I am not a science person so hoping there may be others that can share some insights/advice. My daughter, a prospective Anthropology or English major (also not a science person) needs to fulfill a lab science requirement. She did well in HS in Bio, Chem, Honors Physics and APES. I think she knows enough to know that at the college level, Bio, Chem and Physics would probably be a mistake. She’s leaning toward Earth Science thinking maybe it would be easier but is intrigued by Neuroscience because she has taken an into level psych course enjoyed it and the topic sounds more interesting to her. She’s afraid it might be too much like bio or chem though. Neither class has any prerequisite and she’d be taking 3 other humanities/social science courses in addition.
If it matters, she’s a hard worker, handles the college workload just fine and she’d be in a small class with good resources for help. She’s asking around at her school but I thought the wise minds here might have some experience. Thanks for the help!
FWIW, my neuro classes were nothing like my psychology courses. They were definitely bio courses and pretty hard core science.
I think your daughter is doing the right thing by asking at her school. Some “easy on paper” courses can turn out to be very difficult based on the professor. She’ll get the best information from her peers for sure.
My son is in a similar situation. He’s taking the Earth Science next year, based on the subject matter and hearing the professor was better (and dad being an earth science teacher! Hopefully something rubbed off!). Our neighbor’s son at the same school opted for Chem a couple years ago and ended up dropping it mid semester to avoid failing!
Sounds like your D has a much better science background than my son. Asking around at school is probably the best bet.
The "asking around at her school"is the way to go. Most colleges have some version of Physics for Poets. Even if the college does not acknowledge it as a gut course in the catalog, the older students and/or the course reviews will know the scoop.
If your daughter is interested in anthropology, especially if that includes physical anthropology, taking a good fundamental course in science can be very useful background for her career. She should look at the alternative courses, including syllabi if possible, and then make a decision.
The point of a multidisciplinary curriculum requirements is to familiarize students with many ways of contending intellectually. Earth science is a good choice, it seems to me. Two of my uncles have been geologists, and it’s an amazingly broad field.
If there is an easy version of chem which fulfills the requirement, that’s likely the course that is the most applicable to an anthropology major. Lab techniques, some of the basic science around carbon dating, learning the equipment used-- if she ends up in anthropology, she’ll have a few courses that build on this stuff.
I was an anthropology major for about a week back in college- the first class in the sequence (a lab course-- I got stuck in the section studying primate development, and spent a few weeks measuring monkey jaws) was enough to send me packing. But a good intro to chem course would have been really helpful (I had taken HS chem and hated it).
The first day in the lab- looking up at the periodic table- I realized that I was woefully unprepared for a class which had no prerequisites!!!
Many colleges have other sciences that fulfill these requirements. Check her college - some will allow computer science, nutrition or health science, environmental/weather science, plant/horticulture,etc. to satisfy this type of requirement.
I took a physics course for non-science majors that was referred to as Physics for Dummies. I didn’t care…it fulfilled my science requirement general ed course. But I will say…it was not an easy course. I did enjoy it.
Adding, my major had a ton of science courses…anatomy, acoustics, speech science, but my major courses did not (oddly) fulfill the General ed science course.
Perhaps go through the catalog and find all of the introductory level courses that are listed as satisfying the requirement?
Obviously, the courses for majors will be harder, and the ones with pre-meds will have competitive students looking for A grades, so she may want to remove those from the list.
But then she may be able to find something of interest in the remaining list.
If the college is one that is hinted at by your posting history, it does offer various non-major introductory level science courses with labs (including in typical science departments like biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as other departments) that are listed as fulfilling the natural science requirement.
Just wanted to stop back in and say thank you for the advice. She found one class geared toward non majors and heard that earth science is popular among the non science folk along with one particular section of neuroscience that is challenging but not horrible if you’re interested in the topic. She’ll probably pick among those depending on scheduling. Appreciate all the advice and personal experience that was shared!
make sure that she looks to see if that neuroscience course has any prereqs or recommended classes, i.e., Chem or Bio. If the course is approved for STEM majors or premed, stay away.
I had to take three semesters of science back in the day. English major. I had done well in Science in HS but definitely not my thing. I took two of Astronomy (had labs but not difficult) and one called “Oceans”. Not rigorous enough for an -ography at the end, lol. Dull but easy. I actually loved the Astro classes–lectures by a now well-known astronomer and writer.
There is no such thing as “easy” chemistry- they don’t offer fluff courses in that (was an undergrad chem major) or those for nonscience people I ever heard of. The basics are universal- not a “survey” course field. UW had/has? “Physics for Poets” but it was solid physics and not fluff as I understand it. I personally think nonSTEM majors get away with far less science than science types needing other areas. It is good for all to have breadth and not only depth in one or two fields. Even for STEM majors it can be fun to take a class purely for the fun of it and not because it is useful for one’s major.