices in composition using appropriate dance arts vocabulary and terminology, and maintain video and written journals to document artistic process. Limited to three attempts.
Practical experience in stage crew, sound, or lighting of dance productions through rehearsal to public performance for university dance concerts or guest artist programs. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Provides coverage of a specialized topic in economics at the introductory level. Topics vary by section. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Close analysis of literary texts, including but not limited to poetry, fiction, and drama. Emphasizes reading and writing exercises to develop basic interpretive skills. Examines figurative language, central ideas, relationship between structure and meaning, narrative point of view. Limited to three attempts.
Studies literary texts within the framework of culture. Examines texts within such categories as history, gender, sexuality, religion, race, class, and nation. Notes: Builds on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. May be repeated within the term.
Major works of Western literature in historical progression. Focuses on writers such as Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Dante, Cervantes, Machiavelli, and Montaigne. Notes: All readings are in modern English. Courses build on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. Limited to three attempts.
Major works of Western literature in historical progression. Covers writers such as Moliere, Mme. de Lafayette, Goethe, Ibsen, Flaubert, Dostoyevski, Tolstoy, Mann, Kafka, Borges, and Soyinka. All readngs are in modern English. Notes: Courses build on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the development of technological systems,
including scientific, creative, and social perspectives. Identifies ethical issues through
analysis of abstract AI/ML technology. Teaches students how to communicate those
issues to various stakeholders using the correct vocabulary. Uses rhetorical theory
and practical frameworks to evaluate projects and develop guidelines that encourage
more fair and equitable outcomes. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to core questions and methods in screen studies. Looks at the dynamic relationship between screen-based media and their cultural and historical contexts. Teaches analysis of a variety of aesthetic objects including film, TV, video games, animation, social media, and photography while considering how aesthetic practices shape and are shaped by questions of identity, formations of power, and issues of social justice. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces broad aspects of human-environmental interactions in the contemporary world. Topics range broadly from global populations and wastewater treatment to environmental law, and genetic engineering. Includes both science and science policy of the environment. Limited to three attempts.
This course provides environmental science majors with the cellular foundation required for subsequent courses in the BS curriculum with a focus on how biological systems respond to environmental threats. The course emphasizes the connection between cellular processes and a healthy environment, and how this relationship is jeopardized by a variety of chemical and physical environmental perturbations. Limited to three attempts.
Introductory concepts and processes in game design are explored in both digital and non-digital contexts. Study of player psychology, mechanisms, and dynamics of game design provide a foundation for creating effective games and gamified experiences. Students will learn an iterative, feedback-centered design process to create intentional, engaging game experiences. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces history of computer game design including games as a new medium for education, entertainment, and communications. Students will analyze trends, constraints, and context that informed the evolution of game development. Topics include game criticism and social issues in game design such as game violence and addiction. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces principles and skills of 3D art and animation for games. Emphasizes efficient, low-poly 3D modeling for integration into 3D game engines. Additional topics in 3D visual design for games are surveyed, including lighting, terrain building, and VFX. Limited to three attempts.
Class covers the history, practice, and design of online and mobile games. Class will discuss the current state of the smartphone applications and study the best practices to be successful in the applications market. Students will learn the development process for smartphone applications and develop original and innovative applications in a team-based environment.Limited to three attempts.
This class applies previously learned programming concepts, data structures, and techniques specifically
relevant to game design within the context of professional game engines. Learners will use tools
provided by the selected game engine to implement features commonly found in games.Limited to three attempts.
Selection, editing, processing, and integration of sounds and music (post-production) for film, video, and animation. Time, frequency, and amplitude domain digital post-production techniques will be studied.Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on skills, methods of learning, and subject matter to introduce discipline of history. Notes: Topics vary. Equivalent to SYST 202.
Surveys history of China and Japan from prehistoric times to ca. 1600. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys history of China and Japan from early modern times (ca. 1600) to present. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on the sub-Saharan region and examines evolving systems of kinship power, spirituality, and slavery. Explores the interactions between Africans and global influences from the religions of the book and colonialism to the politics of development and continuities and changes in production. HIST 261 surveys African history from the earliest times to 1800. HIST 262 surveys African history from 1800 to the present. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on the sub-Saharan region and examines evolving systems of kinship power, spirituality, and slavery. Explores the interactions between Africans and global influences from the religions of the book and colonialism to the politics of development and continuities and changes in production. HIST 261 surveys African history from the earliest times to 1800. HIST 262 surveys African history from 1800 to the present. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys colonial era to 1825. Emphasizes interactions of United States, Latin America. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys development of independent Latin America since 1825. Emphasizes interactions of United States, Latin America. Limited to three attempts.
Survey of Middle Eastern history from rise of Islam to present, emphasizing processes that led to emergence of economic, cultural, social, and political institutions that characterize region today. Surveys period from rise of Islam in 570 to medieval period (ca. 1258) Limited to three attempts.
Survey of Middle Eastern history from rise of Islam to present, emphasizing processes that led to emergence of economic, cultural, social, and political institutions that characterize region today. Surveys medieval period to present. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the role of visual culture in contemporary society including an examination of photography, the visual and performing arts, film and video, and electronic media. Readings focus on the historical foundations of visuality as well as theories of visual culture and aesthetics. Students investigate the ways that forms of visual culture function in society and how these are linked to race, class, and gender as well as politics and economics. Students will gain hands-on experience working with contemporary visual media tools such as computer graphics and digital video editing. Limited to three attempts.
Service-learning courses offer students, faculty, and community partners an opportunity to work together to integrate and apply knowledge to address community needs. Learning goals, action strategies, and assignments developed collaboratively. Students demonstrate progress through critical reflection that illustrates growth in acquiring and comprehending values, skills, and knowledge content. Critical reflection may take the form of papers, presentations, portfolios, journals, and exams. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 15 credits.
Continuation of basic Korean listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Online and lab work required. Limited to three attempts.
Continuation of KORE 201. Online and lab work required. Limited to three attempts.
Systems of linear equations, linear independence, linear transformations, inverse of a matrix, determinants, vector spaces, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and orthogonalization. Limited to three attempts.
Partial differentiation, multiple integrals, line and surface integrals, and three-dimensional analytic geometry. Equivalent to MATH 215.
First-order ODEs, higher-order ODEs, Laplace transforms, linear systems, nonlinear systems, numerical approximations, and modeling. Equivalent to MATH 216.
Vectors and vectorvalued functions, partial differentiation, multiple integrals, line integrals, surface integrals, and transformation of coordinates. Equivalent to MATH 213.
First- and second-order equations, existence uniqueness of solutions, systems of differential equations, and phase plane analysis. Equivalent to MATH 214.
Concepts and theories underlying elementary school mathematics including problem solving, patterns, sequences, set theory, numeration, number sense, operations and properties of integers, whole, rational, irrational and real numbers, number theory, ratio, proportion, percent and mathematical systems. Notes: Does not count toward major in mathematics. Limited to three attempts.
Continuation of MATH 271. Concepts and theories underlying elementary school mathematics including functions, algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability. Notes: Intended for school educators; does not count toward major in mathematics. Limited to three attempts.
Study of human behavior development in a social matrix, including such topics as socialization, cultural behavior, group norms, and attitude formation. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the relationship between religion and literature in different times and cultures, the influence of religion on literary works, and how literature expresses major religious themes such as death and immortality, divine will and justice, suffering and human destiny, and religion and state. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys representations of religious beliefs, practices, persons, and institutions in popular film. Focuses on the media consumption of box office movies in the United States. Examines how religion is imaged in film and how that religious imagination relates to social constructions of national, ethnic, racial, gender, and sexual identities. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to individuals and ideas which have shaped and influenced racial and ethnic interactions and relations in the past and present. Attention will focus on historical meanings and sentiments attached to race and ethnicity as concepts, ideas, and images, and the ways these concepts and images have co-joined to allocate differential social, political, economic, and educational rewards to individuals and groups designated as racial groups, ethnic groups, or both. Limited to three attempts.
Considers the ways in which gender structures social life on both the micro level of individual experience and the macro level of social structure. Explores how normative ideals of femininity and masculinity affect our bodies, identities and intimate relationships; and how these ideals are circulated through the media, reproduced in social institutions, and articulated in different national, cultural and religious contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Further development of skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. SPAN 201 and 202 must be taken in sequence. Limited to three attempts.
Application of skills to reading, composition, and discussion. Equivalent to SPAN 212.
Elementary introduction to statistics with applications to all fields of study. Topics include data analysis for one and two variables, probability, estimation and hypothesis testing for proportions and means, correlation, and regression. Statistical software used for assignments. Required course for the Digital Technology Credential (https://statistics.preprod.gmu.edu/digital-technology-credential). Limited to three attempts.
Students will examine how economic transactions are measured and recorded in financial statements using generally accepted accounting principles to help users of accounting information to make financing, operating, and investing decisions for businesses. Students will also learn how the tax system impacts business decision making, how managers could use managerial accounting information to make operating and compensation decisions, and understand the importance of internal and external audits to business and capital markets. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for ACCT 301 and ACCT 303/ACCT 330. School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in ACCT 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business.Limited to two attempts.
Develops skills in identifying business processes, transforming data into useful information, and making managerial decisions. Designed for students in all areas of management, especially those whose career aims include cost management. Topics include analyzing and managing costs, developing cost systems that facilitate decision making, identifying opportunities for improving business process, creating financial and operating budgets for planning and control, and developing measures to assess performance. Mid-term and final exams may be scheduled on Saturdays for this class. The number of class sessions will be modified to compensate for mid-term examination time. Accommodations will be made for religious conflicts, Saturday classes, and certain official university activities. A third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
This is the first of the two-course financial accounting sequence that examines financial accounting from the viewpoint of preparers and users of financial statements, including preparing financial statements to reflect financing, operating, and investing decisions of the firm and using financial statement information to make financing, operating and investing decisions for the firm. Mid-term and final exams may be scheduled on Saturdays for this class. Accommodations will be made for religious conflicts, Saturday classes, and certain official university activities. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Examines cultures of a specific region such as Africa and the Middle East. Focuses primarily on non-Western cultures. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to causes and consequences of forced dislocation as a global issue. Covers formally recognized refugees, as well as people such as internally displaced persons and asylum seekers who are in refugee-like circumstances. Focuses on understanding the personal experiences of refugees and examining efforts on their behalf at national and international levels. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to the anthropology of work, technology, and society, with emphasis on information technology. Covers general conceptual issues of information technology and also involves specific practical exercises with computers, their operating systems, the logic of automated production, databases, and web-based communication. Attention also directed to social and ethical issues raised by contemporary information technology. Limited to three attempts.
Topic of contemporary interest in anthropology, changing from semester to semester, and focusing on topics such as sex roles, anthropology and ethics, and primate social organization. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Integrates study of contemporary art theory, montage theory, and artistic practices with application to new media and technology. Special focus on visual culture and video art, sound design, and the sociopolitical implications of media. Limited to three attempts.
Survey of the legal environment of business, emphasizing legal concepts and legal reasoning to prepare students to recognize legal problems and formulate appropriate responses. Topics include the federal and state court systems, constitutional and administrative law, business torts and crimes, contracts and business ethics. Lecture, discussion, cases. Notes: School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in BULE 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies.Students cannot receive credit for both BULE 302 and BULE 303. Limited to two attempts.
In this course, students will continue to develop their professional skill set. Topics covered include understanding the modern work environment, business ethics and professional responsibilities, and professional judgment. Students will also continue to hone their professional writing and presentation skills, prepare for the job search process, and develop personal job search and professional development plans. Notes: School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in BUS 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies. Limited to two attempts.
Introduces modeling relationships contained in data and linear models to make predictions in business. Topics include estimation, hypotheses testing, statistical inference, analysis of variance and linear regression techniques. Fundamentals of linear programming to solve optimization problems in business. Apply analytical tools to gain insights from real-life datasets. Hands-on experience and application of the methods to data sets using spreadsheet software. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
The course provides students with a foundational knowledge of the government contracting (GovCon) industry. By explaining key concepts of the field, students will be able to understand how to leverage their knowledge immediately, upon hire in a GovCon-related opportunity by understanding the link between GovCon concepts and non-GovCon business concepts. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
This course will challenge current business norms of “Shareholder Primacy or Profit Maximization” to a broader understanding and critical discussion of Stakeholder Theory of Management. Stakeholders - shareholders, employees, customers, community/society, supply chain, and the planet - can have a direct impact on the success of a business and can be impacted positively or negatively depending on how a business acts. Businesses with a stakeholder value orientation may make different choices in pursuit of goals than do businesses with purely shareholder value orientation. This multidisciplinary course, open to students across the University, will support student development of an advanced and critical understanding of the key stakeholders in a business. This course touches on concepts from finance, HR, marketing, supply chain, economics, public policy, and environmental science to address the complex business and societal challenges. A third attempt requires business advisor approval. Equivalent to MGMT 325.
The techniques and software used to visualize scientific simulations, complex information, and data visualization for knowledge discovery. Includes examples and exercises to help students develop their understanding of the role visualization plays in computational science and provides a foundation for applications in their careers. Limited to three attempts.
Data and databases used by scientists. Includes basics about database organization, queries, and distributed data systems. Student exercises will include queries of existing systems, along with basic design of simple database systems. Limited to three attempts.
Data mining techniques from statistics, machine learning, and visualization to scientific knowledge discovery. Students will be given a set of case studies and projects to test their understanding of this field and provide a foundation for future applications in their careers. Limited to three attempts.
Develops reading proficiency, emphasizing vocabulary and grammar of standard written Chinese. Introduces discourse structure, sociolinguistic and cultural knowledge, and strategies for reading Chinese at an advanced level. Limited to three attempts.
In-depth review of Chinese grammar and syntax. Provides extensive practice in controlled and free writing, emphasizing fundamental difficulties and points of interference between English and Chinese. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces terminology and structure of business Chinese. Emphasizes acquiring vocabulary and developing facility in Chinese business articles and correspondence. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Explores China from 1949 to present through cinematic and literary representations. Discussions focus on representations of cultural, social, and political changes in the movies. Also introduces critical readings that address issues of gender and youth, family, ethnicity, modernity and the nation, as well as visuality and memory. Notes: Knowledge of Chinese language helpful but not required. Limited to three attempts.
Studies works of major Chinese writers. Writers studied may vary. Notes: Knowledge of Chinese helpful but not required. May be repeated when topic is different with approval of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Analyzes communication variables as they relate to intercultural encounters. Emphasizes culture's influence on communication process, particularly influence of verbal and nonverbal communication on how message is interpreted. Notes: Communication majors are encouraged to complete COMM 200 prior to enrolling in this course. Limited to three attempts.
Study of basic theories and skills of communication in professional contexts, including interviewing, relationship maintenance, small group teams, and public presentations. Emphasizes developing practical and critical thinking skills. Limited to three attempts.
Examines how family communication contributes to physical, psychological, and social wellness. Explores how family communication affects our experience with health transitions (e.g., coping with cancer; becoming a caregiver; losing a loved one), contributes to health outcomes (e.g., stress and anxiety; disordered eating behavior; schizophrenia; drug abuse), and is central to health promotion behavior (e.g., understanding health history and genetics). Limited to three attempts.
Examines practical criticism of a wide variety of media texts including television programs, newspapers, articles, films, photographs, and advertisements. Introduces principles of major contemporary modes of analysis for systematically interpreting visual and verbal forms of communication. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced consideration of CONF 101 topics, introduction of core notion of reflective practice, conflict resolution techniques, practice, third party roles, and ethics. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces social science research methods at undergraduate level. Covers basic epistemology of social research, including quantitative and qualitative methods, emphasizing participatory action research, and evaluation and assessment work. Limited to three attempts.
Covers deeply rooted, intractable, or protracted social conflicts around core issues of identity, including race, ethnicity, religion, and nationalism. Explores cultural, symbolic, and discursive approaches to identity conflict. Limited to three attempts.
Examines selected topics related to practice in the field of conflict analysis and resolution. Topics vary, addressing practical skills and knowledge necessary to conflict resolution practice. Notes: May be repeated if topics vary. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
This course offers students structured time to explore opportunities available in conflict analysis and resolution and discuss issues pertinent to career preparation. Attention is focused on identifying personal strengths, understanding the job search process, and developing the skills and documents to be successful when applying for internships and jobs. Limited to three attempts.
When, where, and why do relationships experience conflict? When are these conflicts productive and when are they toxic? How can you create space for problem solving and healing within relationships? In this course you will gain a greater understanding of assessing and intervening in conflicts as they arise between individuals and in small groups, learning concepts and skills for understanding the causes, patterns, systems and dynamics of difficult issues and situations. You will engage with different dimensions of interpersonal conflicts, from personality and individual differences, to relational history and context, to culture and worldview. Through hands-on tutorials, role plays and case studies, you will leave this course with a better sense of how to transform conflict through relationship-building, whether at work, as a professional, or in your daily life. Limited to three attempts.
Covers challenges of communicating across differences of age, gender, language, culture, political orientation, and contextual situations. Students will engage in preparing and analyzing communication strategies in conflict situations and will participate in a dialogue over the term that explores the meaning and experience of difference. Limited to three attempts.
The ability to negotiate and manage conflicts effectively is an essential skill in international, community, organizational and personal settings. Negotiation is the art and science of securing an agreement between two or more independent parties. This course is an introduction to the analysis and practice of negotiation and provides a solid foundation for further inquiry and application. Students will examine research and theories of negotiation, how different cultures influence conflict, frameworks for analyzing negotiation, and the roles of various factors (influences and contexts, tactics and strategies) on the negotiation process and outcome. This course will include a blend of lectures, class discussions, individual and group exercises, simulations and negotiation role plays in class. Limited to three attempts.
This course will explore how organizations and leaders across sectors can use community engagement techniques and collaborative problem solving tools to achieve their goals and reach consensus-based and mutually-beneficial solutions. The course will be hands-on and experiential-based. Students will be introduced to different problem-solving techniques and will be given opportunities to experience and facilitate activities in-class. Limited to three attempts.
Covers conflict in communities, groups and organizations. Introduces theories of social harmony and conflict, drawing on sociology, social psychology, community psychology, organizational psychology, administration of justice, philosophy, and conflict resolution. Uses case studies, class presentations, and group projects to develop ability to analyze conflict and make recommendations for change. Limited to three attempts.
Builds on the theories and concepts presented in CONF 330 to focus on the practice of group and community conflict. Through intensive simulations using conflict cases, students will have the opportunity to practice conflict resolution skills such as dialogue, problem solving, mediation and negotiation and gain a practical understanding of third party roles and intervention strategies in community, group, and organizational settings. Limited to three attempts.
Explores justice and reconciliation from a conflict perspective. Drawing on approaches in the interdisciplinary fields of sociolegal studies and conflict analysis and resolution, the course considers these and other questions: How does injustice fuel conflict? What role should justice play in guiding conflict prevention and addressing the aftermath of violence? What is reconciliation and how do we know when it has been achieved? Are justice and reconciliation mutually reinforcing processes or does one stand in the way of the other? The first part of the course focuses on foundational concepts and questions understood through domestic US examples, examining topics such as: gender equality and gender violence, migration and integration, discrimination, identity politics, healing communities, and environmental justice. We then broaden our perspective geographically, as we examine justice and reconciliation as responses to mass atrocity. Limited to three attempts.
Restorative justice is a framework based in the wisdom and practices of Indigenous peoples across the world. It offers an approach to wrongdoing and harm in contrast with traditional punitive systems, as well as a model for proactive community-building that centers interconnectivity. This class explores the roots and origins of restorative justice; examines how it is being used from schools to legal systems to truth-telling processes; and considers critical perspectives on its efficacy and transformative potential.
Topics include Restorative Justice Roots and Foundations; Restorative Justice Philosophy and Practices; Restorative vs. Retributive Justice; Restorative Justice and the Criminal Legal System; Restorative Justice with Schools and Youth; Truth-Telling and Reconciliation; and the Future of Restorative Justice. Limited to three attempts.
