Academics Overview: Coursework Requirements

ILS is a two-year curriculum of accelerated courses that begin at the sophomore level, taught in concert with our living-learning community in LaPlata Hall. Incoming new students must have completed rigorous STEM courses to be prepared for the advanced coursework, and live in our community for the first year of the program. Please see our Admissions FAQs for additional information on these prerequisite credits.

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 scientists for successful careers in the 21st century. Furthermore, all ILS courses emphasize innovative pedagogy strategies intended to encourage active engagement and small-group problem solving. 

living-learning community

ILS offers a powerful synergy between our academic core and the residential experience of our students. We strive to create an encouraging and relationship-based community that emphasizes self-care and wellbeing in pursuit of ambitious goals. To achieve this, ILS offers 1:1 advising for all first-year students, a Peer Mentor Program, a service-learning experience, partnerships with Resident Advisors, connection to a multitude of support resources on campus, team building experiences, social programming, a common curriculum, ILS seminar series, Teaching Assistants who are upperclass ILS students, and a caring staff of experts. Please see our ILS Community and Program FAQ pages for more information.