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ILS courses are based on the national initiatives for reforming undergraduate biology education: BIO 2010, Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, and Vision and Change. These initiatives provide explicit guidelines for designing multidisciplinary life sciences curricula necessary for preparing life science and pre-medical students for successful careers in the 21st century. The ILS academic program is composed of a core of four accelerated courses in integrated organismal biology, genetics and genomics, mathematical modeling in Biology, and scholarship-in-practice, plus the first-semester introduction course. These courses represent either honors versions of BSCI courses or unique new courses designed to satisfy the objectives of the national initiatives linked above. Furthermore, all ILS courses emphasize innovative pedagogy strategies intended to encourage student active engagement and small-group problem solving.
Course Descriptions
HLSC 100: Developing Life Scientists for the Global Good (1 credit) - This small group, service-learning course provides students with the information needed to develop into professionals in the Life Sciences. Class dialogue focuses on the numerous resources available to students at UMD as well as three important facets of the life sciences: the social determinants of health, sustainability and STEM education. Students also participate in an ongoing service experience where they work with an organization that focuses on addressing the needs of the local community. (Those students entering ILS as rising second-year students may substitute other UNIV 100 courses to satisfy this requirement.) NOTE: This course satisfies the freshmen seminar requirement for most majors.Sample Syllabus
HLSC 207 Principles of Biology III: Organismal Biology (3 credits) - this course is recognized as a national model for teaching rigorous introductory organismal biology, because it utilizes mathematical, physical, chemical, genomic, and evolutionary principles to develop an integrated perspective toward the functioning and evolution of all organisms, including humans. NOTE: This course is equivalent to BSCI 207 Sample Syllabus
HLSC 322 Genetics and Genomics (4 credits) - this course starts with an overview of basic Mendelian and molecular genetics, but will then focus on the understanding and application of genomics to contemporary research, medicine, biotechnology, and societal issues. NOTE: This course is equivalent to BSCI 222 Sample Syllabus
HLSC 374 Mathematical Modeling in Biology(4 credits) - this new course is designed specifically to teach students how to apply advanced mathematics and modeling techniques in order to: 1) address important problems in human physiology, epidemiology, and complex biological systems, and 2) do research in emerging disciplines, such as molecular biophysics and bioinformatics. NOTE: The prerequisite for this course is two semesters of Calculus or the equivalent AP credits. This course is equivalent to BSCI474 Sample Syllabus
BSCI330H: Cell Biology for Life Scientists (4 credits) Properties of cells, which make life possible, and mechanisms by which cells provide energy, reproduce, regulate and integrate with each other and their environment will be covered. This course is a blended learning course that involves a combination of face-to-face and online interactions. The online component will focus on content while the in-class face-to-face portion will focus on application of the content to problems in cell biology. Coming Fall 2013
HLSC 377 Research and Application in Life Sciences (3 credits) - a scholarship in practice course designed to reinforce the understanding and application of the critical competencies for life sciences students, including pre-meds, as outlined in the SFFP report. This course integrates the academic and experiential aspects of ILS to help the students approach complex real-world problems having a biological basis, such as genetic diseases, viral epidemics, ageing, global warming, green energy, and environmental sustainability. NOTE: This course counts as a capstone course for CORE requirements and a scholarship in practice course for GEN ED requirements. Sample Syllabus Sample Syllabus
Honors Seminars
One of the many advantages of ILS being part of the larger Honors College is that ILS students are able to enroll in Honors Seminars offered through the University Honors Program. These seminars are 3-credit courses shaped around seminar-style learning. Approximately 80 seminars are offered each semester (plus Honors study abroad courses during winter and summer terms); each is limited to 20 students. Many students use these seminars to enrich their academic schedule and to meet their CORE/General Education requirements. A current list of seminars can be found here.
ILS Course Sequence
Most students will complete this course sequence within their first two years in the program, though the program does allow flexibility for students interested in studying abroad, participating in the federal semester program, etc. To ensure that students are able to stay in the program they must discuss their plans with the ILS Associate Director as soon as they realize there may be a conflict.
Year |
Fall semester |
Spring semester |
| 1 | HLSC 100 Developing Life Scientists for the Global Good (1)
HLSC 207 Integrated Organismal Biology (3) |
HLSC 322 Genetics and Genomics (4) |
| 2 |
HLSC 374 Mathematical Modeling in Biology (4) |
HLSC 377 Research and Application In Life Sciences (3) |
ILS Honors Citation
ILS students will be awarded an Honors College Citation in Integrated Life Sciences for successfully completing this course sequence totaling 15 credits, and for participating in an authentic basic biological, biomedical, or clinical research experience, as described in the research experiences page.