Why is conflict more likely to occur in some places and times and not others? Why do certain groups use violence against civilians more than others? What connects local and global challenges? How can communities devastated by violence build peace? In this course you will examine globalization and structural causes of conflict and analyze the circumstances that aggravate old conflicts or lead to the emergence of new ones. You will also explore the conditions that promote peace and different methods of conflict intervention and resolution in international conflicts. Global conflict may involve sovereign states, international and non-government organizations, non-state armed groups, crime syndicates, and nonviolent protest movements; you will examine the roles these play in both conflict and peace. This course will develop your ability to compare and apply major approaches to understanding the origins of global conflicts and critically evaluate opportunities for peacebuilding. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses primarily on global conflict resolution practice. Using the methodologies of dialogue, problem-solving, and intensive simulation, students will increase their theoretical and practical understanding of peace making, peace building, and transformation processes within a specific international case. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 2 credits.
Presents students with analytical frameworks to account for terrorist acts and organizations and explore social dynamics underlying the development of, and response to, terrorism. Topics may include recruitment into violent groups, counterterrorism and human rights concerns, role of religious and political ideologies in terrorism and counterterrorism, media coverage of terrorism, and effects of terrorism on social structures and processes. Limited to three attempts.
Internships will provide an opportunity for students to gain practical experience, reflect on those experiences, and apply academic theories outside of the normal classroom environment. Students will apply academic theories learned in the classroom to situations that arise in the work environment. Students must obtain approval and complete an internship proposal application in order to be registered for the course. Notes: Course does not have a regular meeting time; students submit work via blog and e-mail; some meetings with instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Students build skills in perspective taking, critical thinking, and dialogue as they actively explore complex and contentious issues. This course focuses on exploring alternate perspectives, while developing the skills and tools necessary to acquire and interpret information and engage in constructive dialogue with individuals holding a variety of opinions. The study of current events in the classroom provides a vehicle for students to practice identifying relevant information, analyzing opposing views, forming opinions, supporting dialogue, and expressing themselves clearly. Limited to two attempts.
Learning experience in the application of conflict analysis and resolution (CAR) skills in special program settings. Provides supervised practice in CAR techniques, leadership, program implementation, and strategies to facilitate conflict resolution in educational institutions or community settings. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Investigates conflict theory through international field experience including participation in formally organized courses offered by Global Education Office or another form of international field experience approved by program director. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Investigates conflict theory through cross cultural experience which includes participation in formally organized semester abroad programs offered by the Global Education Office or another form of international field experience approved by the program director. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 2 credits.
Explores aspects of youth and conflict in terms of context and dynamics at the local, regional, and global levels, as well as interactions with violence and peace. Youth is more than a distinct life phase or political category; this course challenges the boundaries of how we understand the considerations and constraints of the transition to adulthood. Objectives of the course are: to develop a better understanding of the generational and gendered dynamics of conflict and peace; to situate youth contextually, socially, culturally, economically, and politically; to explore impacts of gender, age, and context upon youth individually as well as within constituent groups; to incorporate youth into theoretical and practical maps of conflict analysis and resolution. Limited to three attempts.
Examines causes, sources, and origins of group violence with particular attention to group violence and ethnic conflict. Explores alternative proposals that explain why violence becomes a primary, or at least a viable, form of resolving conflict in some societies. Limited to three attempts.
Examines inequality, social justice, and human rights in an age of globalization. Topics may include international law and order, welfare-and social policy, regionalism and multilateralism, environmental protection, gender equality, terrorist and transnational criminal networks, human trafficking, modern slavery, world poverty, corporate military firms, governance of global financial institutions, security, and transnational social movements. Limited to three attempts.
Transfer credit for relevant coursework taken during direct exchange study abroad trips. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Examines selected topics relating to conflict resolution techniques and practices. Topics vary but may include mediation, negotiation, reflective practice, and facilitation. Notes: May be repeated if topics vary. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Examines selected topics relating to analysis or resolution of conflict. Topics vary but may include historical examination of conflict, social issues stemming from conflict, ethical issues in intervention, globalization, human rights, sources of conflict, or relationship of particular identity domains to conflict. Notes: May be repeated if topics vary. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Examines cultures in globalization, with special attention to the role of technologies and new media. Provides historical and contemporary contexts for understanding the relationships among circuits of production and consumption; population flows; social inequalities and collective identities; globalizations from "above" and "below;" built and natural environments. Limited to three attempts.
Explores connections among literature, music, theater, and visual art within aesthetic framework of dance. Examines development and ideals of Western theatrical dance, and historical and social context in which they were created. Method of instruction includes lecture, discussion, and studio experiences. Limited to three attempts.
Continued in-depth study of global dance form including technique, music, and culture. Texts, video, performances, music, participatory events, and guest artist presentations. Lecture, studio. Area of concentration varies to include as many cultures as possible. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Course involves intensive rehabilitation and conditioning exercises and realignment training geared for the individual dancer. In-depth understanding of injury prevention and neuromuscular re-education are applied to ballet and modern technique classes. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Explores intermediate level of modern dance technique. Emphasizes improving anatomical awareness, increasing strength and flexibility, expanding modern dance vocabulary, and developing flow and dynamic range. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 24 credits.
In-depth studio study of 21st century jazz dance forms. Continues concepts and vocabulary introduced in DANC 231, and further emphasizes alignment, technical clarity and virtuosity. Emphasizes mastery of rhythm and syncopation. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Provides continued ballet training for intermediate-level dancer. Emphasizes increasing technical proficiency, improving anatomical awareness, and developing deeper understanding of skills and principles of ballet technique and how they provide foundation to teach and perform. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 24 credits.
Continued choreographic exploration and research, culminating in bringing completed works to production. Limited to three attempts.
Faculty-guided, individual learning experience where students learn to choreograph a dance work by auditioning dancers, costuming, staging, lighting, selecting musical accompaniment, and composing original movement material. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Practical experience in performance, repertory, and choreography through rehearsal and public performance of university dance concerts or guest artist programs. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Rehearsal and performance of new or restaged dance by guest choreographer in intensive rehearsal setting. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Methodology and practice of costume and lighting design, as dictated by specific needs of dance performance. Notes: Taught in series of workshop settings. Limited to three attempts.
Examines dance as it developed as Western theatrical form from its beginnings in social and folk dance through evolution into ballet. Emphasizes romantic and classical ballet. Also studies American dance forms as they evolved in spectacles, burlesques, minstrelsy, and social dance. All forms of dance placed in social, political, cultural, aesthetic, and historical contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Examines revolutions in transformation of 20th-century Western dance into forms and institutions that radically departed from predecessors. Development of contemporary dance carried with it reflections of the influence of technology and media as well as concept of global culture. Renewed interest in traditional dance forms acknowledges power of dance to serve as carrier of cultural and societal values. Dance forms placed in social, political, cultural, aesthetic, and historical contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Individual research or creative project supervised by faculty member. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Basic factors of price and distribution theory: analysis of demand, costs of production and supply relationships, and price and output determination under various market structures. Limited to three attempts.
Analysis of major strategic business situations including pricing strategy, incentives and contracts, game theory, and vertical and horizontal integration. Limited to three attempts.
Economic problems in light of current and proposed public policies. Topics include environmental issues, international trade policies, and regulatory issues and their historical roots. Limited to three attempts.
Monetary, commercial, and central banking systems, with particular emphasis on their relationship with American government programs, fiscal policies, and controls. Limited to three attempts.
Aggregate economic accounts, including measuring national income; determinants of levels of income and output; and causes and solutions for problems of unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Limited to three attempts.
Defines factors that determine levels of wages and employment, and economic consequences. Emphasizes recent developments in unionism, collective bargaining, and industrial technology. Limited to three attempts.
Covers intergovernmental financial relationships; types, incidences, and consequences of taxation; other sources of governmental income; governmental expenditures and their effect; public economic enterprises; public borrowing; and debt management and its economic effect. Limited to three attempts.
Microeconomic analysis of environmental problems. Topics include externalities and market failure, alternative solutions and policies, problems in monitoring and enforcement, economic analysis of development of legislation and regulation, and applications to current policy issues. Limited to three attempts.
Mathematical treatment of theory of firm and household behavior, stabilization policy, growth theory, input-output analysis, and linear programming. Limited to three attempts.
Modern statistical techniques in estimating economic relations. Limited to three attempts.
Applies the basic principles of economics to teach students to think critically about nonprofit institutions. Examines the economics of nonprofit institutions, how incentives influence the evolution of charities, and current issues in nonprofit organizations. Limited to three attempts.
Economic growth characteristic of developing countries. Economic development, obstacles to development, policies, and planning. Limited to three attempts.
Economic development, institutions, and problems of Latin America. Limited to three attempts.
Issues of economic development as applied to Africa. Includes overview of early economic history in Africa and post-independence development, and contemporary development problems. Limited to three attempts.
Possible topics include ancient, medieval, modern European, and American economic history, using econometric analysis as necessary. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Applies basic economic concepts and principles to issues facing the U.S. and global economies. Topics include productivity and economic growth, taxes, healthcare, globalization, income distribution and financial crises, with an emphasis on market structure, social institutions and the not-always rational behavior of investors and consumers. Equivalent to GOVT 367.
Factors influencing industrial structure, and industrial conduct and performance. Limited to three attempts.
Microeconomic analysis of health and medicine. Topics include the determinants of health, health externalities, health insurance, the health effects of medicine, the supply and demand of medicine, medical quality and regulation, and information asymmetries. Limited to three attempts.
Examines problems and achievements of formerly communist and socialist countries including China, Eastern European countries, and Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union as they transition to more market-oriented economies. Includes market economics and central planning. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces economic way of thinking on trade and international finance. Presents historical and current information on consequences of trade and protectionism. Notes: May not be applied toward the elective course requirement needed for a major or minor in economics. Limited to three attempts.
Foreign exchange market, balance of payment, foreign trade policies, and theories of international trade. Limited to three attempts.
Develops students' ability to express economic arguments effectively through writing. Applies the basic principles of economics to teach students to think critically about economic problems. Limited to two attempts.
Students find economics-related internship with assistance from Career Services. Pre-internship proposal and final reflections paper required. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to various topics in English; many have an interdisciplinary emphasis. Appropriate for non-majors. Topic changes each time course is offered. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces the fields of English studies, focusing on discipline-specific forms of practice within the concentrations in the major. Explores central concepts including reading, language, medium, text, author/producer. Maps histories and contexts of English as a discipline. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in writing and analyzing expository forms such as essay, article, proposal, and technical or scientific reports with emphasis on research related to student's major field. Notes: Students must attain minimum grade of C to fulfill degree requirements. Schedule of Classes designates particular sections of ENGH 302 in business, humanities, natural sciences and technology, and social sciences. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on career choices and effective self-presentation for soon-to-be graduating students with majors in the humanities. Explores how skills typically learned In humanities majors can be leveraged for a successful transition to post-graduation employment. Equivalent to FRLN 309, HIST 385, PHIL 393, UNIV 420.
Advanced introduction to major movements and representative figures of two or more centuries or periods of American, British, European, or world literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Teaches students the conventions of writing in literary studies while emphasizing writing process. Develops interpretive skills for further study in the major though the teaching of in-depth close reading, intertextual analysis, and critical reading in scholarship. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of grammatical structure of English including word classes, phrases, and complex sentences. English grammar analyzed using modern syntactic theory. Students engage in language description through problem solving. Equivalent to LING 307.
Investigates a problem or debate central to the discipline of English. Teaches students how to read, understand, and engage with theoretical texts. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Studies literature by topics, such as women in literature, science fiction, and literature of the avant garde. Notes: Topic varies. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Explores experiences of women as both authors and subjects of imaginative literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Topics include folktales, personal narratives, legends, proverbs, jokes, folk songs, folk art and craft, and folk architecture. Considers ethnicity, community, family, festival, folklore in literature, and oral history. Discusses traditions in students' own lives. Limited to three attempts.
Studies how traditional mythologies are reflected in English and American literature and other texts as themes, motifs, and patterns. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces interpretive practices associated with cultural studies. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes popular fiction and adaptation of popular prose genres to media that have strong verbal and visual elements. Relationship between verbal and nonverbal elements of media such as film, comics, and radio. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces Middle English literature, with emphasis on the social, cultural, and political contexts that guided its production and preservation. Readings include selected English narrative, poetry, and drama written between 1300 and 1500, exclusive of Chaucer. Limited to three attempts.
Poetry and prose of early Renaissance in England. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the works of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Studies a broad range of Shakespeare’s writings, including at least one comedy, one tragedy, and one history. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the works of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Studies select aspects of Shakespeare’s writing or critical issues surrounding it. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Major dramas and dramatists of English Renaissance, such as Lyly, Marlowe, Jonson, Middleton, Webster, and Ford. Limited to three attempts.
English poetry and prose from 1603 to 1688, excluding Milton. Limited to three attempts.
English literature from late 17th century to mid-18th century. Includes Dryden, Rochester, Behn, Defoe, Swift, Pope, and Montagu. Limited to three attempts.
English literature of later 18th century, time of American and French Revolutions, including new developments in novel, drama, biography, and poetry. Includes Johnson, Boswell, Blake, Goldsmith, Sterne, Gray, Cowper, Burney, Godwin, and Wollstonecraft. Limited to three attempts.
Restoration comedy of manners, sentimental comedy, and neoclassical and bourgeois tragedy. Theories of drama and conventions of staging. Includes writers such as Wycherley, Behn, Congreve, and Cowley. Limited to three attempts.
English novel from its beginnings through turn of 19th century. Covers works by Behn, Defoe, Haywood, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Burney, Smollett, and Austen. Limited to three attempts.
Works of major poets of Romantic period: Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats. Limited to three attempts.
Poetry and nonfiction prose by such authors as Carlyle, Arnold, Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Ruskin, Mill, and Wilde. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Dickens, Thackeray, the Brontes, Eliot, Trollope, and Hardy. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes Hardy, Yeats, Lawrence, Graves, Auden, Thomas, and Hughes. Fiction works employing poetic techniques, such as Joyce's Ulysses, may also be studied. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Conrad, Forster, Lawrence, Joyce, Woolf, Greene, Lessing, Spark, and Fowles. Limited to three attempts.
English or Irish drama from Yeats to the present. Plays by authors such as Yeats, Synge, O'Casey, Osborne, Wesker, Pinter, Friel, Churchill, and Gems. Limited to three attempts.
Works of first 200 years of American literature, including Edwards, Franklin, Irving, Cooper, and Bryant. Limited to three attempts.
Major writers of American Renaissance (1830-1865), with emphasis on Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Poe, Stowe, Douglass, and Dickinson. Limited to three attempts.
Study of American literature of the Post-Civil War period (1865-1920). A range of genres will be considered with emphasis on the historical contexts of literary production. Attention will be paid to the literary modes of realism, regionalism, naturalism, and modernism. Limited to three attempts.
Major American novels of the pre-World War I period with emphasis on Brown, Cooper, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Howells, James, Crane, Dreiser, Norris, and others. Limited to three attempts.
Works by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Dos Passos, Wolfe, Bellow, and Nabokov. Limited to three attempts.
American drama of 20th century, with special attention to playwrights such as Glaspell, O'Neill, Miller, Williams, Fornes, and Albee. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes work of Robinson, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Pound, Crane, Eliot, and Lowell. May include work of fiction employing poetic techniques, such as Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury . Limited to three attempts.
Concentrating on such poets as Phillis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, Lucy Terry, and George Moses Horton, examines significant African American literary, social, and political texts produced through 1865. Special attention to narrative accounts of enslavement and freedom by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Olaudah Equiano; political writings and orations of David Walker and Sojourner Truth; fiction of Harriet Wilson and William Wells Brown; and nonwritten cultural artifacts such as slave songs and spirituals. Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes several major writers from Reconstruction to beginning of 20th century, concluding with W.E.B. DuBois's The Souls of Black Folk . Concentrating on evolution of African American fiction and poetry as well as political and social discourses on "race," explores how authors such as Frances E.W. Harper, Charles Chesnutt, Pauline Hopkins, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Anna Julia Cooper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Booker T. Washington, and DuBois shaped the foundation for 20th-century African American literary art and aesthetics. Limited to three attempts.
Focusing on fiction, poetry, drama, and autobiography, explores evolution of African American literature and aesthetics and major social, cultural, and historical movements such as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and emergence of black naturalism, realism, and modernism in the 1930s-40s. Major authors include Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Jessie Fauset, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Nella Larsen, Margaret Walker, Chester Himes, Richard Wright, and Ann Petry. Limited to three attempts.
Encompassing array of genres and forms, examines black writing from mid-20th century to present. Engages textual, critical, political, and theoretical issues related to cardinal literary movements, such as Black Arts Movement of 1960s and Third Renaissance of 1980s-90s. Examines how musical forms such as blues, jazz, and rap shaped literary production. Major authors include Ralph Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, Alice Walker, Ernest Gaines, Gloria Naylor, August Wilson, and Toni Morrison. Limited to three attempts.
Studies particular ethnic American literatures. Focuses on literatures such as Asian American, Native American, Latino/a, Arab American, or Jewish American. Notes: May be repeated when topic (expressed by course subtitle and content) is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
American short story writers and novelists from World War II to present, including Mailer, Barth, Cheever, Oates, Gass, Beattie, Updike, and Morrison. Limited to three attempts.
Major American poets from World War II to present, emphasizing Roethke, Brooks, Rich, Dickey, Lowell, Ammons, Kizer, Sexton, Clifton, Plath, and Piercy. Limited to three attempts.
Selected European novels in translation. Focuses on continental novel from 18th century to end of 19th century. Includes works of Balzac, Goethe, Gogol, Stendhal, Turgenev, Flaubert, Dostoievski, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Limited to three attempts.
Offered in cooperation with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Focuses on continental novel from beginning of 20th century to present. Includes Proust, Mann, Gide, Kafka, Yourcenar, Beauvoir, Calvino, and Garcia Marquez. Attention to influence of this literature on novel in English. Limited to three attempts.
Studies two cultures other than contemporary British or American culture through exploration of several textual forms such as written literature, oral literature, film, folklore, or popular culture. Specific cultures vary, but at least one is non- Western. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree.
Examines history and current status of conceptions of world literature, considering such topics as non-European influences on Western literature, shifting horizons of comparative literature, rise of postcolonial literature, place of translation, and role of international institutions such as UNESCO and the Nobel Prize. Focuses on degree to which these initiatives have been successful in promoting global understanding of literary production. Limited to three attempts.
Study of selected topics, periods, genres, or authors in literature written in English, originating in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Asia, or Africa, for example. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Representative plays of most influential European and American dramatists, with emphasis on dramatic styles such as realism, expressionism, epic, and existentialism. Studies Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, Brecht, and Beckett. Limited to three attempts.
Considers fundamental concepts of documentary form, style, and subject matter, ethical considerations, and theories of documentary. Includes close analysis of a series of representative film and television texts. Limited to three attempts.
Learn to identify and analyze formal elements of television. Learn how to situate and evaluate television in their cultural and historical contexts, interpret specific texts, and understand the relationships among broadcasting and networks, citizenship, audiences, and the public sphere. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces film medium as an art form. Limited to three attempts.
Familiarizes students with an essential subfield of film and media studies—the relationship of urban space to screen cultures. Addresses the construction of the global city on screen in relation to questions of wealth and poverty; crime and criminality; surveillance, occupation, and the state of emergency; gender and sexuality; space, place, and shooting on location; among other things. Explores the central role the “global city” plays in the generation and global circulation of wealth while also attending to the marginal spaces of such cities. Limited to three attempts.
Provides a rhetorical foundation for web authoring and design in professional settings. Students will learn basic principles of writing for the web, information architecture, coding for accessibility, and usability testing. The production-oriented component of the course provides instruction in writing valid code and practice with web- and graphic-editing software tools. Limited to three attempts.
