Interdisciplinary Courses & Earth Sciences Courses

This course introduces students to foundational and practical skills for using artificial intelligence in academic, professional, and everyday contexts. Through Google’s AI Essentials specialization, students will learn how AI works, how to write strong prompts, how to use AI tools responsibly, and how to integrate AI into real workflows. No prior technical knowledge is required. Students receive a grade of completed or not completed for this course. Acceptable completion requires submission of a Google AI certificate, which students receive after successfully finishing Google AI modules.

This course is an option for an undergraduate student interested in pursuing a global education program to satisfy an experiential learning requirement for graduation. The student will either commit to and complete a study abroad program that is a minimum length of one week and has been approved by the Office of Global Education Programs before the student starts the program or will complete an approved virtual exchange program as part of another course. Following the completion of the program, the student will write a reflection blog post and complete a final program self-evaluation showing how (a) the program developed their intercultural competence and global awareness and (b) the global education program enhanced their higher learning and personal growth. The director of global education program or the course instructor will evaluate the reflection and final self-evaluation. This is a noncredit course that will be graded pass/fail and will satisfy an experiential learning requirement if the student earns a passing grade.

Prerequisite(s): Approval of the director of global education programs or course instructor.

This general education course will be offered in conjunction with a faculty-led education abroad experience. The course’s learning goals and objectives and the activities designed to meet them depend on the nature of the specific general education requirement and the education abroad experience. The course will meet before and after the education abroad experience in addition to during the experience. Students will be asked to apply what they learned to the trip and complete academic assignments as aligned with the learning outcomes of the specific general education category designated for the course. Students spend approximately 12.5 hours in formal instruction and have approximately 25 hours of learning activities outside of class per credit. Course will be offered upon approval of the director of the General Education Program.

This course will explore global perspectives of diversity through students’ virtual interactions and direct collaboration with people across cultures and borders. This will be a virtual global experience that results in cognitive and emotional growth in intercultural competence. This course is intended for any students who wish to strengthen their intercultural competence skills and global awareness and understanding while also satisfying an experiential learning requirement.

This course satisfies a 200-level general education requirement and will be offered in conjunction with a faculty-led education abroad experience. The course’s learning goals and objectives and the activities designed to meet them depend on the nature of the specific general education requirement and the education abroad experience. The course will meet before and after the education aboard experience in addition to during the experience. Students will be asked to apply what they learned to the trip and complete academic assignments as aligned with the learning outcomes of the specific general education category designated for the course. Students spend approximately 12.5 hours in formal instruction and have approximately 25 hours of learning activities outside of class per credit. Course will be offered upon approval of the director of the General Education Program.

This course may be offered in conjunction with a faculty-led education abroad experience. The course’s learning goals and objectives and the activities designed to meet them depend on the nature of the education abroad experience. The course may meet before and after the education abroad experience in addition to during the experience. Students spend approximately 12.5 hours in formal instruction and have approximately 25 hours of learning activities outside of class per credit. With the approval of the department chair, the course may be used for credit in the major.

This course satisfies a 300-level general education requirement and will be offered in conjunction with a faculty-led education abroad experience. The course’s learning goals and objectives and the activities designed to meet them depend on the nature of the specific general education requirement and the education abroad experience. The course will meet before and after the education aboard experience in addition to during the experience. Students will be asked to apply what they learned to the trip and complete academic assignments as aligned with the learning outcomes of the specific general education category designated for the course. Students spend approximately 12.5 hours in formal instruction and have approximately 25 hours of learning activities outside of class per credit. Course will be offered upon approval of the director of the General Education Program.

Traditional topics in earth science including minerals and rocks; geologic time and the age and origin of the Earth; plate tectonics; mountains and volcanoes; the Earth’s interior; the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. This course is cross-listed with PH103.

Study the development, application, and principles of modern science. It will describe what science and technology is, how it is practiced, who practices it, how discoveries are made and accepted, and what the impact of science is on society. Important scientific theories and principles will be examined as well as modern problems and controversies facing science today, drawn from many fields of science.

This course explores how art, biology, and chemistry mutually illuminate the exploration and beauty of our surroundings. The course will cover examples, from various countries and time periods, of how humans have accomplished such exploration. The students will be encouraged to make their own personal connections between these ways of learning based on their backgrounds and cultural heritage. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory.

This introductory semester course uses online delivered data to develop climate in a systems approach. The paradigm of climate systems and sustainability will use critical thinking skills to frame the concepts of climate change and climate variability. Real time data will assess climate issues over the range of time and human involvement. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory.

An introductory course that stresses the origin, processes and physiography of the coastal zone. Emphasis will be placed on a systems approach to issues facing the coastal zone by applying skills and techniques from other allied sciences. Local areas will serve as resources for the course in which one of the final goals will be a model based on time, structure and process. Required at the end of the course will be an original manuscript that uses the theme of stewardship for society and the coastal zone.

Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of science courses.

Study of physical oceanography, including dynamics of ocean currents, waves, tides, and thermoclines; physical properties of ocean water; and effects of geological plate tectonics, including volcanic eruptions, coastal dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and stewardship. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory.

Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of basic science courses.