Physics » Undergraduate Science in Calfornia

Re: Background

Robin Ball — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 18:13:15 GMT

Just to find out how replies appear. R.

Background

Robin Ball — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:54:02 GMT

Particularly in the first few years, the regulators largely impose what we might recognise as the norms of a US-style four year Batchelor’s degree. This includes a hefty “General Education” requirement (often implemented as “Distribution Requirement”) totalling 25%.

The mainstream US admissions market works from nationally set SAT test scores. SATs are definitely sub A-level, but they are probably more consistent.

Admissions are typically considered at a School/College level, anything as broad as “Arts and Sciences” or for professional-facing subjects as specific as “Law” or “Engineering”. Except for such professional schools, they are not departmentally specific.

US students expect to be able to transfer credit between universities, at least prior to Major. Typically this might include nearly a year’s worth of credit for a full set of IB or A-levels as we know them, and up to two years’ credit carried in from a Junior College (a post-High School institution).

They also expect considerable scope to take their degree at their pace. Requirements and prerequisites are just that: there is not the notion of failing a year, although there can be limits on how slow a student can go. Bright students also expect some scope to pull forward more advanced modules: this enables the degree to have structure and baseline expectations pitched at a much more inclusive majority of students than typical in the UK.

The big subject commitment is typically made by students “declaring Major” after about two years. Departments can set subject and even GPA prerequisites for this, which is the point at which they control who “their” students are, and beyond which they really control the curriculum in detail.

Anyone who thinks the US Batchelor’s degree is a bit soft should probably think again. Students have just four years to get from pre A-level to graduating level with the equivalent of one year given over to General Education requirements. Moreover if they have research ambitions, they will want to pull forward all the way so that they can take some of the PhD qualifying exams within their undergraduate study.

Note that pulling forward of graduate level courses provides something like the equivalent opportunity to the four year UK undergraduate Masters.

Outline and Years 1 and 2

Robin Ball — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:53:21 GMT

US-style Batchelor’s four year degree structure, with students entering on basis of SAT scores and able to leave their choice of “Major” until year 3. 25% General Education requirement.

Science Faculty within one College of Science (but see re Engineering below).

Undergraduate Admission to three broad Programmes:
• Mathematical Sciences;
• Natural Sciences;
• Engineering (possibly a College in its own right).

Programmes share teaching in the first two years, and students have some possibility of mobility between the Programmes.

Q: Especially if Engineering is a separate College, do we need the separate programmes in Math and Natural Sciences?

Level 1: modules typically taken by first year students.

These are a grown-up version of A-level so there should be no duplicate teaching (e.g. we do NOT have separate Maths course for separate programmes), and there are relatively few modules altogether. Programmes would have requirements, but students could satisfy more than one set of these and/or would expect to be able to be able to take some modules from across other Colleges.

Modules should be really foundational:

Strands of: Maths; Physics; Chemistry; Life Science;

?Single modules: English Language; Computing

Level 2: modules typically taken by second year students.

Still at year two a given topic area would be taught in only one version, but students having enough choice to significantly shape their specialisation. They would typically become committed at the level of Programme here.

Modules should progress level and give a taste of specialisation

Analysis;
Mathematical Methods

Computer Science
Engineering subjects…

Classical fields;
Quantum Mechanics;
Thermodynamics & Physical Chemistry

Organic Chemistry;
Inorganic Chemistry

Cell Biology
Ecosystems
Students will still be spending time on General Education requirements.

Declaring Major, and Levels 3 and 4

Robin Ball — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:52:28 GMT

Levels 3 and 4:

By year three students would have declared Major specialisation and their main teaching is largely departmental – although they must still spend time on General Education requirements. To declare Major students must meet departmentally set entry requirements, of prior courses and perhaps also grades. Probably need some de minimis Programme-based general degrees also.

For Major subjects we need some distinctive and career oriented offerings and not just the traditional subject names.

Some of the obvious suggestions with a few off-the-wall additions, and much bias to be corrected:
• Liberal Engineering
• Mathematics and Statistics, or MORSE
• Data Science
• Discrete Mathematics
• Maths and Physics

Synthetic Biology (SLS 24/9/15
Food Security (SLS 24/9/15)
(RCB previously suggested Mechanisitc/Systems Biology asoicated with Hooke programme)

• Computational Science (e.g. from Chemistry to Algorithms)
• Biomedical Science (for pre-Meds)
• Psychology and … (could any of the MSc titles be adapted for this?)

(Physics and Chemistry of) Materials (connect also to Enigneering?) (added 23/9/15)

Further Remarks

Robin Ball — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:45:23 GMT

What – teaching A-level? Given we are frequently heard moaning about how in the UK it is no longer done “properly”, we ought to be able to view this as an opportunity. Building on SAT (not GCSE!) could be a more homogeneous base, and remember that we can hire people with experience of the teaching level required.

Surely Depts should control admissions? Just think of the advantage in being able to do this later, at the end of what is year one in UK terms and with two years of student record to go on. So long as we are committed to providing accessible degree paths for students who do not meet the more stringent major requirements, this can be quite liberating.

We need to offer M level modules equivalent to what our undergraduate masters students get? You can: they are graduate level modules and bright/brave undergraduates can pull them forwards (possibly including from UC Davis).

Obviously the California students will be offered time at ��TV UK. Effort-wise, one efficient thing could be to fix that this is some particular year (or quarter or semester) and make it compulsory so we do not need to provide the corresponding teaching in California. Whilst the two Semester system is common in the US, University of California happens to use three Quarters roughly matching our terms except pulled forward by about a month.

Teaching Laboratory resources in California will take time to build up, with the high cost not easy to prioritise in early phases. We should aim to mitigate this through Lab experience in the UK. For example a California student might come to the UK for their Fall term starting early September and spend a month in labs before joining our term 1 (after which they would face a scramble to make start of California Winter term mid/late December), or they might come for term 3 and have our Labs to themselves…

However we also have to be realistic about the lab content of courses we first offer in California, and this is reflected in the sort of Major suggestions I have listed above. I can envisage some Dry teaching lab space in California shared between Engineering and Physics, and being of more limited interest for Chemistry and Life Science. How much Chemistry and Life Science could share common Synthetic/Wet lab space (not necessarily the same thing…) I am not sure: accessing Davis resources might be another way forward for these. Maybe we can find a radical new approach to Lab teaching, such as building it around secondments.

RCB 22/9/15

Suggestion from Mark Rodger 23/9/15: offer ��TV PhD students a teaching placement as a TA in California - for example to supervise lab component of a module.