Critical reading of new media texts and creation of technology-enriched texts in variety of rhetorical genres. Instructs students in rhetoric of new media, whether produced as hypertext, multimedia, or interactive digital productions. Technology-enriched activities present complex textuality of words, images, word-as-image, and kinetic text. Limited to three attempts.
Combined workshop and studio course in technological and aesthetic issues of reading and writing hypermedia texts with emphasis on poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, mixed genre, drama, or performance. Explores how genre meets hypertext and hypermedia in original creative work. Includes techniques in authoring interactive hypermedia projects using digital media tools. Notes: May include reading assignments in hypertext and hypermedia theory. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to the field of writing studies, with a focus on definitions of writing and rhetoric and research methods applied to the study of writing from the perspective of multiple disciplines. Provides an overview of both historical and contemporary approaches to studying writing as object, process, practice, and occupation. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced rhetorical study of "the essay," and its variable nonfiction forms, with a focus on rhetorical genre study and the persuasive nature of nonfiction storytelling. Students will practice analyzing and writing "essay" forms, such as popular long-form nonfiction, hybrid (personal and academic) essays, literary journalism, research articles, and others, depending on student interests. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces editing as a textual and rhetorical practice. Addresses copyediting, stylistics, and design; revisions based on audience, purpose, and genre; multimedia editing; interactions between editors and authors. (Not a remedial course in fixing sentence errors.) Limited to three attempts.
Intensive study and practice in various forms of professional and technical writing, including proposals, reports, instructions, news releases, white papers, and correspondence. Emphasizes writing for variety of audiences, both lay and informed, and writing within various professional and organizational contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Experiential learning course in teaching of writing across disciplines. Students receive Writing Center training in theory and techniques of tutoring writing and work a minimum of 3 hours per week in Writing Center. Focus is on practical application of writing theory and pedagogy from course readings, development of tutoring skills, and self-reflection through journals and final paper. Notes: Students must submit two faculty recommendations and a sample of recent academic writing, and complete an interview with the director of the Writing Center. Equivalent to CHSS 390.
Intensive study of and practice in formal elements of poetry through analyzing models and weekly writing assignments. Depending upon specific instructor, can cover rhyme, meter, rhythm, lineation, stanza pattern, traditional and experimental forms, free verse and open-form composition, lyric, narrative, and dramatic modes. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in the elements and forms of fiction, through analyzing models and completing weekly writing assignments. Covers short stories, short-shorts, longer narratives, and such elements as plot, narrative technique, dialogue, point of view, voice and style, along with tools such as evocation, description, and epiphany. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive study of and practice in various forms of nonfiction writing, through analyzing models and completing weekly writing assignments. Includes in-depth discussion and practice in such forms as biographies, documentaries, editorials, interviews, reports, reviews, and essays. Limited to three attempts.
Assignments include writing exercises and original works of poetry and fiction. May also include drama or creative nonfiction. Includes reading assignments in covered genres, and may include oral presentations or in-class performance. Original student work read and discussed in class and conference with instructor. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop in reading, writing poetry. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Technical exercises in craft of poetry; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop course in reading and writing fiction. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Includes technical exercises in craft of fiction; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop in reading and writing of nonfiction that makes use of literary techniques normally thought of in context of fiction, such as evoking senses and use of dialog. Original student work read and discussed in class and conferences with instructor. Includes technical exercises in artful creating of nonfiction; may include reading assignments. Limited to three attempts.
This course provides environmental science majors with the necessary background in biological diversity and ecological science required for subsequent courses in the BS curriculum. The course reviews the diversity of life on earth and the structure and functioning of ecosystems and populations. Limited to three attempts.
This course provides environmental science majors with the necessary background in biomes and human dimensions required for subsequent courses in the BS curriculum. The course reviews the functioning of aquatic and terrestrial biomes and human interactions with and impacts on the environment. Limited to three attempts.
Provides understanding of microbes and their function as a vital part of an environmental education. The role of microbes is central to many environmental issues such as climate change, biodegradation of toxics, wastewater treatment and drinking water contamination. Course provides an introduction to the breadth of microbiology including essential information for students studying environmental problems and their solution. Notes: Laboratory section (EVPP 306) is a corequisite unless previously completed. Limited to three attempts.
Laboratory study of environmental microbiology. Course provides an introduction to the microbiological techniques for students studying environmental problems and their solution. Examples include microbiology of natural ecosystems (e.g., Potomac River), bacteria in fresh and estuarine waters and sediments, Indicator organisms (e.g., coliform bacteria), molecular identification of unknown bacteria from nature, and visualization of bacteria in their natural habitat. Notes: Lecture section (EVPP 305) is a corequisite. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the geological, chemical, physical, and biological aspects of the global oceans. For science majors and minors only. May include field trips. Equivalent to BIOL 309, GEOL 309.
Introduces science used to identify species in need of conservation, and techniques to manage and protect organisms. Notes: Cannot be taken with Smithsonian Seminar (off campus classes). CONS 401, CONS 411. Equivalent to BIOL 318.
Examines the types of approaches businesses can take to take to respond to sustainability concerns, Designed to prepare students for assisting organizations to incorporate sustainability considerations into their strategic decision-making. Notes: Students from multiple disciplines (business, social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, education, etc.) can participate in the class without having had previous courses in management. Equivalent to INTS 332.
This course will examine animal physiology across different levels of biological organization, from molecules to cells to whole organisms, and will highlight the diversity of physiological mechanisms across different groups of animals. Emphasis will be placed on how ecology and evolution shape the physiology of organisms as well as how physiology forms the basis for how animals interact with their environment. This course will cover all the major physiological systems in animals (e.g., circulatory system) as well as how these systems are integrated to perform ecological functions (e.g., flight). Finally, emphasis will be placed on the effects of environmental change on animal function, and how animals may respond physiologically to such changes. Limited to three attempts.
Many of our most pressing social and environmental issues today fall into the category of “wicked problems”. Characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and divergence of human values and viewpoints, wicked problems are prone to becoming mired in controversy and failures of governance. To understand the nature of these problems, we must understand the systems from which they arise and their dynamics. This course in human dimensions of the environment takes a problem-based learning approach and introduces foundational literatures on wicked problems, systems thinking, and collective governance. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of environmental policy process in developing countries around the world. Major focus on understanding distinctive problems and dynamics of environmental policy making in poor countries to generate better policy decisions and management. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to environmental, resource, and ecological economics for non-economist undergraduates. Covers basic theories of scarce resource allocation and examines conditions under which market allocations are efficient and sustainable. Includes graphical and verbal presentation of theory. Limited to three attempts.
Studies physical, chemical, and biological processes in lakes, streams, and wetlands. Lectures, field trips, and lab exercises teach physical and chemical aspects of aquatic systems and life cycles, and adaptations of aquatic organisms. Equivalent to BIOL 350.
Provides definition, classification, and practice of ecological engineering and ecosystem restoration. Describes general system ecology, ecosystem restoration (i.e., wetland and river systems), and the use of natural processes to provide ecosystem services to society. Provides students with a systems-oriented perspective on designing and managing ecosystems. Students will study principles in designing field ecological studies, ecological models, ecological engineering, and explore practices in sustainable ecological design by carrying out a hands-on experimental design project with the field wetland mesocosm on the Mason campus. One field trip is required part of the course. Limited to three attempts.
Environmental politics and policymaking since the 1970s. Primary focus on United States, with some discussion of global issues. Examines policy strategies and outcomes, ethical and economic debates, political controversies, lawmaking and enforcement, and role of key players. Equivalent to GOVT 361.
Examines environmental issues building on learning objectives from EVPP 361. Focuses on environmental and policy issues in the US and internationally, exploring the politics of nature and the interaction of environmental science and politics and resulting controversy. Risk and uncertainty loom large in most environmental issues. "Natural" disasters as well as direct "man-made" problems will be covered. Equivalent to GOVT 362.
Studies global coastal geomorphology and processes with emphasis on U.S. Atlantic and gulf coasts. Topics include plate tectonics; sea-level changes; sediment supply; impact of waves, tides, and storms; and human activities. Lectures and extended weekend field trips to mid-Atlantic coast. Equivalent to GEOL 363.
Introduces ecosystem concepts and applications to natural and managed ecosystems. Equivalent to BIOL 377.
Introduces the concepts and applications of several important topics relating to ecological sustainability. Focuses on the role of soils in maintaining and managing environmental quality. Teaches students how to understand and interpret scientific data presented in various types of literature covering ecological sustainability. Equivalent to BIOL 379.
A study of internationally important wetland ecosystems of varying types (i.e., Ramsar wetlands). Emphasizes the link between nature and culture of wetlands in different global regions and focuses on understanding its critical role in the conservation and wise use of global wetlands. The course aims to train the next generation of higher education in the field of eco-cultural literacy and resilience of global wetlands. It provides students with an opportunity to learn about the environmental history and the changes in the ecology of global wetland ecosystems over the decades of human impacts. The course covers different types of wetland systems and their services to and relationship with humanity. The course includes field trips to local wetlands and nature centers, and one final field trip to a Ramsar wetland - a wetland of an international importance. Limited to three attempts.
Original research project. May involve field and lab study, computer modeling and analysis, or other original research as appropriate. Research formulated and completed under instructor's guidance. Notes: Culminates in final report. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 10 credits.
Study of topics not available in fixed-topics courses. May involve readings, lectures, lab assignments, and tutorials as jointly agreed on by student and instructor. Notes: Culminates in term paper, final exam, or both. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 8 credits.
Introduction to the fundamental concepts, principles, and analytical tools in finance. Topics covered include time value of money, security valuation, capital budgeting, risk and return analysis, and cost of capital. Notes: School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in FNAN 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information see the Termination from the Major section under Academic Policies. The final exam for FNAN 303 may be scheduled to take place for all sections at the same time during the final exam period. Accommodations will be made for exam and religious conflicts and for certain official university-sponsored activities.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces analysis of the valuation of equity and debt securities given modern capital market theory. Includes discussion of portfolio analysis as related to valuation of securities. Notes: Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Student creates and refines a web portfolio to utilize throughout the course of study in presenting projects to aid in internship application and professional development.Limited to three attempts.
Key digital game design mechanisms, dynamics, processes, and considerations are explored, including but not limited to input, interface, and interactivity. Students will apply concepts and processes in digital game design using current game engines. Limited to three attempts.
Students develop observational, sketching, and rendering skills in the digital medium. Students practice digital painting from reference and imagination as they create convincing game surfaces and simple concept drawings.Limited to three attempts.
Analysis, designing, and developing digital games in key platform contexts such as mobile, VR, and consoles. Analysis will include porting games between most commercial platforms. Students will apply a team-based development process to create innovative applications that leverage unique platform considerations. Limited to three attempts.
Current and prototype consumer gaming platforms and consoles. Analysis will include conversion, transposition, and porting game media among most commercially produced platforms for analysis and comparisons.Limited to three attempts.
Use of narrative structure and new media for designing computer game scenarios and stories. Traditional narrative techniques (text stories, novels, films) will be examined, as well as translations of the traditional to interactive, non-linear modes of communications. Analysis of current computer game story design theories, philosophies, and techniques will be covered.Limited to three attempts.
Composition, editing, processing, and integration of voice, environmental sounds and music into non-linear computer game environments. Special emphasis will be placed on HD sound and music post-production and mixing (3 & 5 transducer point listening spaces), sequential composition and sample-splicing techniques, and the study of competing compression algorithms for sound and music.Limited to three attempts.
Introduces principles and skills of 3D art and animation for games. Emphasizes efficient, low-poly 3D modeling for integration into 3D game engines. Additional topics in 3D visual design for games are surveyed, including lighting, terrain building, and VFX. Limited to three attempts.
In-depth presentation and exploration of topical studies in computer game design. Subject matter varies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Fundamental concepts and theories for appropriate use of geographic information systems (GIS). Topics include social and cultural contexts of the use of geographic information, sources of digital geospatial data, and methods of input, storage, display, and processing of spatial data for geographic analysis using GIS. Lectures, hands-on exercises familiarize students with current technology. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on career choices and effective self-presentation for soon-to-be graduating students with majors in Global Affairs. Explores how skills typically learned in humanities majors can be leveraged for a successful transition to post-graduation employment.Equivalent to UNIV 420.
This course takes media as a lens to examine the cultural, political, and economic dimensions of globalization. Begins with historical attempts to democratize the international communication systems and technologies and moves to examine a series of topics related to media globalization, such as: media in nation-building, pop culture, international news reporting, television and film production, the political-economic tensions embedded in media streaming services, information overload, and digital activism. Analyzes media technologies from an interdisciplinary perspective.Limited to three attempts.
Examination of human security from an interdisciplinary perspective emphasizing critical approaches to it from fields such as development studies, anthropology, history, and geography. Human security is often articulated with non-conventional security threats. Course traces genealogy (and critiques of it) of human security including connections to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Students examine the sources of insecurity in today’s world and the intersection of insecurity and development, contributions of government and international actors usually not seen within the security field, and the role of grassroots actors in promoting human security.Limited to three attempts.
This course explores the intersection of health, globalization and development drawing from multidisciplinary theoretical perspectives to provide a critical perspective on global health and development research as well as practice. Will provide students an opportunity to examine and understand the historical context of global health and development; the role of contemporary global health institutions, the politics of health and global health, and behavior change and development strategies.Limited to three attempts.
Emphasizes asking clear, researchable questions and using appropriate evidence to answer them. Introduces broad range of evidence including quantitative and qualitative information. Studies design and analysis of surveys, government archives, case studies, and interpretations of events in journals. Examines ethical implications of information technologies. Notes: Required for all majors in government and international politics, and public administration. Strongly recommended before or during first semester of enrolling in 300-level courses.Limited to three attempts.
American judicial organization and operation, role of the Supreme Court in policy formation, and selected constitutional principles.Equivalent to CRIM 301.
Examines American political development, both in itself and compared to other nations. Addresses the extent to which theUnited States has or has not been exceptional in its development as a nation state.Limited to three attempts.
Nature, organization, functions, and problems of American state and local governments.Limited to three attempts.
Legal, administrative, fiscal, and political dimensions of evolving American federalism.Limited to three attempts.
Organization, processes, functions, and roles of legislature and U.S. Congress members. Topics include state legislatures and cross-national comparisons as time and resources permit.Limited to three attempts.
Survey of modern presidency, including constitutional origins of office, growth and influence of White House staff, Cabinet, presidential appointees and control of executive branch, relations with Congress, and domestic and national security policy making.Limited to three attempts.
Government, politics, and problems of metropolitan centers and surrounding areas.Limited to three attempts.
Studies actions of voters, candidates, and political parties in relation to the expression of relevant public opinion in a democratic system.Limited to three attempts.
Characteristics and functions of political parties, influence of parties and other political forces on electoral decisions, and emphasis on parties' inability or ability to hold government accountable to citizens.Limited to three attempts.
Examines political topics through a psychological lens. Review of theoretical approaches, methods and themes. Political psychology has been used to explore the motivation of presidents, why some groups will seek to kill off other groups through acts of genocide, how the authoritarian state can emerge, and what goes through your mind as you go to cast your ballot on Election Day.Limited to three attempts.
Role, internal operations, strategies, and activities of interest groups. Evaluates ability of these groups to enable citizens to influence or control government and enhance democratic process. Considers conditions under which social movements become, or fail to become, effective interest groups.Limited to three attempts.
Studies special issues relevant to government and politics. Topics announced in advance. Examples include politics and the arts, ethnic conflict and the political system, gender politics, and changing dynamics in political institutions. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Advanced inquiry into international relations. Studies theories, concepts of international relations, and major forces and issues in international politics.Limited to three attempts.
Lectures, discussions of developments in Western tradition of political thought from time of Greek city-state to late medieval Christendom. Topics include nature and purpose of politics, relationship between individual and state, political significance of religion and tradition, and concept of natural law.Equivalent to PHIL 323.
Lectures, discussions of developments in Western tradition of political thought from Renaissance to mid-19th century. Topics include rise of individualism in political theory, early developments in social contact theory, theories of radical popular sovereignty, and early criticisms of liberal theory.Equivalent to PHIL 324.
Lectures, discussions of developments in Western tradition of political thought from mid-19th century to today. Different sections focus on various political theories that have been influential during this period, such as liberal, libertarian, conservative, communitarian, Marxist, feminist, and postmodern thought. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different.Equivalent to PHIL 327.
Theory and history of political community, governance, and development as understood around the world, including China, Japan, India, Africa, Latin America, and the Islamic world; relations of power in modern conceptions of the political; comparative visions of world order in the context of emerging global powers.Limited to three attempts.
Studies special issues relevant to theoretical and value aspects of government and politics. Topics announced in advance. Examples include ethics and politics, ethics and environmental policy, changing perspectives on civil rights and liberties, religion and politics, and changing views of public space. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Contemporary political systems of Latin America, with emphasis on institutions, political processes, and political behavior. Presents case studies of several key Latin American politics; discusses problems of political development.Limited to three attempts.
Societies of Middle East and North Africa and their response to impact of internal sociocultural-political determinants and external forces. Focuses on contemporary politics, ideologies, popular manifestations, institutions, and operations.Limited to three attempts.
Government structures and political processes of Asian countries. Examines patterns of conflict and cooperation, and issues of economic development and political reform in rapidly changing world.Limited to three attempts.
Examines governance and political systems in Europe at the national and supranational levels, with emphasis on actors, institutions, processes, and behavior. Explores key policies in a variety of fields, such as social policy, migration, and economic and monetary union.Limited to three attempts.
Studies resurgence of ethnic nationalism in industrial democracies of Western Europe and North America, and the comparative analysis of policy issues related to ethnonationalism. Case studies drawn from the industrial democracies.Limited to three attempts.
Examines continuity and change in Russia's Soviet era and post-Soviet era politics and international relations.Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected current political issues in industrial democracies of Western Europe and North America. Specific topics chosen each semester to reflect contemporary political concerns in these countries, but political process in advanced industrial countries is organizing principle throughout the course. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Comparative examination of political change in Central Asia with attention to national identity formation, political economy, political conflict, political Islam, and democratization.Limited to three attempts.
Discusses theories and practices of Chinese foreign policy decision making, which are then used to understand China's relations with United States, Japan, Russia, Europe, and its Asian neighbors, and China's policy in issues such as human rights, environmental protection, and nuclear nonproliferation.Limited to three attempts.
Origins of organized diplomacy: tasks, procedures, instruments, and problems of diplomacy. Emphasizes current, future roles of diplomacy.Limited to three attempts.
Introduces international political economy. Examines interplay of economics and politics, and applies these to different issues. Focuses on issues of contemporary significance, with attention to historical issues and basic political and economic concepts.Limited to three attempts.
Central issues surrounding the conduct of America's foreign relations, with special emphasis on structural and constitutional questions, national policy objectives abroad, and conduct of foreign policy in a democracy.Limited to three attempts.
Covers politics of religion in Muslim societies; history, ideology, and practices of key individuals, movements, and institutions; case studies of political Islam in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and the West; plurality and diversity of political expression in Muslim world; nature of democracy in Islam; and Islamic state.Limited to three attempts.
Approaches U.S. National security policy from perspective of organization and implementation of specific policies. Applies theoretical concerns to historic cases to illuminate problems that continue to challenge country.Limited to three attempts.
Explores enduring security problems and new developments. Examines effects of international system on defense policies of states, particularly tensions of world caught between emerging interdependence and national demands. Encourages development of critical-thinking and group and oral presentation skills.Limited to three attempts.
Covers major theories on the causes and consequences of political violence and civil war. Topics include the onset of civil wars, civil war processes, conflict termination, and post-conflict recovery. Covers practical public policy issues of conflict resolution and intervention, as well as methodological approaches and challenges in political violence research. Issues of political violence and civil war are explored in diverse world regions.Limited to three attempts.
Administrative structures and processes in political setting of public management. Presents organization and administrative theory, critiques, and current practices; and examines impact of changes in social, political, and economic environment on concepts, models.Limited to three attempts.
