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Science & Engineering Education

1) Minerva provides a flexible science and engineering curriculum focused on hands-on research experiences. Students design individualized study plans and complete concentrations in areas like physics, chemistry, biology, data science, and more. 2) Key aspects of the curriculum include summer internships in research labs around the world, senior tutorials focused on topics of the students' choice, and a two-year capstone research project. 3) The goal is for students to gain practical research skills through authentic lab experiences, rather than traditional classroom labs, to prepare them for careers in science, engineering, medicine and more.

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Siuzanna Karagulova
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43 views7 pages

Science & Engineering Education

1) Minerva provides a flexible science and engineering curriculum focused on hands-on research experiences. Students design individualized study plans and complete concentrations in areas like physics, chemistry, biology, data science, and more. 2) Key aspects of the curriculum include summer internships in research labs around the world, senior tutorials focused on topics of the students' choice, and a two-year capstone research project. 3) The goal is for students to gain practical research skills through authentic lab experiences, rather than traditional classroom labs, to prepare them for careers in science, engineering, medicine and more.

Uploaded by

Siuzanna Karagulova
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

SCIENCE &
ENGINEERING
EDUCATION
Science & Engineering Education 2

Introduction

The Minerva Schools at KGI are dedicated to educating the brightest, most
motivated students in the world. Within the Colleges of Natural Sciences
and Computational Sciences, we provide those interested in science and
engineering with the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to begin
successful careers. The purpose of this document is to explain briefly
how Minerva educates and prepares students for the best post-graduate
opportunities in science and engineering, including, but not limited to
medical school, graduate studies, or employment in science — as well as
technology-oriented industries and government laboratories. Our students
majoring in the natural or computational sciences may also choose careers
in policy and law, in which their strong science and engineering backgrounds
will make them highly competitive as the world’s societies become
increasingly more influenced and impacted by science and technology.

Minerva has designed a flexible, student-centered curriculum that will


enable students to gain the broad lifelong learning skills that come with
a liberal arts education, while also obtaining the practical knowledge
and hands-on experiences needed for science and engineering. Minerva
faculty work closely with each student to design an individual study plan
based on the student’s interests. The flexible curriculum provides students
with the fundamentals of science and engineering, enabling them to
emphasize physics, chemistry or biology, or to combine disciplines, which
is very important for success in the twenty-first century. The six required
courses for each major and concentration provide the fundamentals
and breadth, while the multiple, individually-designed tutorials and the
senior Capstone project provide in-depth exploration of topics the student
selects. A key aspect of science and engineering training is providing
relevant, practical experiences in authentic research laboratories. Through
summer and term-time internships in research laboratories around the
world, students will have opportunities to carry out faculty-mentored
research projects, in which the students actually do science and engineering,
rather than merely learning about it through coursework. Minerva
administrators and faculty actively help students obtain such internships.
Science & Engineering Education 3

Flexible Curriculum

A Student-Centered Approach

In science and engineering we offer six broad concentrations, in both the


College of Natural Sciences and the College of Computational Sciences (see
sidebar). Students can combine concentrations within a college and across
colleges. Following the three foundational courses for the major, individual
concentration have three courses that provide a springboard for further,
personalized study. Central to this approach are senior-year Tutorial courses
and the final Capstone project. Each Tutorial consists of three students and
a professor, studying a topic chosen by the students; the Capstone project
spans two years, and allows students to produce something novel in a field
of their choosing. Depending on their interests and career goals, students
may also take third- and fourth-year courses from the other colleges.

Potential Academic Paths

The following table illustrates how the curriculum works. These


examples for the Natural Sciences major should be viewed as only
a few of a vast number of study plans students can follow.

