Courses & Citation information

ILS Course Sequence & Citation Completion

ILS students will be awarded an Honors College Citation in Integrated Life Sciences for successfully completing this course sequence totaling 16 credits, which includes a service-learning experience and participating in an authentic research experience, as described in the Research page.

Most students complete this course sequence within their first two years in the program. However, the program does allow flexibility for the second year for students interested in studying abroad, participating in the federal semester program, global health crisis of Covid, etc.

The citation ceremony within the Honors College is each fall, and students who complete coursework in the first two years are awarded their citations fall of junior year; those who complete coursework as juniors are awarded their citations in fall of senior year. 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.

Note: ILS does not have the ability to reserve seats for ILS students in classes taught by other faculty outside of our program, though some courses do require Dr. Kramer’s assistance to register for (noted below). Course headings of HLSC you have guaranteed seats in.

Course Descriptions 

HLSC 100 Developing Life Scientists for the Global Good (1 credit) - This small group, service-learning course is customized to meet the needs of first-year Terps pursuing careers in the life sciences.  The curriculum is designed to build relationships between ILSers to create an encouraging and motivating environment, and orient students to the myriad campus resources that support student success. Components include student engagement, academic support, student wellness, diversity and inclusion, and social determinants of health.  Students participate in a service experience of their choosing with a variety of community partners on and off campus to fit their interests and schedules. (Students entering ILS as rising second-year students may substitute other UNIV 100 courses to satisfy this requirement). This course satisfies the first-year seminar requirement for most majors.

HLSC102 ILS Service-Learning Practicum (1 credit) - Service has been an ILS tradition since 2012 and was initiated by our students, who wanted service incorporated as part of the ILS mission and values.  Students complete 25 hours of service with a community partner of their choice, study service-learning as an experiential tool, and earn a credit toward their citation. These service experiences are directly relevant to their future careers as life scientists because they contribute to improved access for all people to quality healthcare, engaging STEM education, and/or to sustainable environments. The service-learning experience is introduced in the fall semester of the first year of ILS in HLSC100, and completed with this 1-credit course in the spring.

HLSC 280 Integrative and Quantitative Concepts in Biology (3 credits) - This course is designed for entering students enrolled in the Honors College Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) program and uses an active learning approach to emphasize inquiry, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and hands-on data analysis. This course will cover a variety of bioinformatic related topics, including genome assembly and scaffolding, sequence alignment algorithms, epigenetics, a bioinformatic examination of the central dogma in molecular biology, gene finding, proteomic analysis, the evolution of molecules, cells and organisms, molecular switches, and biological networks.

HLSC207 Principles of Biology III: Organismal Biology (3 credits) - This course is recognized as a national model for teaching rigorous introductory organismal biology.  The class utilizes mathematical, physical, chemical, genomic, and evolutionary principles to develop an integrated perspective toward the functioning and evolution of all organisms, including humans. This course is equivalent to BSCI 207. 

HLSC322 Genetics and Genomics (4 credits) -This course starts with an overview of basic Mendelian and molecular genetics, then focuses on the understanding and application of genomics to contemporary research, medicine, biotechnology, and societal issues. This course is equivalent to BSCI 222.

BSCI279H Catalyst Seminar (1 credit) - This course provides students the opportunity to learn skills essential for becoming successful student researchers, such as strategies for negotiating the research process, locating a faculty mentor, ethics in science, and critical analysis of research papers and proposals. Note: this course is not required but is strongly recommended for all first-year students. This course is only offered to first-year students. 

BSCI330H: Cell Biology for Life Scientists (4 credits) - This course covers the properties of cells, which make life possible, and mechanisms by which cells provide energy, reproduce, regulate and integrate with each other and their environment. This course is a blended learning course that involves a combination of face-to-face and online interactions. The online component focuses on content while the in-class portion focuses on application of the content to problems in cell biology. This course is equivalent to BSCI330. 

BSCI411H Bioinfomatics and Integrated Genomics (4 credits) - Computational methods for the study of biological sequence data in comparative biology and evolution. Analysis of genome content and organization. Database searching, pairwise and multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic, methods, pattern recognition, and functional inference. Functional and comparative genomics approaches.

ENGL390H Science Writing (3 credits) - Specifically designed for students interested in further study in the physical and biological sciences. Exposes students to the conventions of scientific prose in the genres of research articles and proposals. Students learn to accommodate scientific information to general audiences. Note: ENGL390H double counts for ILS and your graduation requirement. As it is a very popular course, it is not always possible to get in as a sophomore, and many students have waited until junior year to take the course. That is fine; those student then simply earn their citation in fall of senior year instead of fall of junior year at the conclusion of all coursework.

HLTH234H Global Health Messages: Understanding Exposure & Impact* (must contact Dr. Kramer to get permission from departmental schedulers to register for this course). Using a global perspective, this course teaches students to be critical consumers of current and historical health communication interventions. It also provides students with the skills to develop media interventions that target specific and general populations. Students will discover the array of diverse media messages that influence the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

HLTH264H Tweets & Likes: Digital Health & Social Media* (must contact Dr. Kramer to get permission from departmental schedulers to register for this course). Examines the current and potential use of digital health and social media to influence public health. Provides an overview of knowledge, skills and terminology necessary to optimize the effectiveness of these technologies to contribute to the enhancement of individual and community health.

HLSC 227: Topics in Scientific Integrity and Medical Ethics. Taught by ILS Director Dr. Najib El-Sayed and Associate Director Dr. Sabrina Kramer, this course looks at ethical issues related to scientific research and integrity as well as issue surrounding medical ethics such as use of limited resources, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. This is a topics class, so we won't be going into detail of philosophical arguments, but we may bring them up as relevant. Moreover, especially as applied to medical ethics, there may be no "right" answer. Instead, we would like you to be able to think critically about the issue, and make a moral argument (as opposed to a logistical argument).

HLSC217 The British Masters of Science (January 2024): This 10-day study abroad course examines 500 years of scientific discovery by British scientists including Ada Lovelace, Edward Jenner, Rosalind Franklin, and Alan Turing.  This course is offered every three years, and is led by the Associate and Assistant Directors. There is a limit of twelve students for this course.

Britain’s great scientists and inventors have been at the forefront of some of history’s greatest advances and have shaped science as we know it today.  This program explores the lives and careers of these natural philosophers and visits sites where they made their contributions that echo throughout modern science.

Destinations include London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Stonehenge.  Students experience the historic foundations of science and connect the scientific discoveries of history to present day experience of science.