Policy professionals today need to understand the power of technologies to create politics, and of specific processes by which technologies might be consciously shaped. Such understanding underpins the ability – and responsibility – to manage technologies and their effects. As interactions among technologies, organizations and cultures intensify, and conflicts among them and in the wider society intensify as well. This course is designed not only to help minimize such failures, but to maximize success in administrative, policy and political contexts.Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to the different steps that social entrepreneurs work through to drive social change: identifying problem to address, developing a strategy to address the social need, fundraising, growing the organization, tracking results, and maximizing impact.Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to the thousands of soup kitchens, shelters, health clinics, educational institutions, arts agencies, and other organizations that make up the U.S. nonprofit sector. Topics covered include: the internal structure and operation of nonprofits; the role of nonprofits in delivering services, advocating for particular points of view, and providing vehicles for caring and self-expression; and the partnerships that nonprofits form with donors, government agencies, and businesses to address social problems.Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes techniques and tools in human resource management including merit system, classification, compensation, evaluation, recruitment, and labor relations. Emphasizes current legal and policy issues in personnel administration, such as diversity and privatization.Limited to three attempts.
Covers tools and techniques in budgeting and financial management in U.S. governments, including management of public financial institutions, budgetary process and reform, and relationship of public budgeting to national economic policy.Limited to three attempts.
Reviews spatial, policy, and administration principles that guide urban planning activities in the United States. Outlines differences between theory and practice and provides tools, methods, and perspectives commonly incorporated into practice of urban planning and policy analysis.Equivalent to GGS 357.
Provides understanding of social mission and entrepreneurial cross pressures underlying financial planning and accounting in nonprofit sector. Topics include revenue sources and projections, entrepreneurial techniques, and cost analysis for nonprofit and nongovernmental entities. Lectures, student case studies.Limited to three attempts.
Environmental politics and policy making since the 1970s. Primarily U.S. focus, with some discussion of global issues. Examines policy strategies and outcomes, ethical and economic debates, political controversies, lawmaking and enforcement, and role of key players.Equivalent to EVPP 361.
Examines environmental issues building on learning objectives from GOVT 361. Focuses on environmental and policy issues in the US and internationally, exploring the politics of nature and the interaction of environmental science and politics and resulting controversy. Risk and uncertainty loom large in most environmental issues. Covers "natural" disasters as well as direct "man-made" problems.Equivalent to EVPP 362.
Explores the relationship between scientific achievement and geopolitical power. Examines the development of science and technology institutions and policy. Introduces the history of modern United States sci-tech development and places it in global comparative perspective. Students develop critical thinking and effective writing skills by critiquing current technology policies and suggesting improvements.Limited to three attempts.
Processes, agencies, and politics involved in the proposal making, implementation, evaluation, and revision of U.S. public policy.Limited to three attempts.
Examines public policy decisions that affect local and state jurisdictions in context of federal system of government. Examines context, substance, and impact of such policies as housing, transportation, land use, crime prevention, service delivery, and health care.Limited to three attempts.
Methods of public policy analysis, evaluation, and research. Studies design and development of alternative courses of government action and evaluation of results, and problems in applying systematic analysis to political issues.Limited to three attempts.
Applies basic economic concepts and principles to issues facing the U.S. and global economies. Topics include productivity and economic growth, taxes, health care, globalization, income distribution and financial crises, with an emphasis on market structure, social institutions and the not-always rational behavior of investors and consumers.Equivalent to ECON 367.
This course outlines the economic framework for studying public policy, taking a more quantitative approach than GOVT 367. Topics include consumer and producer behavior under different market structures, how and why markets can fail to produce socially desirable outcomes, income distribution, and macroeconomic growth. Emphasizes using economic models to evaluate both market outcomes and policy interventions.Limited to three attempts.
This course examines the rapidly expanding cyber world which provides new challenges for existing governance systems worldwide. Will cover existing laws, practices and social norms around cyberspace, and explore options for countering security threats and forming policies. Topics covered may include nonstate actors and international security, misinformation and weaponized information, ransomware, cryptocurrencies, and public regulation of private companies.Limited to three attempts.
Study abroad. Course topics, content, and locations vary. Notes: GOVT 398 may only be applied to a major or minor with prior written approval from the department. A maximum of 6 credits may be applied to the BA in government and international politics, the BS in public administration, or any minor offered by the Schar School of Policy and Government.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Applies research methods in context of assisting with faculty research. Individualized sections taught by arrangement with full-time faculty. Methods adopted vary, but generally include library research, data collection, data analysis, and report construction.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Introduces research skills and methods, as well as historical interpretation, culminating in written and oral presentations. Notes: Topics vary according to instructor. History majors strongly urged to take HIST 300 as soon as possible after reaching 30 credits. Grade of C or better is required to graduate with BA in history. Students may repeat HIST 300 only with permission from the Department of History and Art History and repetitions are limited. Limited to three attempts.
Political, social, economic, and cultural history of classical Greece from development of the city-state through 5th century. Limited to three attempts.
Political, social, economic, and cultural history of classical Rome from founding of the city through fall of Roman republic. Limited to three attempts.
Survey of development of European society from collapse of Roman rule in 5th century to advent of Black Death in 14th century. Emphasizes political, social, cultural, and intellectual growth of society that developed from Roman, Catholic, and Germanic roots. Limited to three attempts.
Survey considering Renaissance as phenomenon rather than chronological period. Emphasizes growth of humanism in Italy in 14th and 15th centuries, development of new political concepts, and laicization of society. Includes transmission of these developments to transalpine Europe in late 15th and 16th centuries. Limited to three attempts.
Late medieval ecclesiastical conditions and reform movements, late scholasticism, Protestant Reformation, Catholic Reformation, dynastic rivalries, and religious wars. Concludes with Peace of Westphalia. Limited to three attempts.
Political, social, economic, and cultural history of Europe from 1648 to 1815. Crisis of authority, consolidation of the state, absolutism, colonial expansion, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution and Napoleon. Limited to three attempts.
History of Europe from Congress of Vienna to outbreak of World War I. Limited to three attempts.
Two world wars, the Great Depression, and political and cultural revolutions transformed Europe as never before. Explores causes and consequences of these tumultuous events, and concludes with consideration of reconstruction that caps period. Limited to three attempts.
Examines history of modern Eastern Europe from mid-19th century through collapse of communist regimes in 1989, and includes focus on Yugoslav wars of 1990s. Nationalism provides organizing theme; topic approached through literature, political, social, cultural, and new media sources. Class sessions emphasize discussion of central issues and sources. Limited to three attempts.
Political, diplomatic, economic, social, and cultural development of Germany from dissolution of Holy Roman Empire to present. Limited to three attempts.
Students will use case histories to explore the cultural and social aspects of global STEM development during the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, roughly the period from 1700 to 1900. Students will be required to critically analyze articles, books chapters, other readings and media, and articulate their findings and viewpoints in classroom and online discussions and presentations. They will also work in a team project which will present its results to the class in live and online formats. Limited to three attempts.
This course covers the history of modern architecture in the Western world from the mid-19th century to the present. Introduces movements such as Art Nouveau, Futurism, Modernism, and Post-Modernism in their political, social, and cultural contexts. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys two centuries of French history presenting an introduction to the multidisciplinary study of culture, politics, and society. Course begins with the 1789 French Revolution, covering the nation’s long and difficult transition to democracy and ends with the consideration of enduring discourses of liberty, equality, and secularism in the contemporary political and social landscape. Covers major events such as revolutions, wars, and uprisings, as well as the experiences of ordinary citizens, social practices, and cultural techniques. Limited to three attempts.
History of Britain from mid-18th century to present. Focuses on social, political, and economic transformations of industrialization; culture of 19th-century industrial society; problems of late 19th-century economic competition and imperialism; creation of welfare state; and experience of post-World War II political, social, and economic realignments. Limited to three attempts.
Uses primary sources to examine the growth and development of the medieval kingdom of England and its place within the British Isles and on the wider European stage in the English Middle Age (1066-1314). Topics to be considered include: the nature of medieval kingship in England, origins of parliament, the development of common law, English relations with Wales, Scotland and Ireland, change and continuity in medieval Christianity, the methods and sources by which modern historians study the medieval past. Limited to three attempts.
Uses digital technologies to examine the political, economic, religious, scientific, cultural, and social transformations of 16th and 17th centuries in England with emphasis on how people attempted to understand and thrive amidst rebellions and dynastic drama, religious uncertainty and massacres, plagues and famines, continent-wide wars, and seaborne invasions. Demonstrates how this struggle for survival lay the foundations for a British Empire and its colonies, including America. Limited to three attempts.
Examines Josef Stalin and Stalinism as a political, economic, social, and cultural system, with a focus on the period from Lenin's death in 1924 through Stalin's death in 1953. Explores the history of rapid industrialization, collectivization of agriculture, famine, terror, war, Cold War, and human suffering in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes the Soviet Union, the Cold War "enemy" of the United States, from victory in World War II under Joseph Stalin through collapse in 1991. Studies the fifteen independent countries that emerged from the Soviet collapse, including Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, which continue to influence world politics and culture today. Limited to three attempts.
Political, social, and cultural development of Russia from early times to the end of the 19th century. Limited to three attempts.
Russia and the Soviet Union from the early 20th century to the present. Focuses on the Russian Revolution and the political, social, cultural, and economic developments of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras. Limited to three attempts.
In this course, students will analyze texts that Americans have treated as “scripture.” Students will read texts that present themselves as scripture, such as selections from the Book of Mormon and a Holy Sacred and Divine Roll and Book (a Shaker text). They will also read texts that have attained a sort of canonicity within American culture, such as the Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Students will thus gain more than a valuable familiarity with a variety of American religious traditions. They will also reflect on the way that, even in a digital age, texts continue to shape American identity. Equivalent to RELI 334.
History of African American experience in United States including African origins; trans-Atlantic slave trade; development of slavery in colonial, revolutionary, and antebellum periods; abolitionist movements; and African American participation in Civil War and during Reconstruction. Limited to three attempts.
History of African American life in post-slavery America, and rise and consequences of racial segregation in 19th and 20th centuries. Examines African American response to continued racial inequality and repression. Covers great migration, urbanization, black nationalism, and civil rights era, as well as contemporary debates about race. Limited to three attempts.
Examines development of baseball in U.S. context of labor, intellectual, economic and political events including racial segregation. Limited to three attempts.
Explores history of basketball in the United States since the late 1800s. Examines how basketball reflects and informs attitudes toward race, ethnicity, gender, and national identity. Possible topics include YMCA movement, Jews in basketball, racial segregation, growth of college basketball, international politics, evolution of black aesthetic, ABA-NBA merger, women's basketball, Magic Johnson-Larry Bird rivalry, Michael Jordan, and basketball's professionalization, commercialization, and globalization. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the roots of American sport in colonial play and recreation, the emergence of organized and national sports, issues of gender and race in the sporting world, and the intersection of U.S. sport with events such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. Limited to three attempts.
Traces history of American participation in the Olympics from 1896 to the present. Topics may include American leadership in the Olympic Movement, the historical legacy of American Olympic host cities, American Imperialism, Nazism, issues of race, gender and ethnicity in the Olympics, the Cold War and Olympic boycotts, and commercialization of sport. Limited to three attempts.
This course examines the history of African American women in antebellum America, both the general experiences of enslaved and nominally free women, and the lives of noted women who were involved in the public arena as orators, writers, preachers, abolitionists and women's rights activists. Within the context of the national political debates and compromises that took place on the issue of slavery and the status of free blacks, the course uses an intersectional analysis in examining the effect of gender, class and race on the development of ideologies concerning abolition, colonization, women’s rights and enslavement. Limited to three attempts.
The course examines the underlying causes of the increased violence and oppression African Americans faced post-Reconstruction and the organizational responses of blacks to the drastic curtailment of their basic rights. During this period of Jim Crow ascendancy, African American life was circumscribed by race riots and lynching, police brutality, segregation, job exclusion, housing discrimination, unequal educational opportunities and disfranchisement. Race and gender ideology figured prominently in white justification for violence and the restrictions meted out against blacks. In addition to examining the changing political and economic conditions that gave rise to various protest and civil rights organizations and movements, the course analyzes the different personalities and ideologies of leaders in these organizations, explores the divisions that sometimes impeded a movement’s effectiveness, and investigates the gendered meanings of what it meant to be black and white in America. Limited to three attempts.
At the turn of the 20th century popular culture categorized African American women as desexualized Mammies or immoral Jezebels. These devastating depictions were also linked to the myth of black men as hypersexual rapists of white women whose image was infused with a heightened purity. This course examines the simultaneous struggles of black women to defend their name and fight all forms of race and sex proscriptions from the turn of the century period of Jim Crow segregation and disfranchisement through the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements of the 1960s. This course establishes that the activism of women was central to struggles to overturn segregation, end lynching, and secure political and civil rights. The course explores the effects of sexist and racist ideologies on their lives and activism, the changes in their economic and political status, the legal and social barriers they faced, and the ways in which they were defined within families and within popular culture. Limited to three attempts.
History of women and their changing status and gender roles in American society from colonial period through "second wave" of feminism in 1970s. Explores images and lives of women of different class, ethnic, and regional origins. Also focuses on women's political, economic, and legal conditions, and changes in them. Limited to three attempts.
History of South to outbreak of Civil War, with particular emphasis on rise of sectionalism. Focuses on development of distinct Southern culture through emergence of economic, political, social, agricultural, and intellectual institutions. Limited to three attempts.
History of South during Reconstruction, Redeemer era, and New South, with particular emphasis on race relations. Covers political, economic, cultural, and intellectual development from aftermath of war. Limited to three attempts.
China from earliest times to period of modern Western intrusion. Development of traditional Chinese culture, society, and government. Limited to three attempts.
China from 1644 to the People's Republic of China. Emphasizes coming of West and various stages of Chinese reaction. Limited to three attempts.
Japan from Meiji Restoration to World War II. Emphasizes Japan's modernization in face of challenge. Limited to three attempts.
History of Japan from World War II to present. Examines Japanese experience of several key moments: Japan's defeat in Pacific War, reconstruction during U.S. occupation, rise to economic prominence during 1960s and 1970s, and cultural and international identity crisis during 1980s and 1990s. Limited to three attempts.
Puts People's Republic of CHINA (PRC) into historical context by assessing legacies of China's socialist revolution (1949-1976) and post-socialist reforms (1978-present). Explores revolutionary heritage of the Chinese Communist Party, goals and agendas of china's socialist state, ideologies and policies shaping urban and rural development, individual agency and responses to revolutionary mass mobilization and market reforms. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the historical processes that led to the rise of African kingdoms, colonialism, industrialization, resistance movements, and legalized segregation. Limited to three attempts.
During 20th century, Latin America has witnessed both peaceful political movements and violent revolutions aimed at achieving social justice. Considers several of these movements in comparative perspective: Mexican Revolution, Arbenz government in Guatemala, Allende regime in Chile, Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions, and Brazilian Worker's Party. Limited to three attempts.
Examines forms of conquest and colonization practiced by Aztec, Inca, Spanish, and Portuguese in what is now Latin America. Includes role of ideology and religion in imperial rule, use of warfare to create empires and colonies, and implementation of political and economic systems to rule subject people. Limited to three attempts.
Examines systems of slavery from ancient world to modern world, with special emphasis on Atlantic slave trade and slave societies in Latin America and Anglo America. Considers impact of slaves and slavery on cultural, economic, and political systems in Africa and Americas from 16th to 19th centuries. Limited to three attempts.
Examines war and American society from the colonial period to the post-Cold War era, including how military institutions, war, and the preparation for war have affected American society, and how Americans have thought about military service, experience war, and made peace through their history. Special emphasis on civil-military relations and the role of war and militarism in American culture. Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes the history of the American Civil War from its origins in the late 18th century to the withdrawal of federal troops from the south in 1877. Examines the political, social, and economic issues that led to war; the home fronts, war leadership, diplomacy, combat motivation, and grand strategy; problems associated with reconstituting the nation's political institutions; and the integration of millions of newly freed slaves. Limited to three attempts.
Covers the causes, major events, and legacies of America's Vietnam War, including an introduction to Vietnamese history and culture, American decisions for war, strategy and major military engagements, diplomacy and peace talks, and the aftermath of the conflict in Vietnam and United States. Limited to three attempts.
Examines history of aviation from origins to the present in the context of culture, economics, politics, society, technology and war. Addresses such topics as the emergence of aerospace engineering as a profession, the evolution of aerospace technology and growth of the industry, military aviation, the Space Race, and aviation art, literature, music and film. Limited to three attempts.
Examines Hollywood films as historical sources that reveal the social, political, cultural and economic landscapes of their historical moment. Explores the ways films participate in pressing national debates over gender, race and ethnicity , and national security. Limited to three attempts.
Exlpores the history of Christianity around the world in the context of political and social structures as well as religious beliefs and practices. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on career choices and effective self-presentation for soon-to-be graduating students with majors in the humanities. Explores how skills typically learned in humanities majors can be leveraged for a successful transition to post-graduation employment. Equivalent to ENGH 303, FRLN 309, PHIL 393, UNIV 420.
Study of historical topics of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest in global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern history. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Teaches the fundamentals of information technology within the context of a history course. Students learn fundamentals and skills as well as how our society became so enamored of and dependent on these knowledge and information tools. Understanding a new technology requires understanding how new technologies transform the societies that embrace them. Emphasizes the use of free and open-source software whenever possible. Limited to three attempts.
Discovery and settlement of Virginia. Colonial period with emphasis on development of representative government and race relations, Golden Age of Virginia dynasty, and coming of Civil War. Limited to three attempts.
Study of historical periods or topics from perspective of feature films and documentaries. Notes: Topics available in advance from the department. May be repeated when topic is different. A maximum of 6 credits may be applied to the BA in history. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Explores major events in the making of the modern world from a global perspective, with emphasis on interconnections and the historical development of power, authority, and governance. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to issues and methods in digital history through study of a particular topic May be repeated within the term for a maximum 15 credits.
Explores the role of historical memory in shaping public perceptions of the past, with emphasis on museums , monuments, and other public and popular culture expressions of historical information and themes. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to issues and methods in preserving history and presenting historical information to a variety of audiences through museum exhibits, websites, public commemorations, and other means. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Intended for participation in formally organized course offered by Center for Global Education during intersession or spring break. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Approved work-study programs in cooperation with specific organizations including area museums; archives; historic sites; and local, state, and federal agencies. Notes: Credit determined by department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Examines how citizens, individually and collectively, accomplish social change in society through case study analysis. Considers advantages and limits of social change strategies from communication and social movement theory perspectives. Surveys topics including how leaders maintain momentum in face of opposition; how movements and organizations use slogans, symbols and music to inspire followers; and how participants construct persuasive media campaigns and political arguments to facilitate policy change. Notes: One credit of experiential learning enables students to explore their role as social advocates and effective citizens in context of community. Limited to three attempts.
Considers the philosophical foundations of social justice and human rights. Explores the interpretive difficulties related to identifying what constitutes human rights abuses, and evaluates regional perspectives on human rights. Analyzes institutions that strive to promote and enforce social justice and human rights standards including the United Nations system, regional human rights bodies, and domestic courts. Limited to three attempts.
Provides a broad overview of Korean people, society, and culture, mainly focusing on basic culture codes. Starting from the ways of Korean people's interaction, the course explores distinctive features of expression such as joy, excitement, sadness, frustration, and anger. Various authentic materials and course books will offer the framework for students to understand unique Korean cultural phenomena and their sociohistorical background. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Develops advanced level Korean language skills and cultural awareness in interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication. Limited to three attempts.
Develops intermediate- to high- level Korean reading, writing, listening and speaking skills while increasing culture awareness in Korean business settings through authentic materials and hands-on projects with people in the Korean business community. Limited to three attempts.