Area of Interest Concentration(s)


Physical or Chemical Double-concentration:
Engineering Molecules and Atoms + Designing Solutions

Bioengineering Double-concentration:
Cells and Organisms + Designing Solutions

Graduate Study in Theoretical Foundations of Natural Science


Natural Science + Second concentration in one of the following:
· Physics Molecules and Atoms
· Chemistry Molecules and Atoms
· Life Sciences Cells and Organisms
· Earth Sciences Earth’s Systems

Health Sciences Cells and Organisms


+ Second concentration in one of the following:
· Medical School Theoretical Foundations of Natural Science
· Biotechnology Careers Research Analyses in Natural Science
Science & Engineering Education 4

Flexible Curriculum

Majors and Concentrations

All majors at Minerva are organized into matrices to enable inter- and mul-
tidisciplinary studies. Each row and each column of a matrix represents
a different concentration, with required courses listed in each cell. This
structure allows double-concentration with only two additional courses.

Computational Sciences Concentrations


Computational Contemporary Applied Problem
Theory and Analysis Knowledge Solving
Discovery

Computer Science CS142 / Computability CS152 / Harnessing CS162 / Software


and Artificial and Complexity Artificial Intelligence Development: Building
Intelligence Algorithms Powerful Applications

Mathematics CS144 / Principles of CS154 / Contemporary CS164 / Modeling,


and Operations Advanced Mathematics Applied Mathematics Simulation, and
Research Decision Making

Data Science CS146 / Modern CS156 / Machine CS166 / Building Useful


and Statistics Computational Learning for Science and Usable Database
Statistics and Profit Systems

Natural Sciences Concentrations


Theoretical Research Analyses Designing Solutions
Foundations of in Natural Science
Natural Science

Molecules NS142 / Analyzing and NS152 / Advancing NS162 / Designer


and Atoms Synthesizing Matter Chemistry and Physics Chemicals and Devices

Cells and NS144 / Analyzing Life NS154 / Probing Life NS164 / Solutions from
Organisms and for Life

Earth’s Systems NS146 / Exploring NS156 / Monitoring NS166 / Keeping Earth


Earth’s Emergent and Modeling Earth’s Habitable
Systems Systems
Science & Engineering Education 5

Flexible Curriculum

Seminar Classes

All classes at Minerva are taught as seminars on the Active Learning Forum,
our proprietary software platform. Students are not limited to reading about
how to do science because the platform provides opportunities for students to
explore scientific and engineering methods, through simulations and access
to remote facilities. Because Minerva is not a “bricks and mortar” institution,
it does not have teaching laboratories, where in traditional universities
science and engineering students practice pre-designed “experiments” (i.e.,
classroom exercises) and techniques in their physics, chemistry, biology
and engineering classes. These laboratory courses are typically taught in
environments very different from those where actual research is carried out
and do not provide students with the skill sets needed for either graduate
study or employment in industry. It is now widely recognized that employers
and graduate schools are looking for students who have had experience doing
actual research with individual faculty, working on real projects (see below).

Students will also take multiple tutorials, in which a total of three students
will work with a faculty member to design deeper dives into areas of
interest. These tutorials can be designed to expand on and complement
research laboratory experiences in specific areas of science and engineering
that meet the student’s learning and career goals. Students will also
design and carry out their Capstone Project with faculty guidance.
Science & Engineering Education 6

Research and Laboratories

Practical Experience

Graduate and professional school admissions committees and employers


downplay laboratory coursework because it does not actually teach practical
knowledge or useful skills. Rather, it is widely recognized that students learn
through hands-on experiences in research laboratories. In these experiences
students work closely with faculty members and graduate students to
generate hypotheses, design and perform experiments. Minerva’s approach
is to help students learn how to conduct science and/or engineering by
experiencing it. At Minerva, students will reside in seven major world cities
during their four years, which provides many opportunities to visit and work
in research facilities of universities, research institutes, and national and
industrial laboratories around the world. Minerva students also have a four-
month long summer break, during which students can complete extensive
research-based internships. Numerous opportunities exist, including in the
laboratories of Keck Graduate Institute and multiple Research Experiences
for Undergraduates (REU) summer programs at multiple universities.

Working Partnerships

Minerva faculty work closely with individual students to identify summer


or academic year opportunities that allow them to explore their research
interests. These opportunities might include working directly with
Minerva faculty who are actively conducting research, pursuing internships
in other laboratories or participating in formal competitive Research
Experiences for Undergraduates, such as those supported by the US
National Science Foundation or similar programs in other countries.
Minerva Schools at KGI 7
1145 Market Street, Ninth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103

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