ISP Curriculum
ISP is based in Weinberg Colleges of Arts and Science (WCAS), and it is also open to students in McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (MEAS). Please see specific information about WCAS and MEAS requirements below.
Notes for ISP/Weinberg Students
In addition to the curriculum above, ISP/WCAS students must also fulfill the degree requirements for the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Please refer to the appropriate page based on your entering year.
PRE-SPRING 2023 Weinberg DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
POST-SPRING 2023 Weinberg DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Notes for ISP/McCormick Students
In addition to the curriculum above, ISP/MEAS students must also fulfill the degree requirements for the McCormick School of Engineering. Please refer to the document below for further details.
ISP Major Requirements
Following is the list of requirements to complete the ISP major. Please note that if you double major in ISP with certain other majors, your requirements for that second major will be modified. Double major students please see this page to learn more and to see sample 4 year schedules for double majors. At the bottom of this page, see a sample schedule for a student just pursuing an ISP major.
Whether or not you are pursuing one or more majors, the ISP first year curriculum is generally set. In the list below please note that first-year courses are highlighted in bold and that an asterisk (*) indicates that ISP 398 (Undergraduate Research) may substitute for up to three of these courses.
MATH
- MATH 281-1, 3 Multidimensional Calculus
- MATH 281-2 Vector Operations and Ordinary Differential Equations
- MATH 281-3, Systems of Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Infinite Series
- MATH 381, Boundary Value Problems and Partial Differential Equations
- *MATH 382 Complex Variables and Group Theory
PHYSICS
- PHYS 125-1/125-6, Mechanics with Lab
- PHYS 125-2/126-2, Electricity and Magnetism with Lab
- PHYS 125-3/125-3, Waves and Oscillations with Lab
- PHYS 339-1, Quantum Mechanics 1
- PHYS 339-2, Quantum Mechanics 2
- *PHYS 339-3 Nuclear and Particle Physics OR PHYS 337 Physics of Condensed Matter
CHEMISTRY
- CHEM 171/172, Advanced General Inorganic Chemistry with Lab
- CHEM 181/182 Advanced General Physical Chemistry with Lab
- CHEM 217-1/237-1, Accelerated Organic Chemistry with Lab
- CHEM 348, Physical Chemistry
BIOLOGY
- BIOL SCI 239 Fundamentals of Biological Mechanisms
- BIOL SCI 240 Fundamentals of Cellular Processes
- BIOL SCI 232 Molecular and Cellular Processes Laboratory
- BIOL SCI 233 Genetics and Molecular Processes Laboratory
- *One of the following courses
- BIOL SCI 241 Fundamentals of Multicellular Complexity
- BIOL SCI 301 Biochemistry (note that ISP+BIO, and ISP+CHEM double majors must take this course. It cannot be substituted for ISP 398)
- BIOL SCI 323 Bioinformatics: Sequence & Structure Analysis
- BIOLSCI 337 Biostatistics
- BIOL SCI 338 Modeling Biological Dynamics
- BIOL SCI 341 Population Genetics
- BIOL SCIE 354 Systems Biology
- BIOL SCI 361 Protein Structure and Function
- BIOL SCI 363 Biophysics
- BIOL SCI 390 Molecular Biology of Genome Editing and Engineering
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE
EARTH 350 Physics of the Earth
COMPUTER SCIENCE
COMP SCI 111 Fundamentals of Programming
STATISTICS
STAT 383 Probability and Statistics
ASTRONOMY
*ASTRON 331 Astrophysics
NEUROSCIENCE
*NEUROSCI 311 Biophysical Analysis of Neurons
SAMPLE ISP CURRICULUM
Courses in italics need to be taken in year one. Other courses have some timing flexibility, but this is a recommended plan if you are a single major. If you plan to double major, be sure to review the double majors page. In order to help you plan for other courses in year one, we provide the timing of the ISP courses for the 2024-2025 academic year. While we expect times to stay consistent in the future, they may be subject to change.
- Math 281-1-3: Each quarter it is planned to be offered 11-11:50am (MTuWF)
- Phys 125-1-3: Each quarter it is planned to be offered 10-10:50am (MTuWF)
- Phys 126-1-3: Each quarter you will be able to choose one of two lab times. For fall the options are Tu or W, 4-7pm
- Chem 171/172: 1-1:50pm (MTuWTh, Lecture and discussion).
Chem 181/182: 1-1:50pm (F) plus you will choose one of these lab times (M or Tu 2-4:20pm, Tu 2-4:20pm).
Fall Quarter | Winter Quarter | Spring Quarter |
---|---|---|
First Year |
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Mathematics 281-1 Physics 125-1 / 126-1 Chemistry 171 / 181 |
Mathematics 281-2 Physics 125-2 / 126-2 Chemistry 172 / 182 |
Mathematics 281-3 Physics 125-3 / 126-3 Computer Science 111 Biological Sciences 239 |
|
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Mathematics 381 Earth and Planetary Sciences 350 Chemistry 217-1 / 237-1 Biological Sciences 232 Biological Sciences 240 |
Mathematics 382* Biological Sciences 233 Physics 339-1 |
Physics 339-2 Chemistry 348 |
|
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Physics 339-3 or 337* |
Statistics 383 Biological Sciences 323* Neuroscience 311*† |
Astronomy 331*
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* ISP 398 (Undergraduate Research) may substitute for up to three of these courses.
† Course offered every other year. Next offering is winter 2026.