Develops students’ advanced knowledge of traditional Korean literature and culture through exploration of pre-modern Korean literary texts (those written before 1900). Students will gain a fundamental understanding of Korean literature and culture and gain a deeper perspective on Korean cultural products by reading traditional Korean literary genres and learning about their social, historical, and cultural backgrounds. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Offers an overview of South Korean literature in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Examines the literary representations of modern Korean histories and investigates the origins and evolvement of modern Korean literary genres. Limited to three attempts.
Develops students' critical understanding of transnational and global perspectives of culture flow using various cultural products and art forms of Korea. Provides students with the understanding of the histories and social contexts of Korean popular culture. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Develops Intermediate-high level Korean reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while increasing understanding of Korean culture through authentic Korean visual culture such as films, TV dramas, commercials, and music videos. Students who complete the course will gain an understanding of local and global Korean visual culture as well as acquire upper level Korean linguistic proficiency. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces students to major contemporary and twentieth-century Korean writers from both South and North Korea. Students acquire a balanced knowledge about North and South Korea’s representative writers and their influential literary texts along with sociohistorical backgrounds of each society. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
This course introduces students to advanced-level reading materials. Topics will vary. This course is designed for students who have a high-intermediate level of Korean proficiency and the goal for this course is developing advanced level Korean proficiency, literacy, and acquiring sociohistorical knowledge of Korean society. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Introduces students to advanced-level materials to improve proficiency in speaking. Topics will vary. This course is designed for students who have a high-intermediate level of Korean proficiency and the goal for this course is developing advanced level Korean proficiency in speaking, public speaking, presentation skills and acquiring social-cultural knowledge of contemporary Korean society. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Develops advanced level North and South Korean reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills and increases culture awareness through authentic Korean visual culture. Distinguishes cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences of North and South Korean language and culture and develops advanced level Korean linguistic proficiency. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys the history of the Chosŏn dynasty from its establishment in the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century until 1876 when Chosŏn opened its ports to Japan and the West and integrated into the modern capitalist world. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys the history of the Korean Peninsula from the seventeenth century to the present in a global context and explores historical topics of special interest. Limited to three attempts.
This course is designed to develop students’ advanced level Korean writing skills. Students will learn technical, formal, and stylistic writing useful for document preparation and a various professional setting. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the study of Korean linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics as well as its variation and change. Combines the discussion of theoretical issues with the empirical analysis of the Korean language. Limited to three attempts.
Introduction to proofs and the language of mathematics. Topics include induction, equivalence relations, cardinality, and basic properties of the real numbers. Designated as a writing intensive course for mathematics majors. Notes: Primarily intended for mathematics majors. Equivalent to MATH 290.
Prime numbers, factorization, congruences, and Diophantine equations. Limited to three attempts.
Axioms, theorems and proofs of Euclidean, non-Euclidean, and projective geometry. Fundamental concepts of incidence. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on the development and analysis of mathematical models that make qualitative and quantitative predictions. Students will address particular situations while learning general modeling strategies. Limited to three attempts.
Two and three dimensional analytic geometry, geometric transformations, projective geometry, conics and quadric surfaces, spherical geometry, vector geometry. Limited to three attempts.
Vector differential calculus, vector integral calculus, and complex analysis. Limited to three attempts.
Qualitative approaches to the study of ODEs. Eigenvalues, eigenvectors and the solution of linear systems of equations. Phase lines and phase planes. Nonlinear ODEs. Linearization, stability and classification of equilibrium. Hamiltonian, gradient and conservative systems. Bifurcations in planar systems. Illustration of concepts using models from physics, biology, chemistry, and ecology. Limited to three attempts.
Number system, functions, sequences, limits, continuity, differentiation, integration, transcendental functions, and infinite series. Limited to three attempts.
Sequences of functions, Taylor series, vectors, functions of several variables, implicit functions, multiple integrals, and surface integrals. Limited to three attempts.
Theory of groups, rings, fields. Limited to three attempts.
Abstract vector spaces, linear independence, bases, linear transformations, matrix algebra, inner product, and special topics. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced counting, binomial identities, generating functions, advanced recurrence, inclusion-exclusion, and network flows. Limited to three attempts.
Random variables, probability functions, special distributions, and limit theorems. Limited to three attempts.
Estimation, decision theory, testing hypothesis, correlation, linear models, and design. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on using basic concepts of accounting and financial management to make investment, credit, and operating decisions for an organization. Emphasizes financial reports to aid planning and control of organizational activities. Notes: May not be taken for credit by School of Business majors. Students who have received credit for both ACCT 203 and FNAN 303 cannot also receive credit for MBUS 300.Limited to three attempts.
Multidisciplinary approach to global economy from the viewpoint of managing international business. Introduces various aspects of managing business in a global economy including theories and practices of international trade, investment, and business strategies. Notes: May not be taken for credit by School of Business majors.Limited to three attempts.
Examines managerial work under range of business models. Managerial functions and activities including planning, organizing, balancing conflicting demands, leading and controlling are examined in depth and in context of current organizational examples. Discuss variety of pressures contemporary managers face. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both MGMT 301 and MGMT 303. School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in MGMT 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see Academic Policies.Limited to two attempts.
Course expands management knowledge through defined focus on organizational behavior (OB). OB is field of study aimed at predicting, explaining, understanding and changing human behavior as it's reflected in organizations. Science of OB is interdisciplinary in nature and draws from psychology, sociology, social psychology, and group dynamics. Course explores dynamics between individual and organization through this behavioral science lens. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both MGMT 301 and MGMT 313. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
The field of human resource management examines what can or should be done to make workers more productive and satisfied. The course builds on MGMT 303 by introducing key concepts and techniques that managers need to attract, retain, develop, compensate, and motivate quality talent. Also emphasizes legal and ethical considerations in human resource management. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces fundamentals of hardware, software, and networking. Emphasizes role of technology in improving contemporary business processes and competitive advantage. Includes basic relational concepts, hands-on experience in building business database applications and decision support using spreadsheet software. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both MIS 301 and MIS 303.School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in MIS 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces design, implementation and querying relational databases with a focus on business requirements. Theoretical database concepts are accompanied with hands-on experience. Term project includes requirements analysis, design and implementation of a substantial business database application. Notes: School of Business students may not receive credit for both MIS 310 and IT 214. Requires hands-on implementation using software package. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Examines marketing principles and practices for analyzing, creating, delivering, capturing, and communicating value to customers. Focuses on managing customer relationships using market-driven strategies, particularly segmentation, targeting, and positioning. The role of customer satisfaction in achieving organizational objectives and ethical decision making in a global economy are also emphasized. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both MKTG 301 and MKTG 303. School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in MKTG 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies.Limited to two attempts.
Marketing strategy implications of internal and external influences on consumer decision making, purchase, and consumption behaviors. Emphasizes demographics, lifestyle, situation, perception, learning, and attitude formation and change, focusing on customer segmentation, satisfaction and loyalty. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Examines an organization's operations, including design, management and improvement processes, projects and supply chains, in both product and service environments. Uses analytical models to support key planning and control activities. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both OM 301 and OM 303.School of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in OM 303. The third attempt requires School of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies. Equivalent to OSCM 303.
Examines an organization's operations, including design, management and improvement processes, projects and supply chains, in both product and service environments. Uses analytical models to support key planning and control activities. Notes: Students cannot receive credit for both OM 303 and OSCM 303. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their major and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the School of Business. The third attempt will require academic advisor approval. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Major" section under Academic Policies.Limited to two attempts.
Design, development, and management of supply chain systems, including production and inventory management, distribution channels, and information systems that support them. Emphasizes impact of e-business on companies and industries, including Internet's impact on the way goods and services flow through value chain from providers to customers. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
The services sector contributes about 80% of the gross domestic product of the US economy. This sector also provides employment to nearly 80% of the working population across diverse industries such as financial services, hospitality, retail, health care, airlines, and public sector. In short, the service sector affects almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives. However, understanding service operations is not easy due to service characteristics such as intangibility, variability, inability to be stored, highly geographically distributed, and a significant amount of customer contact. In light of these factors, this course in Service Operations focuses on how firms in the services sector design and manage their businesses. Specifically, we will explore key concepts in service operations such as services delivery, service encounter, service quality, and management of capacity and demand. Further, this course will explore how these concepts apply across a diverse range of industries.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces operation research and management sciences (OR/MS) techniques for supporting business management decisions. Specific mathematical programming and probabilistic topics include linear programming, integer programming, goal programming, network flow models, decision analysis, game theory, queuing models, and Monte Carlo simulation. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Examines some major moral issues involved in practice and research in medicine and health care. Topics to be chosen from medical experimentation, definition of death, physician-assisted dying, genetics and human reproduction, distribution of scarce resources, fertility, and organ transplants. Limited to three attempts.
Study of human psychological development from conception to adolescence including such topics as genetic factors, emotional and intellectual growth, and environmental influences. Limited to three attempts.
A review of important landmarks in cross-cultural research, showing how this research impacts psychology as a discipline. Emphasizes an empirical approach to cross-cultural study and includes topics such as theoretical and empirical developments in cross-cultural psychology, development of coherent schemas to guide cross-cultural research and interventions, comparison of psychology's goals and assumptions in Western and other cultures, and integration of course materials into educational and career goals of students. Limited to three attempts.
Focuses on causes and meaning of crime, with emphasis on adults. Patterns of criminal behavior, including property crimes, violent crimes, organized crime, white-collar crime, and victimless crime. Critical assessment of criminal justice system as a response to crime. Limited to three attempts.
Examines social factors involved in development of delinquency, including family, political economy, schooling, community environment and culture. Examines various theories of delinquency; rates of delinquency in relation to age, race, gender and social class; and legal system that addresses causes, consequences, and policies of punishment and rehabilitation. Limited to three attempts.
Actively engages students in original inquiry meaningful to themselves and their communities. Demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between theory and empirical research. Explores the complementarity of interpretive and explanatory logics, employing basic sociological methods. Guides students to formulate problems and design research, culminating in a public presentation of their proposals to the sociology faculty. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the basic concepts of economic sociology. Explores how the world of work has changed due to globalization, deindustrialization, new technologies, and economic crisis. Focuses on providing students with a better understanding of how markets and corporations work, and about new economic approaches to create new, potentially less alienating work environments. Limited to three attempts.
Explores processes for organizing resistance to current social and power arrangements, from terrorism to nonviolent civil resistance to create alternative institutions, policies, or leadership that promote human rights and social justice. Uses historical and contemporary case studies of local and global change to explore, how, why, and to what effect individuals have organized to protest the status quo and create social change. Limited to three attempts.
Explores how race and ethnicity have been shaped by policies and practices in Western and non-Western societies. Explores the evolution of racial and ethnic attitudes from a global and historical perspective. Examines how changing demographic racial patterns may affect definitions of race and ethnicity and the ways in which people individually and collectively act to create new futures. Limited to three attempts.
Uses a sociological framework to analyze and understand the diverse forms of contemporary families--traditional marriages, cohabitation, domestic partnerships, single-parents families, stepfamilies, and gay and lesbian families. Explored are topics such as changes in sexual mores, reflected in new dating practices; shifting parenting roles; effects of social class, race and ethnicity; and the outcomes of divorce for couples and children. Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes macro- and microlevel deviance-producing processes, meaning and control of deviance, and major theoretical approaches to deviance. Limited to three attempts.
Explores sociological tradition through readings and discussions of ideas drawn from writings of selected sociological thinkers from classical to contemporary. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces ethnography, field work methods, interviewing, life histories, and other qualitative methods to generate data about cultures in which various groups and classes are immersed. Students learn by applying qualitative methods to term projects, developed under guidance of instructor. Limited to three attempts.
Fundamentals of applied statistics as used in behavioral science to include descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, correlation regression, analysis of variance, factor analysis, nonparametric statistics, and practical experience with calculators in applying statistical analysis to actual problems of the behavioral sciences. Limited to three attempts.
Examines how culture, encompassing high art or participatory culture, expressive agency or traditional constraint, is produced and reproduced in everyday social practices and across a wide range of social institutions. Explores the role of culture in public life and political discourse. Limited to three attempts.
Considers the ways in which gender structures social life on both the micro level of individual experience and the macro level of social structure. Addresses contradiction between legal equality between the sexes and persistent workplace discrimination and sexual violence; how normative ideals of femininity and masculinity affect our bodies, identities and intimate relationships; how these ideals are circulated through the media, reproduced in social institutions, and articulated in different national, cultural and religious contexts. Limited to three attempts.
While focusing on nature and process of change in human society, considers social impact of political, economic, and environmental change and how lives are shaped by complexities of global social forces. Examines specific global issues such as conflict and security; economic disparity; ecological deterioration; populations and migration; legitimization of commerce; diffusion of innovations; and impact of class, status, and power in modern societies. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the end of socialism, and how the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, as well as the rest of the world, transformed since 1989. Examines art, music, criminality, oligarchs, workers, gender, commodification, nationalism, violence, the self, religion, public health, and the environment during socialism and afterwards. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the sociology of conflict, violence, and peace to examine these crucial issues from a scholarly viewpoint. Focuses on the causes and consequences of violence. Examines a wide variety of remedies from conventional deterrence and arms control strategies to alternative perspectives from nonviolent civil resistance to peacebuilding, international law, and restorative justice, as well as conflict transformation and resolution strategies. Limited to three attempts.
Explores theoretical, empirical, and policy-related issues pertaining to immigration. Examines case studies of immigrant communities and their adaptation patterns, paying particular attention to immigrants from Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Limited to three attempts.
Examines cities and the people who live in them in the United States and around the world. Includes topics such as: social and economic development, inequality, political protests, urban democracy, and the environment. Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes how power is defined, attained and sustained in society. Students analyze political power as related to social realities such as democratic elections, class conflict, elite networks, powersharing, protest, and revolution. Limited to three attempts.
Examines contemporary social problems and their solutions using sociological perspectives. Topics may include housing and homelessness, student debt, mass incarceration, hunger and food insecurity, environment and sustainability, human rights, wealth and global poverty, war and peace. Limited to three attempts.
Studies class structures and implications for individuals and groups in modern society. Explores issues of race and ethnicity, language and immigration status, sex and gender, social class, age, and sexual orientation. Examines critically the theory and research that explore the construction, experience, and meaning of such differences. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces sociology of youth and youth culture. Investigates social, economic, and political realities of youth as a group and different groups of youth, including youth cultural production, formation of youth culture, and youth identities in variety of social settings. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces students to a sociological exploration of the individual and society. The course is organized around several major themes, including the study of the individual within social context, the process the individual uses to narrate his/her self- and social identities, and how the individual manages, protects, and solidifies his/her self-identity and negotiates the boundaries of self within the context of everyday social interactions. The course also examines how daily social interactions shape the understanding of self and experiences of the individual. In conclusion, the course presents a consideration of how identity projects are mediated by and formed within larger structures of constraint. Limited to three attempts.
Examines small to moderate-size communities ranging through village, rural community, small town, and city subcommunity. Latter category includes city localities, ethnic villages, and suburban communities. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the many ways in which art reflects social tendencies, comments on social problems, and contributes to discussions about a wide range of social issues. Students attend theatrical performances and visit exhibition spaces on campus, and learn to analyze what they experience through both aesthetic and sociological approaches. Explores contemporary issues such as debates about artistic freedom and public morality, commercialization of art, and relationship between cultural and social hierarchies. Limited to three attempts.
Examines classrooms and schools as social institutions that function as socializing agents for both stability and societal change. Emphasizes the influence of inequality on educational processes and outcomes and critically examines the social organization of the U.S. public school system. Limited to three attempts.
Studies places of religious consciousness in human action and institutional and organizational networks created to sustain religious beliefs. Emphasizes comparative and historical analysis of role religion has played in human society. Examines theories of nature of religious experience, religious symbolism, and basis of religious community. Explores changing demographics in relation to older traditional religious faiths and newer nontraditional faiths. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the relationship between religion and violence, especially warfare, cross-culturally and historically from a sociological, transdisciplinary, and global politics perspective. Examines the interface between politics and morality and the interface between national and transnational governance institutions (nations states, the UN, etc.) and cultural and religious institutions, NGOs, and social movements. Limited to three attempts.
Examines social context of health, illness, and disability; relationships of health care professionals and patients; and structure and delivery of health care in different medical systems. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the transformations in the relationships between self and society taking place at the interface between social networks, digital information and communication technologies, new media, and Big Data. Explores what these changes mean for the future of the social sciences and humanities, and what these disciplines in turn can teach us about these changes that the “analytics” of computational and data sciences cannot. Introduces students to cutting-edge methods in digital sociology and digital ethnography, exploring a variety of emerging technology developments, such as augmented reality, digital fabrication, cryptocurrency, blockchain, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Examines new forms of inequality and intimacy, technologically mediated and distributed practices of human empathy and discernment, and emerging ethical questions for research and university education. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an overview of sociological, theoretical, and methodological approaches to understanding human rights. Examining connections between inequality, conflict, social justice, governance, and human rights, the course focuses on the contexts of meaning within which human rights are invoked and practiced as well as the role that non-state actors play in shaping the development and institutionalization of human rights. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces the research interests of the faculty, offering new courses that reflect current issues not yet incorporated into the curriculum. Offers, in addition, advanced study into topics covered in the standing curriculum. Topics change by semester. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Individual study of sociological topic of interest to student. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Further examination of statistics and data analysis with an emphasis on applications. Inference for comparing multiple samples, experimental design, analysis of variance and post-hoc tests. Simple linear, multiple and logistic regression. Analysis of contingency tables and categorical data. A statistical computer package is used for data analysis. Limited to two attempts.
Prepares students to serve as Peer Mentors in a variety of Mason departments and programs. Students learn and put into practice leadership approaches and strategies. They become familiar with communication tools and campus resources that will enable them to mentor fellow students successfully. Notes: For students who have been selected as a Peer Mentor in a Mason department or program. Only repeatable with department approval. Limited to three attempts.
Students contribute to scholarly, research, or creative projects by engaging in the recursive process of scholarly inquiry as preparation for participation in an individualized original project. Students will hold regular meetings with their project mentor, and make satisfactory contributions to the project. Notes: Enrollment only with permission from OSCAR. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 27 credits.
Individual research on a topic to be organized in advance by student and instructor. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Survey of commercial law emphasizing the Uniform Commercial Code. Lecture, discussion, cases. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Limited to two attempts.
Advanced study of special topics in business Limited to two attempts.
Opportunity to gain practical, professional experience in conjunction with academic development. An internship is an important part of academic and career preparation. May be used as elective credit, but may not be repeated. Notes: No more than 6 credits of School of Business internship coursework (BUS 492 or ACCT 492) can be applied towards a student's 120 (BU) degree applicable credits. Students must receive departmental approval in order to register for this course; please contact the School of Business Office of Career Services for internal eligibility requirements. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced integrated exploration of business models and industry dynamics that uses case analyses to assess competition, organizational strategy, and firm performance. Students examine strategic change in organizations from multiple perspectives, integrating knowledge from core course work into several papers and major presentation. Students receive coaching from area business leaders as they complete their presentations. Students must earn a C or higher in order to meet the Business Core and Foundations degree requirements. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Summer session for BUS 498 is limited to students graduating in the summer term with a graduation application on file. Limited to two attempts.
Covers practical applications in STEM areas of decision trees, rule-based classification, support vector machines, Bayesian networks, ensemble methods, and Neural Networks. Emphasis resides on the process of applying machine learning effectively to a variety of problems. Limited to three attempts.
Numerical differentiation and integration, initial-value and boundary-value problems for ordinary differential equations, methods of solution of partial differential equations, iterative methods of solution of nonlinear systems, and approximation theory. Equivalent to MATH 447.
Covers the application of modeling and simulation methods to various scientific applications, including fluid dynamics, solid mechanics, materials science, molecular mechanics, and astrophysics. Provides an introduction to modeling and simulation software, as well as high-performance computing. Limited to three attempts.
