Foundations of Life Sciences

Foundations of Life Sciences is a required course for students in the physical and life sciences concentration that also fulfills the Scientific Process foundational course requirement for those in other concentrations who are seeking a BAAS degree. This course will serve as an introduction to the life sciences and is concerned with the relationship of structure to function, the mechanisms underlying energy capture and retrieval, information storage and flow, and the regulation and coordination of these core activities in living systems with an eye to their evolutionary origins. In this course, students will gain exposure to topics such as metabolism, membrane transport, genetics, physiology and ecology. Each of the topics covered will involve an interactive lecture component, a discussion board prompt, a problem set, an activity centered on the scientific method, and a reading comprehension quiz. Note that this course is designed for students with a range of quantitative reasoning skills and those who have had no prior exposure to college-level science. Anyone who is interested in knowing more about the study of living things and in delving into how they do what they do is encouraged to take this course!