The School of Interdisciplinary Science offers a variety of courses with a strong focus on interdisciplinary content and active learning so that learning occurs by doing.
Special activities are designed to give students the ability to see and simplify relationships in complex systems and find applications through relating theory with real-world experience.
Students gain practical, hands-on experience in varied subjects and gain course credit at the same time.
Explore some of these exciting experiences in the classroom, in a lab or in the field. See how you can genuinely enrich your academic learning and develop new skills!
The EXPLORE courses are open to students in the Faculty of Science, Arts and Science, Social Sciences, and Humanities. Level 4 EXPLORE courses are most suited to students in Level 3 and above of their degree.
There are no EXPLORE courses being offered for the 2022 Fall Term. Please see information below regarding the 2021-2022 offering.
Expandable List
EXPLORE 4II3: The beginning of science: ancient Egyptian and Babylonian conceptions of time and space (Fall 2021)
Instructor: Dr. Sarah Symons: symonss@mcmaster.ca
Instructor: Dr. Eshbal Ratzon: eshbal@gmail.com
Bio: Dr. Sarah Symons is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Science, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She was educated in the UK, gaining a BSc Honours Degree in Mathematics and Astronomy and PhD in History of Astronomy in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Leicester. Her research in history of astronomy concentrates on interpreting astronomical texts and instruments from ancient Egypt and investigating how the night sky was perceived, explained, and depicted. She is the editor of the ancient Egyptian astronomy database, an online resource for scholars, and co-edited Down to the Hour: Short Time in the Ancient Mediterranean with Kassandra Jackson Miller in 2019.
Bio: Dr. Eshbal Ratzon is a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University. She holds a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Jewish Studies, both from Tel Aviv University. After the completion of her doctoral dissertation she worked at several institutions as a post-doctoral fellow including Princeton University and the Cohn Institute. Her fields of research are ancient science and Second Temple Jewish literature. She has published several articles about Babylonian astronomy, and its influence on Jewish science.
This course is a virtual, 3-credit, graded, course which is co-taught in McMaster, Canada, and Tel Aviv University, Israel.
The course addresses the origins of scientific activity – investigating, measuring, and describing natural phenomena and the passing of time – in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia recorded via texts, diagrams, instruments, and the built environment.
Proposed Schedule:
Tutorials: Thursdays (10:30 – 11:20am) Sept 16th – Dec 2nd, 2021.
Class: (09:30 – 11:30am) Oct 19th – Dec 7th, 2021
Prerequisties: NONE
Through our pass or fail EXPLORE courses, students gain practical skills and hands-on experiences while earning course credit. The purpose of such courses is to encourage students to take part in a unique learning experience in a small sized setting (roughly 10-20 students) that is outside of their core area of study so that they may develop additional skills and take intellectual risks keeping in mind that a pass or fail assessment will not have an impact on a cumulative GPA.
A one-unit course credit translates to roughly 12 hours of time in the classroom or in the field, although the total time may vary between courses. The shorter timeline for most EXPLORE courses is to allow students to learn about a different topic of study, without the commitment of a semester-long 3-unit course.
Given their small sized setting, EXPLORE courses can help students build meaningful connections with course instructors and peers, and assist in the development of personal, professional, and academic goals.
There are currently no EXPLORE 3IE1 courses offered for 2022-2023.
Please Note:
• Payment of McMaster course credit fees (i.e. tuition and supplementary fees) for EXPLORE 3IE courses is IN ADDITION to the module fees if applicable.
Through our pass or fail EXPLORE courses, students gain practical skills and hands-on experiences while earning course credit. The purpose of such courses is to encourage students to take part in a unique learning experience in a small sized setting (roughly 10-20 students) that is outside of their core area of study so that they may develop additional skills and take intellectual risks keeping in mind that a pass or fail assessment will not have an impact on a cumulative GPA.
A one-unit course credit translates to roughly 12 hours of time in the classroom or in the field, although the total time may vary between courses. The shorter timeline for most EXPLORE courses is to allow students to learn about a different topic of study, without the commitment of a semester-long 3-unit course.
Given their small sized setting, EXPLORE courses can help students build meaningful connections with course instructors and peers, and assist in the development of personal, professional, and academic goals.
There are currently no EXPLORE 3IE1 courses offered for 2022-2023.
Please Note:
• Payment of McMaster course credit fees (i.e. tuition and supplementary fees) for EXPLORE 3IE courses is IN ADDITION to the module fees if applicable.
Interdisciplinary Sciences Field Camp
SCIENCE 3IS3: Interdisciplinary Sciences Field Camp
An interdisciplinary field camp experience to introduce students to field investigations, equipment and methodologies used by a range of professionals including ecologists, earth and environmental scientists. Most of this course occurs outside the regular academic term, usually within the two weeks following the end of term in April or within the two weeks preceding the start of term in September; details and applications are available in December. View previous 2019 Iceland Fieldtrip Camp Presentation below.
Iceland 3IS3 Application – TBA