Covers the governing framework of data science for storing and processing big data in a distributed computer environment using simple programming models. Includes a comprehensive selection of tools from Hadoop, MapReduce, HDFS, Spark, Flink, Hive, HBase, MongoDB, Cassandra, Kafka. Students are expected to complete several computer projects using these cyber packages. Limited to three attempts.
Covers particle methods to solve variety of physical systems. Emphasizes study of structure and thermodynamics of condensed systems in liquid and solid phases while implementing numerically the Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo methods. Applications and projects include a variety of atomistic and molecular simulations based on pairwise interatomic interactions. Limited to three attempts.
Employs several computational methods to create an agent-based model of an evolving and interactive population. Applied scenarios will include human identification through DNA profiles, community analysis through connected graphs, data generation, virus tracking, and evolution of human traits in time. Software skills developed will include Python, Pandas, and SQL. Limited to two attempts.
An introductory examination of image mathematics, computational protocols, and applications. Topics include image operator notation, channel operators, informational operators, intensity operators, geometric operators, image transformations, frequency filtering, and image basis set expansions. This course will build the students’ computational skill set as applied to visual data and create a library of image analysis scripts. Limited to two attempts.
Covers selected topics in computational and data sciences not covered in fixed content courses. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Covers computational aspects of materials science, such as first-principles methods of electronic structure calculations of periodic solids, clusters, and molecules, as well as the use of empirical potentials. Examples will be drawn from metals, insulators, and semiconductors. Students will construct simple codes and be guided in the use of the more sophisticated available computational packages. Limited to three attempts.
Students work under the guidance of a faculty member on an independent study or directed research project in the computational and data sciences. May be repeated in combination with CDS 491 for a total of 6 credits between the two classes. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
On-the-job experience for CDS majors and minors working in industry and government laboratories, including summer programs. Supervision and approval of this course must be arranged with department before registering. May be repeated in combination with CDS 490 for a total of 6 credits between the two classes. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
This course is intended to provide a capstone experience for undergraduate students by synthesizing knowledge and experience that they acquired in earlier coursework to address a complex Data Science problem. This course requires analytical, collaborative, and communication skills. Limited to three attempts.
Covers topics on Chinese language, literature, or culture organized by theme, genre approach, or era. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced work in major grammatical and lexical topics of Chinese. Applies theoretical principles to guided written and oral exercises. Limited to three attempts.
On-the-job training in communication through approved field work study programs. Internships arranged and supervised by Department of Communication through internship coordinator. Related class work in resume preparation and job interviewing. Notes: See department for the application process. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
A skill development course connecting conflict resolution theory and practice to the mediation process through lectures, discussion. self-reflection, experiential learning, and role-plays. This course has been approved to meet the 20-hour basic education requirements for mediation certification by the Judicial Council of Virginia and the Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia. Limited to three attempts.
A major challenge to peacebuilding efforts domestically and globally are the boundaries that communities believe separates themselves from others. The boundaries have ethnic, racial, religious or cultural roots, often with long histories of division and violence. This class will examine case studies and strategies from around the globe of peacebuilding in complex communities. Limited to three attempts.
Examines selected topics relating to conflict analysis and resolution and peace. Topics vary, but may include historical examination of conflict, social issues stemming from conflict, ethical issues in intervention, globalization, relationship of particular identity domains to conflict, or emerging areas of research and application. Notes: May be repeated if topics are different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Capstone course in which students reflect on what they have learned, integrating knowledge from course work and synthesizing it to cogent body of knowledge. Includes class discussion and final project that demonstrates understanding of conflict theory and reflective practice. Limited to three attempts.
Readings and research conducted on individual basis in consultation with instructor. Notes: Student may not present more than 3 credits for graduation credit. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduction to movement theories combining somatic theory with practical application to dance training. Focus on ways somatic practices can deepen perceptual processes and influence movement aesthetics. Theories studied may include: Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Body-Mind Centering, and Ideokinesis. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive investigation of selected dance idiom within cultural and artistic contexts. Course work supplemented by participation in and observation of ambient culture. Analyzes similarities, differences, and common antecedents between selected culture and North American dance idioms. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
In-depth presentation and exploration of topical studies in dance or related study areas. Notes: Topic depends on instructor. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Provides preprofessional ballet training for advanced-level dancer. Emphasizes attainment of high-quality technical and performance skills, application of anatomical principles, and mastery of sophisticated classical movement sequences. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Provides theory, methodology, and practicum experience in preparation for teaching creative movement to children K-12, with some application to special populations. Limited to three attempts.
Culminating seminar devoted to analyzing and synthesizing knowledge and skills gained through undergraduate course work as it applies to dance, arts education, and professional development. Students develop senior project including written and oral presentation in public forum. Limited to three attempts.
The goal of this course is for multilingual students with high-intermediate to advanced English language proficiency to achieve greater grammatical accuracy in their writing and speech. Through online asynchronous instruction and assignments – as well as one-on-one online meetings with English language tutors – students will focus on discrete areas of sentence-level grammar. The course utilizes a “building block” approach that begins with basic parts of speech, progressing through phrases, clauses, and multi-clause structures. Required course for Graduate Pathway students, but open to all multilingual students at Mason. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 1 credits.
This 8-week course requires that students use intensive practice in oral communication contexts typical at American universities to build knowledge and skills for informal interpersonal communication settings with faculty, peers, and students, and skills needed for formal presentations, class discussion, and tutoring. Readings and assignments cover research on first impression management; informative and explanatory communication; conveying emotional support; and listening, and narrative skill. Equivalent to EAP 503, PROV 503.
This 8-week course is designed for graduate international students who are studying abroad in the U.S., emphasizing advanced skill development in graduate-level English for Academic Purposes for reading and writing within their disciplines. Utilizing a multimodal and interactive format, students will complete guided and independent research papers as well as read, discuss and write about excerpts from college texts and academic journals. Notes: In as much as possible, materials for the course will be discipline specific and individualized course goals will be determined by the needs of the students and their cultural experiences. Equivalent to EAP 504.
This special topics course is tailored to international students who received their undergraduate degrees outside the United States. The course provides intensive practice and individualized feedback in advanced communication methods appropriate at the graduate level. Equivalent to EAP 505.
This course is designed for international pathway students to take in the first half of their first pathway semester before they are engaged in full-time graduate coursework. In order to help students with acculturation and preparation for graduate study, this course develops receptive skills (i.e., reading and listening) needed for success in specific courses they are taking at GMU in their first pathway (non-degree) semester, both their disciplinary courses and their other pathway courses. The course’s main focus is help international students prepare to navigate their graduate coursework to build confidence and agency for future study. This includes helping students understand written guidelines and prompts, develop reading skills, utilize rubrics, respond to instructor feedback, and develop strategies for completing complex reading and writing assignments. Limited to three attempts.
This foundational course introduces international Business Management graduate pathway students to the preliminary speaking and listening skills needed to comprehend and respond to academic and professional texts e.g. classroom lectures, TEDTalk presentations, etc. In this course, students practice the aforementioned skills through a range of individual and group activities typical for a graduate-level seminar. In addition to developing their speaking and listening, this course also prepares students for their matriculation interviews with the School of Business by utilizing a series of exploratory activities to identify, reflect on, and articulate the students’ personal, academic, and professional goals and values, the relationship between the latter and the field’s values and norms, and the students’ readiness for Mason’s graduate Business programs. Limited to three attempts.
Microeconomic and macroeconomic models and misallocation of resources. Alternative economic tools from noted Austrian economists. Limited to three attempts.
Applies economic theory, methodology to study nonmarket decision making. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces game theory and its relevance for analyzing framework of rules and institutions within which economic processes occur. Applies game theoretical concepts to comparative analysis of causes and effects of alternative institutional arrangements. Limited to three attempts.
Economic analysis of the law. Topics include introduction to legal institutions and legal analysis; application of economic concepts to the law of property, contracts and torts, criminal and constitutional law; economic efficiency of common law; and public choice perspective on the evolution of the law. Limited to three attempts.
Examines models of balance of payments, exchange rate behavior, and open economy macroeconomics. Includes international financial system and issues such as globalization and international financial instability. Limited to three attempts.
Provides a survey of financial economics including a brief overview of the U.S. and international financial system and the role of different financial institutions. Covers the leading theoretical models in the field. Limited to three attempts.
Examines various issues in the energy industry using tools from microeconomic theory, law and economics and public choice. Topics include issues related to oil, historical and current energy regulation, and environmental issues associated with energy. Limited to three attempts.
Topics include comparing two or more treatments, and computing and interpreting analysis of variance. Discusses randomized block, Latin square, and factorial designs; and applications to economics experiments. Limited to three attempts.
Covers issues in the philosophy, economics, and political science of institutions, information, and collective action. Through case studies of existing legal and political institutions, applies the insights to problems in politics, policy making, social-choice theory, and social, moral, and political philosophy. (Specific content varies). Notes: Serves as the capstone course for the PPE program. Equivalent to GOVT 469, PHIL 460.
Examines various issues surrounding concepts of regulation using tools from microeconomic theory and public choice. Topics include antitrust, rate regulation, policy rationales for regulation, and issues of current interest. Limited to three attempts.
Economic theory as it is applied to commercial airlines. Limited to three attempts.
Developments in economic thought from 1500 to the present. Emphasizes historical origins, impact on contemporary economics, and theoretical validity. Limited to three attempts.
Studies the thought of Adam Smith. As the first in a two-course sequence, course focuses on The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Limited to three attempts.
Studies the thought of Adam Smith. As the second in a two-course sequence, course focuses on The Wealth of Nations. Limited to three attempts.
Project-based course to develop an academic portfolio and demonstrate mastery in economic theory, statistical analysis, and critical thinking in the discipline of economics. Limited to three attempts.
Study abroad under supervision of George Mason faculty. Course topics, content, and locations vary. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Experience learning opportunity as a culminating experience in the major with a focus on applying scholarly research in economics to practical problems in the workplace. Limited to three attempts.
Develops skills in finding and evaluating sources, oral presentation, and academic writing. Limited to three attempts.
Honors-level research on a self-selected topic in economics culminating in a substantial research paper and an oral presentation. Notes: Requirements for departmental honors in the major are in addition to the coursework required for the major. ECON 495 credit may not be applied toward the elective course requirement needed for a major or minor in economics. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Subject matter varies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 24 credits.
Individual study of selected area of economics. Notes: Directed research paper required. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Emphasizes growth in awareness of literary scholarship as a discipline, providing opportunity for advanced study in literary and cultural criticism. Covers variety of topics, including consideration of a literary period, genre, author, work, theme, discourse, or critical theory. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Provides guidance in research methods to students writing an honor thesis as well as workshop for critiquing works in progress. May be taken concurrently with another approved course offered by English Department, in which case thesis work may substitute for some assigned work in second course by arrangement of both instructors. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive writing course. Honors students concentrating in nonfiction writing and editing may use English 416 to replace English 414 as first course in honors program. Notes: Honors students concentrating in creative writing may use ENGH 402 to replace ENGH 401. Honors students concentrating in nonfiction writing who take ENGH 401 and complete a nonfiction thesis may use ENGH 402 in conjunction with an advanced course in nonfiction writing to replace ENGH 400. Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected approach to literary criticism, as announced, with exercises in critical analysis. Includes new criticism, structuralism, psychoanalysis, and Marxism. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Theory and practice of such modes as tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, romance, and satire, considered in separate semesters and drawn from variety of periods ranging from biblical times to present, with examples from drama, poetry, and fiction. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Exploration of various aspects of folklore and folklife such as folklore and literature, folk arts, folk song, and material culture. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Examines the role of supernatural phenomena in individuals’ everyday lives. Introduces folkloristic approaches to the study of belief, paranormal experiences, and popular spirituality. Topics may include ghosts, spirit possession, superstitions, visions, near death experiences, dream interpretation, magic, the commodification of belief, and the supernatural and new media. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the traditional arts of everyday life, such as festive foods, mementos and other objects of memory, textile arts, pottery, carving in wood and stone, roadside shrines, and more. Explores the folk aesthetics of group-based creativity through the lenses of biography, history, literature, and folklore studies. Considers traditional objects as narratives in material form. Examples drawn from multiple cultures as well as traditions in students' own lives. Limited to three attempts.
Explores migration trends and concepts of identity and migration in folklore scholarship, literature, film, and popular media. Limited to three attempts.
Topic-based course in research methods. Students conduct advanced research in folklore studies using traditional and digital research tools and approaches. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Introductory survey of cultural, literary, and theoretical constructions of sexuality that seek to complicate traditionally fixed categories of identity. Examines various representations of human sexuality, with particular attention to intersections with gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, and class. Limited to three attempts.
Studies specific topic or theme in popular literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Studies selected topics, genres, themes or authors in medieval or Renaissance literature and culture. Notes: May be taken for credit by English or history majors. Specific topic may vary. Primary emphasis is literary or historical, depending on discipline of instructor. May consider relevant material from philosophy, theology, and art. May be repeated when topic is different. Equivalent to FRLN 431.
Major works of Chaucer, with emphasis on The Canterbury Tales . Limited to three attempts.
Milton's major poetic works, with emphasis on Paradise Lost . Limited to three attempts.
In-depth study of selected period of British literature. In addition to literary examples, materials may be chosen from art, philosophy, or popular culture of the time. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of one or two major figures in British literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of one or two major figures in American literature. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
In-depth study of selected period of American literature. In addition to literary examples, materials may be chosen from art, philosophy, or popular culture of time. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Major works of science fiction in terms of mode, themes, and narrative techniques, especially role of hypothesis in science fiction. Focuses on novels, short stories from early 19th century to present. Limited to three attempts.
Examines the history and criticism of children's literature and the strategies used by authors of children's literature to address their audience. Selected readings range from Puritan to contemporary writing for children, as well as influential works in educational philosophy, such as those by Locke and Rousseau. Limited to three attempts.
Study of selected topics, periods, or authors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Study of selected topics, periods, or poets. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Studies selected topics, periods, or playwrights. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Special studies in literary nonfiction by topic, such as the personal essay, New Journalism, the "nonfiction novel," the memoir, or historical traditions of literary nonfiction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Topic-based course in research methods. Students conduct advanced research in literary studies using traditional and digital research tools and approaches. Notes: May be repeated when the topic is different. May be repeated within the degree.
Under supervision of a faculty director, students report and reflect on their work as interns at organizations of their choosing, usually in writing and/or editing positions. For 3 credits, students work on site at least 135 hours as specified in the agreement developed with the internship supervisor and approved by the faculty director. Notes: Contact the English Department one semester prior to enrollment. No more than 3 credits can be counted in concentration or English minor. May be repeated with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of development of film language, both as cultural practice and medium for formal innovation. Topics might include studies of national cinemas, historical periods, genres, or individual directors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of theories about various aspects of production, distribution, and reception of film-mediated experiences. Topics may include theories of spectator, semiotics, feminist film theory, theories of narrativity, structuralist film theory, or deconstruction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
American and foreign films selected by type, period, or director with emphasis varying from year to year. Required viewings, student discussion, and written critiques. Notes: May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
A community-engaged research course. Students volunteer 15 hours with a community partner organization, study best community-partnership practices (particularly when working in historically marginalized communities), research a social issue of special interest to this organization, and compose “public” texts that draw on their research and experiences. Limited to three attempts.
Instruction in revising, editing, and preparing specialized writing for print production. Emphasizes methods of achieving clarity, accuracy, and completeness. Lecture and discussion on editing and printing techniques; practical exercise in revision, layout, and production. Limited to three attempts.
Study and practice of ethnographic writing. Students conduct ethnographic investigations and practice journal keeping, field note recording, interviewing, transcription, and interpretation. Includes introduction to current issues in ethnographic writing. Limited to three attempts.
Theory and practice of using computer programs to design and produce publications including brochures, fliers, newsletters, and small magazines. Includes readings, writing papers. and producing and editing copies and original publications. Limited to three attempts.
Research-based workshop course. Intensive practice in advanced nonfiction writing and study of the exigencies of public writing and audience engagement; emphasizes writing for publication, research process, and public awareness. Limited to three attempts.
Prepares students for the Society for Technical Communication Certification in Technical Writing, focusing on proficiencies in project planning, project analysis, content development, content management, and organizational design. May be offered with a focus on global and international users. This course serves as the capstone for the Professional and Technical Writing Minor. Limited to three attempts.
Advanced studies in rhetoric and writing. Introduces key rhetorical terminology and examines how texts construct meaning and how those meanings are determined within social contexts. Topics may include the relationship between rhetorics and poetics, rhetoric and new media, histories of rhetoric, global rhetorics, argument theory, discourse analysis, theories of technical communication, or advanced theories of composition and pedagogy. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Provides foundation in the skills and knowledge required to effectively create proposals for various types of organizations. Emphasizes best practices in management, presentation, and research skills necessary to find funding, manage proposal efforts, and build relationships with funders. Reviews editing, concision, and technical writing skills required for proposal writers. Limited to three attempts.
Workshop; intensive practice in creative writing and study of creative process. Intended for students already writing original creative work. Notes: Enrollment is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of fiction to instructor for review. May be repeated with permission of instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Workshop in varieties of nonfiction, along with creative process and techniques such as research and interview methods. Includes reading and writing of essays, biographies, autobiographies, travel, journalism, etc. Notes: Registration is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of nonfiction to instructor for review. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Intensive practice in the craft of poetry and study of the imagination in creative process. Intended for students already writing original poetry. Notes: Enrollment is controlled. Submit 8-10 pages of poetry to instructor for review. May be repeated with permission of instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Presentations of original work for critique by peers and faculty. Students synthesize what they have learned during prior work in the program through workshops for final revisions of manuscripts for the BFA portfolio. Students submit the revised manuscripts as their final submission for evaluation by faculty. Students receive guidance in research methods as they investigate the lives of writers and learn the procedures for such tasks as submitting original work for publication and applying for jobs. Limited to three attempts.
Intensive practice in creative writing and study of creative process. Workshop course. Concentrates on specialized literary type other than short story or poetry such as playwriting, screenwriting, children's literature, travel literature, autobiography, gothic novel, or translation. Notes: For students already writing original creative work. Students must submit typed manuscript at least one week before registration. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Intensive study of particular author, genre, period, or critical or theoretical problem in literature or linguistics, to be conducted by student in close consultation with instructor. Student produces at least one substantial piece of written work during semester on research findings. Notes: May be repeated with approval of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Presents strategic planning at the regional level, and focuses on the methods, format, and content of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), also referred to as a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS). Students will conduct research and develop their own SEA for Shenandoah National Park (NP). Limited to three attempts.
Biology of microorganisms of ecological and industrial significance. Includes food production, spoilage and preservation, fermentation technology, waste disposal, water purification, biodeterioration, and decomposition. Equivalent to BIOL 402.
Provides a modern, comprehensive knowledge of fungal biology including classification, phylogeny, structure, physiology/metabolism, growth and development, genetics, industrial applications including biotechnology, ecological roles including pathogenic interactions with plants, animals, and man. Equivalent to BIOL 408.
Provides the student with current knowledge of both the medical and microbiological aspects of fungal diseases in humans, including the etiologic agents, geographic distribution, epidemiology, transmission, determinants of pathogenicity, laboratory detection, and therapy associated with the major human mycoses. Equivalent to BIOL 409.
Introduces theory and methods for the preparation of tissue samples from animal or plant specimens for examination with light or electron microscopy. Limited to three attempts.
Covers the evolution, biology, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals from polar bears and sea otters to whales and dolphins. Marine mammal conservation and policy is also a major component of the course; several lecture sessions are devoted to the issue of whaling, threats to marine mammal populations, and recent conservation issues such as marine mammals and noise pollution. The course also includes a number of guest lectures from a variety of international marine mammal experts. Equivalent to BIOL 454, EVPP 519.
