CU:

Core Curriculum: Natural Science

(Revised 10/2009)

9. Natural Science (13 semester hours, including a two-course sequence and a laboratory or field experience). These courses study the nature of matter, life, and the universe. They enhance literacy and knowledge of one or more scientific disciplines, and enhance those reasoning and observing skills that are necessary to evaluate issues with scientific content. Courses are designed to demonstrate that science is not a static list of facts, but a dynamic process that leads to knowledge. This process is one of subtle interplay between observation, experimentation, and theory, enabling students to develop a critical view toward the conclusions and interpretations obtained through the scientific process.

Through a combination of lecture courses and laboratory or field experiences, students gain hands-on experience with scientific research. They develop observational skills of measurement and data interpretation and learn the relevance of these skills to the formation and testing of scientific hypotheses.

The goal of this requirement is to enable students to understand the current state of knowledge in at least one scientific discipline, with specific reference to important past discoveries and the directions of current development; to gain experience in scientific observation and measurement, in organizing and quantifying results, in drawing conclusions from data, and in understanding the uncertainties and limitations of the results; and to acquire sufficient general scientific vocabulary and methodology to find additional information about scientific issues, to evaluate it critically, and to make informed decisions.

The natural science requirement, which consists of passing 13 hours of approved natural science course work, includes one two-semester sequence of courses and at least 1 credit hour of an associated lab or field experience. No more than two lower-division courses may be taken from any single department (1-credit-hour lab/field experience courses are excepted). Students who take approved CU-Boulder course work to fulfill this requirement must take the course for a letter grade and receive a passing grade of D- or higher.

Students who graduate with a major in the natural sciences (biochemistry, chemistry, ecology and evolutionary biology, geology, integrative physiology, molecular, cellular and developmental biology, or physics) or students who graduate with a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology are exempt from completing the natural science requirement.

Courses offered at CU-Boulder that satisfy this requirement include the following:

Two-Semester Sequences

(Note: Although not recommended, the first semester of a sequence may be taken as a single course. Also, some sequences have included, corequisite, or optional laboratories.)

Non-Sequence Courses

1-Credit-Hour Laboratory/Field Courses

(Note: Each course below has a prerequisite or corequisite.)