This course provides laboratory, seminar sessions and field work to accompany EVPP 419-001 - marine mammal biology and conservation. Field work includes several day-long boat trips. The field course may take place in the US or abroad. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an overview of threats to the marine environment, and discusses the scientific, socioeconomic, and political issues behind marine conservation. Covers categories of marine pollutants (chemical, biological, and physical contaminants) and their impacts on the marine ecosystem, as well as impacts on humans (health, social, and economic), threats to key marine species (e.g., coral, sharks, turtles, and marine mammals) and initiatives and laws developed to reduce these threats. Scientific and socioeconomic problems that hinder sustainable fisheries management and the science and policy behind the global warming debate are also discussed. Provides an overview of marine environmental law and policy issues related to marine conservation policy. Equivalent to BIOL 450.
Lectures and hands-on field experiences examining beekeeping as a tool for sustainable development. Also, they will examine the social impact and implications of beekeeping around the world, and explore its current place in the modern socio-economic structure. Limited to three attempts.
Presents the trans-disciplinary discipline of conservation medicine, the study of relationships between organism and ecosystem health and environmental conditions. Topics include infectious and noninfectious diseases, pathogens, processes, and impacts on human, biotic, and ecosystem health, and how to address the consequences of diseases to populations and ecological communities. Notes: This course will co-meet with EVPP 527. Undergraduate students in this course will have separate (shorter) reading and writing assignments and will be graded according to a different rubric than the graduate students. Equivalent to BIOL 427.
As the pace and scale of human impacts on Earth’s natural systems continue to increase, there is growing importance in understanding and quantifying the implications of these accelerating changes for human health. Throughout this course, we will study ‘Planetary Health’ which addresses the human health impacts of accelerating environmental change through interdisciplinary approaches including environmental science, political science, and public health. Limited to three attempts.
Communicating environmental science is inherently challenging whether in academia, the public policy realm, or to the general public. The aim of this course is to expose students to the multiple ways environmental science can be communicated. Such exposure will be made both through a theoretical approach by examining science communication literature, as well as through practical, hands-on activities and assignments. Limited to three attempts.
Provides the basic knowledge to explore complex environmental data sets and relationships among biological, ecological, physical and anthropogenic variables using geographic information systems. Using spatial mapping and exploration tools students will be capable of independent analysis of complex environment. Notes: Previous knowledge of fundamentals of geography, coordinate systems and map projections is an asset. Knowledge of operating systems, text editor and spreadsheet is required. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of economic, political, and technological aspects of energy policy development. Students will examine various energy sources in the context of national and global considerations regarding electricity generation, efficiency and conservation, energy economics, and climate change. Updated yearly. The course may include one field trip. Limited to three attempts.
Examines resilience and sustainability challenges that involve the food-energy-water-climate nexus, as well as innovative solutions to these challenges. Discussions bridge multiple disciplines, considering the technological, ecological, economic, institutional, and equity dimensions of the nexus in various places around the globe at local and national scales.
Limited to two attempts.
Social science investigation of humans' role(s) in global climate change, including diversity of ecological, cultural and policy issues. Focuses on current science, causes and responses, human rights and social justice, vulnerability of marginalized populations, relevant issues associated with communication and behavior change, place of policy, and the multiple existing and potential roles of academic action. Discussion format. Limited to three attempts.
Study of evolution, systematics, phsiology, ecology and behavior of birds, emphasizing field work. Equivalent to BIOL 437.
Study of evolution, systematics, physiology, ecology and behavior of mammals, emphasizing field work. Equivalent to BIOL 438.
Study of evolution, systematics, physiology, ecology and behavior of reptiles, emphasizing field work. Equivalent to BIOL 439.
Directed field studies emphasizing ecology and behavior. Topics vary but include design of field manipulations, data collection and analysis, and introduction to organisms of study site. Notes: Students bear cost of required field trips. May be repeated with permission of Environmental Science and Policy. Equivalent to BIOL 440.
This course is designed to examine the diversity and ecology of photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic protists (one of the five Kingdoms of organisms) and cyanobacteria (precursors to protists) primarily distributed in freshwater and marine habitats. The evolution and phylogeny of these related, but relatively distinct organismal groups are highlighted. An ecological perspective is used to explore the diversity and ecological significance of algae which are the main primary producers in aquatic ecosystems and heterotrophic protozoa which play an important role as consumers in microbial food webs. Biotechnological applications of protists such as their potential as energy sources and as building materials is explored as well economic and health concerns caused by harmful and nuisance algal blooms and protozoan parasites are discussed. The laboratory provides students with hands on exercises to sample, view and identify protists as well as experience in laboratory and field methods used. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that urban environments present to the plants and animals inhabiting cities and the ways that those organisms and entire ecosystems respond. Includes ecosystem ecology for engineered ecosystems, along with reviews of urban metabolism, energy budgets, water cycles, and soil ecology. Students design and conduct a small-scale green infrastructure experiment/project on campus. Equivalent to BIOL 442.
Explores basic principles of toxicology with an emphasis on the environment. Includes the history and scope of the field; absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of toxicants; mechanisms of toxic action; genetic toxicology; ecotoxicology as well as specific examples important toxicants. Introduces regulatory toxicology and human and ecological risk assessment. Limited to three attempts.
Plants and animals of marine environments and physical and chemical conditions that affect their existence. Equivalent to BIOL 449.
Considers impact of fungi on ecosystems in terms of effects on biogeochemical cycling, primary and secondary production, and regulating community structure and populations of individual species through activities as symbionts and parasites. Limited to three attempts.
Through lecture, field collections, and laboratory study, students will understand phylogeny, physiology, life histories, behaviors, trophic importance, adaptations, conservation significance and response to global environmental change of aquatic invertebrates. Students will identify invertebrates using appropriate literature and methods and use proper curation to preserve them. Students will become familiar with methods for measuring aquatic invertebrate density, biomass, and diversity. Limited to two attempts.
During this course, infectious diseases of wildlife will be examined with emphasis on causes and mechanisms, pathobiology, ecology and epidemiology and population significance. We will explore methods of diagnosis, control, prevention and outbreak investigation as they apply to management and conservation of wildlife populations. Also, diseases crossing species barriers will be examined. Note: Course will co-meet with BIOL 560/EVPP 560. Graduate students In this course will be graded according to a different rubric than the undergraduate stlldents. Equivalent to BIOL 460.
Students will learn about organisms that comprise and inhabit coral reefs and examine how environmental and anthropogenic stressors affect coral reef ecosystems and human society. Current and potential reef restoration solutions will be discussed. Students will engage in open dialogue on reef conservation-related topics including coral health and disease, fishing practices, and policy at the state, federal, and international levels. Limited to three attempts.
Students will learn to identify different species of corals, fishes, and other reef organisms in the classroom and in the field. Students will be introduced to scientific field methods, including how to make and record observations while diving/snorkeling. Students will deploy these survey methods in the field to collect and analyze data on coral reef ecosystems. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 1 credits.
Systematic and comprehensive understanding of key concepts and skills essential to effective project management in international developinent. The skill set learned is oriented towards a 'how-to-do/functional' approach that can be applied to projects on environment, poverty reduction, green growth, health, climate change adaptation and mitigation, social development and more. Notes: This course wlll co-meet with EVPP 572. Graduate students in this course wm be graded according to a different rubric than the undergraduate students. Limited to three attempts.
Study global biodiversity governance from a political/policy science perspective. Regime and governance literature, and empirical examples including intergovernmental policy, such as biodiversity-related climate change policy (REDD+), and certification standards, such as the Forest Sterwardship Council (RSC), will be examined, with guest lecturers and a simulation of an intergovernmental negotiation. Designated a Green Leaf Course. Notes: This course will co-meet with EVPP 575. Undergraduate students in this course will be graded according to a different rubric than the graduate students. Limited to three attempts.
Provide students with valuable and tangible experience in practical aspects of realizing sustainability goals and to transfer theory into practice. Allows students to engage in real-world, sustainability-related projects that provide benefits for a target community. Identify and attempt to solve a sustainability-related problem or address a sustainability-related need in a specific target community. Notes: Capstone course for the Sustainability Minor see Environmental Science and Policy department listing for details. Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected topics in environmental science and policy using lectures, guest lectures, student presentations, or laboratory exercises. Notes: Topics vary, but each offering has coherent syllabus. May be repeated for credit if topics are significantly different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 8 credits.
Explores selected in environmental science and policy using laboratory exercises. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 4 credits.
Involves off-campus, professional student work with approved agencies, institutions, non-profits, or businesses. Work must produce one or more academic products such as: comprehensive report, departmental presentation, poster, or article. At least one substantive piece of work will be assessed for each internship credit being undertaken. Scope of work, credits, and academic product(s) are determined in consultation with the internship instructor. Notes: Credit will be assigned based on the number of hours participating in the internship each week: 1 Credit = 4-6 hours/week, 2 Credits= 8-12 hours/week, 3 Credits= 12-18 hours/week. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Seminars on selected topics in environmental science, using lectures, guest lectures, student presentations, and discussions of current literature. Note: Topics vary. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Studio/lecture course focuses on the design strengths and weaknesses inherent in current entertainment and serious games. UI design, level design and map structure, scoring stratum, on-line support, game ecologies, gaming communities, and designing/writing documentation and specifications will be studied.Limited to three attempts.
Using industry-standard collaboration and game development tools and practices, students will work together in a class-sized team on a semester-long game project that will be released to the public upon completion. Limited to three attempts.
Builds advanced 3D character animation skills. Students animate from reference using the principles of weight, follow through, and anticipation. Projects focus on creating interactive motions for characters using commercial software and game engines. Intermediate rigging will also be covered.Limited to three attempts.
Student prepares for interview and application processes associated with securing an internship, finishing the course with a professional resume and portfolio ready for submission to potential employers.Limited to three attempts.
Student develops a case study of a publicly or commercially published computer game exploring the technical, economic, ethical, social and political ramifications on its intended target market. A public lecture of the case study is required. Notes: Students are required to complete 6 credits for the degree program.May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Placement in an appropriate internship within a program approved by a federal, state or commercial game design/publishing agency or firm. Notes: 135 hours of internship on-site work must be completed for 3 credits.180 hours of internship on-site work must be complete for 4 credits.May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Advanced research, computer game design, or exploration of topical studies in computer game design.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Exploration of various issues in computer game design, including theoretical aspects of games studies and production. Notes: Topics and credit vary with instructor. May be repeated when taken under different topics.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Students draw from interdisciplinary core and concentration coursework in order to synthesize, compare and consolidate the various approaches and theories explored throughout the major through a focus on a pressing global issue. Additionally, course is designed to further develop research, writing, presentation, and organizational skills.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Selected topics in global affairs. Content varies. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different.May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Study abroad under supervision of Mason faculty. Course topics, content, and locations vary. Notes: May be repeated with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Reading or research on specific topic related to globalization, under direction of faculty member. Notes: At least one written paper required. Course may involve combination of reading assignments, tutorials, presentations, or off-campus activities.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of global affairs. Covers a variety of topics, including consideration of economic, political, and cultural forces at work in the complex interactions among global processes.Limited to three attempts.
Honors-level research on specialized topic in Global Affairs culminating in substantial paper and oral presentation.Limited to three attempts.
On-the-job training in transnational or international fields through approved internship programs. Notes: Enrollment and credits controlled by Global Affairs Program. Contact Global Affairs Program one semester before planned enrollment.May be repeated within the term.
Studies special issues relevant to analytical approaches to studying government and politics. Topics announced in advance. Examples include advanced statistical methods, time series analysis, game theory, social network analysis, geographic information systems for politics, social science experiments, and causal inference. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores relationship between law and society, including concept of law; origin, development, and role of law in society; and relationship between law and social change. Assesses different approaches and methodologies.Limited to three attempts.
Examines history of politics in Virginia and current political issues. Particular attention to changing dynamics of political parties, key legislative issues, and policies of recent administrations.Limited to three attempts.
Responsibilities and freedoms of mass media in democracy. Explores Influence of media on citizens' opinions, elections, and decisions of public officials.Equivalent to COMM 412.
Examines political, economic, and social impact of public policies and implications for race, gender, and age.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Major political values and theories in America from formation of American republic to present. Covers changes in American political values in crisis periods and contemporary American political theory including pluralism, elite theories of democracy, and empirical political theory.Limited to three attempts.
Examines Supreme Court's interpretation of constitutional powers of Congress, presidency, and judiciary. Includes examination of major decisions concerning state regulation, taxation, and interstate relations.Limited to three attempts.
Studies First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion; right to privacy; and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection.Equivalent to CRIM 423.
Explores the broader questions of agency as associated with tools, machines, objects, data, and, ultimately, (semi) autonomous algorithms. How is our concept of ‘humanity’ bound up with conceptions of our relationship to the world of tools and machines? To our concepts of objects as data? How do tools ‘act’ and have ‘agency’ in the world? How are they political? Students will develop an appreciation for how political theory informs the discipline of political science, and in particular the evolving study of public data.Limited to three attempts.
Explores feminist political thought in historical context. Topics include feminist political movements, feminist critiques of political philosophy, and feminist contributions to political theory.Limited to three attempts.
Explores various theoretical approaches to nature and justification of democracy. Topics may include liberal, communitarian, pluralist, and deliberative theories and their critics; constitutionalism; role of markets; and transnational democracy.Limited to three attempts.
Comparative political leadership, relationships between political cultures and types of leadership, patterns of leadership recruitment, and linkages between political elites and citizenry.Limited to three attempts.
Discusses different theoretical perspectives of East Asian political economy; transformation of East Asia; and issues such as money, finance, trade, investment, environment, and energy. Focuses on issues of contemporary significance, but attention also given to history.Limited to three attempts.
Comparative study of structures and performance of democracies around the world since 1975. Examines growing influence of global forces such as economy, media, and culture in process of democratization. Examines select current elections.Limited to three attempts.
Provides practical tools for organizing and conducting original empirical research in the fields of comparative and international politics. The course considers both the analytical logic of quantitative methods and their practical application using statistical software. Topics may include (but are not limited to) data management practice, comparative public opinion, categorizing regime types, implications of international organization, global health and energy policy, and empirically assessing political violence, conflict, and civil war.Limited to three attempts.
Why, how, and for what purposes do states employ their national power abroad? This is a big question that cuts to the core of higher-order questions regarding foreign policy formulation and deployment. This class provides an advanced introduction to the relationship between war, peacetime settlements, politics, and strategy.Limited to three attempts.
Explores sources of morality in armed conflict, and implications of such ideas for international relations. Examines content and philosophy of modern law of war.Limited to three attempts.
Major issues in international systems, including international political economy and security. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores philosophical, legal, and political issues at heart of modern international human rights movement. Examines historical background legal architecture of modern human rights movement.Limited to three attempts.
Nature, sources, and subject of law of nations; law and individual; territorial questions; nature, sources, and functions of international organizations; international transactions and organizations; war and present; and future status of international law.Limited to three attempts.
Historical overview of modern revolutions as well as different theories about causes and consequences of revolutions. Special attention to Marxist-Leninist, Arab nationalist, and Islamic revolutions.Limited to three attempts.
Ethics and international politics ask students to wrestle with dilemmas raised by a desire to behave morally in an international system in which consensus about ethical matters is absent. Distributive justice and use of force are two overarching themes. Students also develop, apply, and justify their own perspectives on ethical problem using philosophical theory, history, and social science research.Limited to three attempts.
Law of public office. Studies procedures followed by and the legal limits on administrative agencies and their officers and employees.Limited to three attempts.
Philosophical perspectives, historical context, technological developments, and institutional changes that surround controversies about privacy and surveillance in contemporary society. Explores public and private institutions doing surveillance, how they calculate and manage risk, and legal constraints on surveillance activities.Equivalent to CRIM 460.
How would we build political systems and rational policies if we could start all over? This course considers the policy implications of human expansion across the solar system in terms of politics, property-rights, resource management and relationships to Earth-based governments. Students will develop an understanding of the historical context and will learn to use evidence to defend specific space-based policy goals.Limited to three attempts.
This course cuts across the traditional boundaries of public policy, legal considerations, public administration, data analytics, and the supporting role of digital technologies. Practical values such as digital ethics and equity, understanding public values and navigating “fake news” are explored with current readings and case studies. The course will also delve into privacy in the digital age as well as how technology can be used better to serve and engage the public.Limited to three attempts.
Analyzes selected policy issues in administering public policies. Topics announced in advance. Examples include environmental policy, government regulation, federal mandates, state policy, and regional policy. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Using case studies from last 60 years, this course provides students with understanding of how decisions and policy are really made as politicians reconcile policy preferences with political realities, institutional dynamics, expert opinion and personal ambition. Meets Friday in Washington, with weekly guest speakers from White House, Congress and policy community. As a final product, students are required to design and defend a politically realistic policy proposal to solve a significant national problem. Students must already have familiarity with, and interest in, modern American history, politics and government.Limited to two attempts.
Covers issues in the philosophy, economics, and political science of institutions, information, and collective action. Through case studies of existing legal and political institutions, applies the insights to problems in politics, policy making, social theory, and social, moral, and political philosophy. (Specific content varies).Equivalent to ECON 460, PHIL 460.
Approved internships with specific employer. Programs relate in some capacity to government, politics, public policy, or the law. For 3 credits, a minimum of 135 hours is required. 3 credits of GOVT 480 may be applied to field study requirements. No more than 6 credits of GOVT 480 may be applied toward a student's 120 (Schar) degree applicable credits.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Readings, individual or group projects, and discussion of papers reflecting on connections between liberal arts and sciences and political world. Notes: Course topic varies by semester.Limited to three attempts.
Readings, individual or group projects, and discussions of seminar papers. Notes: Subject varies.Limited to three attempts.
Reading and research on specific topic under direction of faculty member. Notes: Written report required; oral report of research may be required.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Intensive study of colonial American history from European origins through Revolutionary War. Limited to three attempts.
Study of formative years of new republic from Treaty of Paris of 1783 to election of 1820. Limited to three attempts.
Overview of history of Arab-Israeli conflict. Examines conflict from various perspectives: over land and between competing nationalisms and identities; in terms of national interests of various states, including Israelis and Palestinians as well as other Arab governments and great powers; and in terms of peace making and conflict resolution. Some knowledge of history of Middle East since World War I strongly advised. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys history of women in Islamic society from rise of Islam to present day. Examines historical processes that affected role and status of women in society, and specific topics around which issues of gender status and identity coalesced, especially in modern period. Limited to three attempts.
Political, social, and cultural history of Middle East since World War I. Emergence of Israel, Arab nationalism, and political and economic influence of Middle East in world affairs. Limited to three attempts.
Students must have completed at least one course in the field, or with the professor, chosen for these honors courses. Notes: The 3 reading credits should be taken before 3 research credits, though they may be taken concurrently. Either may be taken concurrently with HIST 499. Linked, individualized courses, usually given by same instructor. Involves directed readings. Limited to three attempts.
Students must have completed at least one course in the field, or with the professor, chosen for these honors courses. Notes: The 3 reading credits should be taken before 3 research credits, though they may be taken concurrently. Either may be taken concurrently with HIST 499. Linked, individualized courses, usually given by same instructor. Culminates in research paper related to subject of readings. Limited to three attempts.
Readings, research conducted on individual basis in consultation with instructor. Notes: Only 3 credits may be applied to credits for degree. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Research on specialized historical topic culminating in seminar paper and oral presentation. Synthesis course; students expected to integrate knowledge and skills acquired in Mason Core courses. Notes: Subject determined by instructor. Student may present no more than 3 credits for graduation credit. Must receive passing grade to graduate with BA in history. Limited to three attempts.
Explores a selected theme in Korean linguistics with a focus on its lexicology, sound system, and language variation. Combines discussion of theoretical issues with the empirical analysis of Korean. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
The objective of this course is introducing basic theories and practices of translation and developing students' professional translation skills using various authentic Korean media texts or literary texts. Students will learn to apply text identification, text analysis, and resolve translation issues while they are practicing translating Korean texts into English. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores histories and contemporary applications of Korean cultural studies and cultural analyses, including cultural production and consumption in domestic and transnational scopes, reception and fandom, semiotics, postcolonial and postmodern theory, visual and media studies, and quantitative and qualitative methods. Students consider representative Korean cultural products, and also learn about the Western development of Cultural Studies. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Students examine the histories and the current aspects of ethnic Koreans’ migration in the context of diaspora, race and ethnicity, and colonialism. Additionally, the course is designed to develop students’ research methods, presentation skills, and collaborative ethics. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Students draw from interdisciplinary Korean studies subfields, apply approaches and theories applied in main Korean studies fields, and synthesize major topics. Additionally, the course is designed to develop students’ research methods, presentation skills, and collaborative ethics. Limited to two attempts.
On-the-job training using Korean language in diverse settings through approved internship placements. Note: See department for the application process. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Explores internal controversies and dynamics of mathematics in larger intellectual and social settings. Topics vary but might include differential equations devised for mechanics and astronomy by Euler, Lagrange, and Laplace; foundation of mathematical analysis from Cauchy to Weierstrass; algebras of Galois and Boole; or creation of non-Euclidean geometry and Cantor's transfinite sets. Notes: Credits may not be used toward "upper division" math hours required of math majors. Limited to three attempts.
Incorporates new mathematics from a large variety of fields into the design and creation of 3D printed models, as well as the written and oral communication of these mathematical ideas. Topics vary but might include regular and quasiregular tilings, Platonic and Archimedean solids and their duality, orientable and non-orientable surfaces, fractals, chaotic attractors, Riemann surfaces, and data visualization. Limited to three attempts.
A project, which is intended to result in a thesis, is to be chosen and completed under the guidance of a full-time faculty member. An oral presentation is required for MATH 405. Limited to three attempts.
A project, which is intended to result in a thesis, is to be chosen and completed under the guidance of a full-time faculty member. Oral and written presentations are required in MATH 406. Limited to three attempts.
Analytic functions, contour integration, residues, and applications to such topics as integral transforms, generalized functions, and boundary value problems. Limited to three attempts.
Synthesis of pure mathematics and computational mathematics. Emphasizes interplay between discrete and continuous mathematics. Mathematical structure revealed from equilibrium models in discrete and continuous systems. Limited to three attempts.
Continuation of MATH 413, which involves synthesis of pure mathematics and computational mathematics. Fourier analysis and its role in applied mathematics developed (differential equations and approximations). Discrete aspects emphasized in computational models. Limited to three attempts.
Expands on the algebraic structure of groups from the first course in abstract algebra to introduce rings and fields. All three structures are explored via Galois theory, which shows the vital interconnectivity of the three structures, and how this can be applied to obtain deep theorems about the symmetries among roots of a polynomial. Topics include: rings, ideals, homomorphisms, polynomial rings, factorization, divisibility, vector spaces, extension fields (algebraic and transcendental), the fundamental theorem of field theory, splitting fields, classification of finite fields, constructible numbers, impossibility theorems for angle trisection and circle squaring, the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, and solvability of polynomials
by radicals. Limited to three attempts.
Metric spaces, topological spaces, compactness, and connectedness. Limited to three attempts.
Explores the geometry of curves and surfaces, with a focus on differential (smooth) spaces. Students will explore precise characterizations of length of curves, curvature, dimension, and vector fields on curves and surfaces. Additional topics may include the geometry of the Gauss Map, intrinsic and extrinsic properties of curves and surfaces, and the Gauss-Bonet Theorem. Limited to three attempts.
Integrates topics from algebra directly into the geometric context through the study of algebraic varieties. Methods require the use of fields, rings, ideals to describe geometric objects. Topics include affine varieties, Hilbert’s Basis Theorem, Gröbner bases, Buchberger’s Criterion and Algorithm, parametrizations, Hilbert’s Nullstellensatz, and the Algebra-Geometry Dictionary. Limited to three attempts.
Survey of deterministic methods for solving real-world decision problems. Programming model and simplex method of solution, duality and sensitivity analysis, transportation and assignment problems, shortest path and maximal flow problems, project networks including PERT and CPM, introduction to integer and nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, and game theory. Emphasizes modeling and problem solving. Equivalent to OR 441.
Survey of probabilistic methods for solving decision problems under uncertainty, probability review, decision theory, queuing theory, inventory models, forecasting, Markov chain models, and simulation are covered. Emphasis on modeling and problem solving. Equivalent to OR 442.
Significant figures, round-off errors, iterative methods of solution of nonlinear equations of a single variable, solutions of linear systems, iterative techniques in matrix algebra, interpolation and polynomial approximation. Equivalent to OR 481.
Numerical differentiation and integration, initial-value and boundary-value problems for ordinary differential equations, methods of solution of partial differential equations, iterative methods of solution of nonlinear systems, approximation theory. Equivalent to CDS 410.
Topics from statistics relevant to the field of actuarial science, such as: forecasting and time series, maximum likelihood tests, sufficiency, most powerful tests, distributions of quadratic forms, topics from nonparametric statistics, Bayesian statistics, and linear models. Limited to three attempts.
Basic mathematical optimization and probability theory in the context of classical learning and gradient based methods including neural networks. Incorporates modern tools such as Python, shell tools, and version control. Includes industrial applications in satellite imagery, physics, biology and engineering. Computational and analytic assignments are given. Limited to three attempts.
Basic mathematical and probabilistic models and derivations for convolutions, stability, regularization, inverse and optimal control problems, and dynamical systems in the context of semi-supervised learning. Mathematical and numerical aspects of stochastic descent methods, Nesterov accelerated gradient, AdaGrad, Adam, with applications to convolutional, deep, and ODE networks. Further applications include imaging and computer vision, saliency maps, segmentation, satellite Imagery, and physics informed learning. Limited to three attempts.
Structure of linear spaces and the operator algebra, duality, invariants, Jordan and singular value decompositions, spectral theorem. Rigorous derivation of foundational data science methods such as PCA, MDS, and SVM. Computational and analytic assignments are given. Limited to three attempts.
Covers mathematical aspects of data science including theory of linear and nonlinear dimension reduction, elements of spectral graph theory, function spaces and regularity in regression, and data-driven dynamics identification and discovery. Computational and analytic assignments are given. Limited to three attempts.
Introduces basic facts about partial differential equations, including elliptic equations, parabolic equations and hyperbolic equations. Methods of solution, characteristics, initial/boundary-value problems, and numerical approximation techniques. Limited to three attempts.
Professional work experience for Mathematics majors and minors working in education, industry and government laboratories, including summer programs. Students looking for experiential credit in mathematics teaching may also use this course. Supervision and approval of this course must be arranged with the department before registering. Notes: Credit will be assigned based on the number of hours participating in the internship: 1 Credit for every 45 hours of internship work. At least one substantive piece of work will be assessed for each internship credit being undertaken. Students may take up to 3 internship credits per semester. Up to 3 credits may be used toward "upper division" math hours required of math majors. May be repeated within degree and in combination with Math 491 for a total of 12 credits between the two classes. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
For mathematical sciences majors only. Independent study or directed research project in mathematics. Notes: Must be arranged with instructor before registering. Up to 6 credits may be used toward "upper division" math hours required of math majors. May be repeated within term and in combination with Math 490 for a total of 12 credits between the two classes. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Topics that have been successfully used in applications of mathematics. Notes: Subject determined by instructor. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
Topics of pure math not covered in other courses. Topics might include Galois theory, cardinal and ordinal arithmetic, measure theory, mathematical logic, and differential geometry. Notes: Subject determined by instructor. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 12 credits.
Seminars on selected topics in mathematics focused on preparing students for research opportunities, internships, careers, or graduate school in mathematics. Topics will vary. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 3 credits.
Builds on MGMT 303 by emphasizing intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and societal phenomena relevant to issues of diversity. Examines phenomena and processes in general and with regard to specific dimensions such as gender, race, and ability. Designed to increase students' knowledge of diversity in organizations, understanding of others' perspectives, and ability to work well with people who differ from themselves. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces theory and practice of organization development. Assumes some basic knowledge of organizational behavior, and addresses how to use knowledge about organizations to change them. Focuses on ways of understanding organizations with attention to theoretical underpinnings of field and diagnostic models, and processes for entering organizations. Later sessions focus on contracting, data collection, organizational diagnosis, data feedback, and change technologies. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Provides students an introduction to key concepts, methods, and frameworks of innovation and entrepreneurship. The experiential component of the course will be supplemented by readings, written work and presentations, and classroom discussion. The course will explore and explain the importance of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, and their firms in addition to allowing students to experiment with various entrepreneurial concepts and activities. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Examines the paths to small business ownership, including starting an enterprise or purchasing an existing business. Focus will be on franchising and licensing, as well as family-run enterprises. Students will gain a broad understanding of location choice, facilities and layout, in addition to the legal issues associated with small business creation. Harvesting and exiting options will also be explored. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Explores theory and practice of managing culturally diverse organizations in domestic and international contexts. Topics include management customs and practices in different world regions, cross-cultural communication and learning, and the developing culturally and internationally sophisticated employees and managers. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Focuses on intensive development of high professional-level skill set for collaboration and leadership in contemporary environments. Builds on content introduced in MGMT 303. Attention to developing personal leadership capabilities, collaborating in traditional and virtual environments, improving group processes, project management, tolerating ambiguity, improving communication, creative problem solving, time management, coaching, and empowering employees. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Explores industry structures and competitive behavior of firms. Attention to how firm uses tangible, intangible, and human resources to develop sustainable competitive advantage, and how competitors interact in marketplace. Introduces tools and concepts to analyze industry dynamics and competitive interactions of firms in these industries. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Research and analysis of selected problems or topics in management must be arranged with instructor and approved in writing by associate dean for undergraduate programs. Notes: Written report required.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Opportunity to gain practical, professional experience in conjunction with academic development. An internship is an important part of academic and career preparation. May be used as elective credit. Notes: No more than 6 credits of School of Business internship coursework (BUS 492 or MIS 492) can be applied towards a student's 120 (BU) degree applicable credits. Students must receive departmental approval in order to register for this course; please contact the School of Business Office of Career Services for internal eligibility requirements.Equivalent to ACCT 492, FNAN 492, MGMT 492, MKTG 492, OM 492, OSCM 492.
This course introduces students to an approach to decision making called design thinking. Design thinking is a way of working with user-centered innovation to address problems. Design thinking emphasizes deep user understanding, iteration, and a focus on possibilities as a way to enhance value creation for stakeholders. Design thinking has gained in popularity both in industry and in governments in the last decade and is an important contrast to the more traditional linear view of problem solving. The course will study the concepts and applications of design thinking and will allow students to engage in the design thinking process in an operational innovation context. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces concepts and tools used in designing, modeling, analyzing, and improving business processes. Various business process analysis and simulation methods, such as process mapping/flowcharting, process flow and capacity analysis, service process design, theory of constraints, process modeling and simulation, and business process reengineering are discussed. Introduces methods and analytical tools such as queue theory and computer simulation used to design, model, analyze, and improve business processes. Discusses methods such as process mapping/diagramming, service process design, process modeling, and business process reengineering. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Public sector organizations such as governments and non-profits fulfill important roles in society, delivering widely varying services and products. Operations management, the analysis, design, operation, and improvement of the systems and processes that deliver goods or services, is critical for these organizations to achieve their mission, provide value to their many stakeholders, and effectively translate policy into action. This course equips students with capabilities and strategies to design, evaluate, and improve successful operations activities within government and non-profit organizations. The course is particularly relevant in the context of the DC metropolitan area where public sector represents a key industry sector in terms of contribution to the area’s GDP and employment. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Introduces techniques for producing predictions of future business operations as aids to making planning decisions. Specific topics include judgmental forecasting, forecast accuracy, correlation analysis, smoothing methods, regression models, decomposition, and autoregressive and ARIMA models. Methods demonstrated and used through computer software. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Provides an understanding of the multifaceted nature of quality management by addressing topics such as quality philosophies, total quality management and continuous improvement, design quality, statistical process control, and managing quality in information systems development. Discusses Lean Operations, Six Sigma, ISO 9000, and Capability Maturity Model Integration. Uses software, case studies. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
This course focuses on analysis of the challenges and opportunities associated with managing a firm's product and process technology resources for long-term competitive advantage in the face of technological evolution. Students will learn concepts of technology evolution, understand how enterprises can manage technology resources efficiently to create and deliver products and/or services that respond effectively to customer requirements and expectations, and examine models that help in the analysis, development and implementation of product and process technologies. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Topic and format vary. In-depth study of a topic in the area of operations management. Enrollment limited and competitive. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
This course provides an in-depth knowledge and analysis of the Government Contracting industry, and Business to Government (B2G) relationships. It will discuss Procurement and Supply Chain processes in the government regulatory environment, and how they are executed in practice by government organizations, with a focus on US Federal Government contracting policies, processes and procedures. It is designed for students potentially pursuing careers in government organizations or businesses that serve government clients. Topics will include Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Federal Budgeting, Market Analysis, Category Management, Small Business Utilization, National Security implications, Innovation and Research Funding. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Analyzes selected topics that highlight latest developments in the operations management field, including contemporary research findings and case studies of operations management in business and other organizations. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
Opportunity to gain practical, professional experience in conjunction with academic development. An internship is an important part of academic and career preparation. May be used as elective credit, but may not be repeated. Notes: No more than 6 credits of School of Business internship coursework (BUS 492 or OM 492) can be applied towards a student's 120 (BU) degree applicable credits. Students must receive departmental approval in order to register for this course; please contact the School of Business Office of Career Services for internal eligibility requirements.Equivalent to ACCT 492, FNAN 492, MGMT 492, MIS 492, MKTG 492.
Focuses on managerial problems associated with meeting technical, cost, and time constraints of technology projects. Discusses project management areas including organization, teams, scheduling, cost control, earned value analysis, risk management, and quality. Includes software cost estimation models and the management of IT projects. Software and case studies. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval.Limited to two attempts.
By special arrangement with instructor, and approval from associate dean for undergraduate programs. Investigates business problem according to student interest, using state-of-the-art decision science methodology.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Overview of management and analysis of empirical social science data, including file construction, scaling and measurement, data transformation, and treatment of missing data. Emphasizes manipulation, management, and analysis of data sets using computers. Limited to three attempts.
Surveys research methods and techniques to collect, measure, and analyze social data, attitudes, and opinions with special emphasis on using computer software, the Internet, and other information technologies for social research. Highlights ethical issues for social research, computing, and information technology. Equivalent to SOCI 431.
Presents for analysis and discussion the significant theorists and themes in contemporary sociological theory. Designed to enhance student's skills in reading and analyzing primary texts and to encourage reflection on contemporary social reality. Fulfills writing intensive requirement. Limited to three attempts.
Intended to provide students with hands-on experience in sociology and to deepen sociological knowledge. The internship experience links theory and practice. Students work in approved setting as applied sociologists. Notes: Minimum 45 hours of work for each credit required. A research paper or project is required for this course. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Intended to provide students with hands-on experience in sociology and to deepen sociological knowledge. The internship experience links theory and practice. Students work in approved setting as applied sociologists. Notes: Minimum 45 hours of work for each credit required May be repeated within the term for a maximum 2 credits.
Surveys research methods and techniques to collect, measure, and analyze social data, attitudes, and opinions with special emphasis on using computer software, the Internet, and other information technologies for social research. Highlights ethical issues for social research, computing, and information technology. Equivalent to SOCI 410.
Develop research proposals and an appropriate bibliography for honors thesis under the guidance of a sociology faculty member. Limited to three attempts.
Pursue independent research and write honors thesis under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Present work in a colloquium at the end of the semester. Limited to three attempts.
Exposes students to sociological theory and research on evolution of higher learning in United States. Explores social forces that have shaped the distinctively American approach toward higher education and have led to transformation of higher education in contemporary society. Particular attention to relation between universities and elites within surrounding society, linkage between education and industry, norms and values that are presupposed by educational institutions, and bearing of sports on values and traditions of higher education. Limited to three attempts.
Provides an in-depth examination of historical and contemporary issues facing sociological scholars. Focuses on the philosophies, practices, and procedures used by individuals and organizations to answer sociological questions. Engages a variety of materials, experiences and resources to answer a specific research question. Limited to three attempts.
Theories, analysis of types of organizations from informal voluntary associations to large complex ones. Explores nonprofit organizations and alternatives to bureaucracies, such as feminist collectives, cooperatives, self-help groups, and social movement organizations. Students do field work in organizations applying theories and concepts to observations. Limited to three attempts.
Investigation of sociological problem according to individual interest, with emphasis on research. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 8 credits.
Topic of contemporary interest in anthropology, changing from semester to semester, and focusing on topics such as sex roles, anthropology and ethics, and primate social organization. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Studies works of major Chinese writers. Writers studied may vary. Notes: Knowledge of Chinese helpful but not required. May be repeated when topic is different with approval of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Covers topics on Chinese language, literature, or culture organized by theme, genre approach, or era. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Possible topics include ancient, medieval, modern European, and American economic history, using econometric analysis as necessary. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Subject matter varies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 24 credits.
Introduces the fields of English studies, focusing on discipline-specific forms of practice within the concentrations in the major. Explores central concepts including reading, language, medium, text, author/producer. Maps histories and contexts of English as a discipline. Limited to three attempts.
Studies selected topics, genres, themes or authors in medieval or Renaissance literature and culture. Notes: May be taken for credit by English or history majors. Specific topic may vary. Primary emphasis is literary or historical, depending on discipline of instructor. May consider relevant material from philosophy, theology, and art. May be repeated when topic is different. Equivalent to FRLN 431.
Advanced studies of development of film language, both as cultural practice and medium for formal innovation. Topics might include studies of national cinemas, historical periods, genres, or individual directors. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Advanced studies of theories about various aspects of production, distribution, and reception of film-mediated experiences. Topics may include theories of spectator, semiotics, feminist film theory, theories of narrativity, structuralist film theory, or deconstruction. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Selected topics in global affairs. Content varies. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different.May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 9 credits.
Studies special issues relevant to government and politics. Topics announced in advance. Examples include politics and the arts, ethnic conflict and the political system, gender politics, and changing dynamics in political institutions. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Lectures, discussions of developments in Western tradition of political thought from mid-19th century to today. Different sections focus on various political theories that have been influential during this period, such as liberal, libertarian, conservative, communitarian, Marxist, feminist, and postmodern thought. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different.Equivalent to PHIL 327.
Studies special issues relevant to theoretical and value aspects of government and politics. Topics announced in advance. Examples include ethics and politics, ethics and environmental policy, changing perspectives on civil rights and liberties, religion and politics, and changing views of public space. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Studies selected current political issues in industrial democracies of Western Europe and North America. Specific topics chosen each semester to reflect contemporary political concerns in these countries, but political process in advanced industrial countries is organizing principle throughout the course. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Major issues in international systems, including international political economy and security. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Analyzes selected policy issues in administering public policies. Topics announced in advance. Examples include environmental policy, government regulation, federal mandates, state policy, and regional policy. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department.May be repeated within the term for a maximum 9 credits.
Study of historical topics of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest in global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern history. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical topics or periods of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Study of historical periods or topics from perspective of feature films and documentaries. Notes: Topics available in advance from the department. May be repeated when topic is different. A maximum of 6 credits may be applied to the BA in history. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
Introduces the research interests of the faculty, offering new courses that reflect current issues not yet incorporated into the curriculum. Offers, in addition, advanced study into topics covered in the standing curriculum. Topics change by semester. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
Graduate
Techniques and software used to visualize scientific simulations, complex information, and data visualization for knowledge discovery. Includes examples and exercises to help students develop their understanding of the role visualization plays in computational science and provides a foundation for applications in their careers. May not be repeated for credit.
Data and databases used by scientists. Includes basics about database organization, queries, and distributed data systems. Student exercises will include queries of existing systems, along with basic design of database systems. Examples from different disciplines will be given. May not be repeated for credit.