This course provides students with the key concepts underlying public health as a system and social endeavor. It will explore pressing public health challenges, including communicable diseases, environmental health, social inequalities in health, health care, public responses to emergencies, and reduction of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and violence.

Consent of instructor required. Students will learn and apply basic concepts of epidemiology, using collaborative learning through project activities, case students, peer discussion, and independent research. Students will examine the impact of social conditions and identify factors that account for adverse health at the population level, and use epidemiology to promote positive health outcomes.

Analyzes the evolution of the U.S. health system and compares it with health systems of other selected countries. Examines health systems as social institutions, developing a broad, contextual understanding of health system development and change across a range of cultural, political and economic environments. Investigates the impact of social institutions on the structure of health systems, on policy choices, and on the provision and receipt of care.

Consent of instructor required. Normally open only to senior public health majors. Addresses the history of public health, discusses the current fields of public health and offers the student the opportunity to explore and learn about employment and graduate opportunities through readings, video and film, guest speakers, field trips, presentations, and other activities.

Consent of instructor required. Provides a supervised professional experience off campus. Potential sites include clinical settings, community health centers, government agencies, hopsitals, laboratories, and nonprofit organizations. Includes a weekly seminar. Placement is the students' responsibility, with the support of the Career Education Center and the approval of the department. Arrangements should be made with the student's advisor by the end of the junior year.

A hands-on introduction to the concepts and methods of logic as they apply in real life. Students learn how to use the 'toolbox' of informal logic to think critically about everyday issues, claims, and arguments, and to detect common argument patterns, logical fallacies, and rhetorical devices in daily social and political discourse.

Focuses on the theoretical approaches to ethics in the classical Western tradition (Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill) and in multicultural and contemporary perspectives. Topics include theories of the good, moral relativism, concepts of moral obligation, definitions of virtue, and utilitarian philosophy.

Examines moral questions concerning rights and responsibilities in professional biomedical relationships. Includes issues such as truth-telling, informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, patient self-determination, reproductive technologies, euthanasia, eugenics, and broader questions of justice in health care.

Examines philosophical themes and issues found in major works of literature and film. Based on a realization that meaning and truth arise through reflection upon everyday lived reality, we explore how one lives, struggles, and creates meaning in one's search for identity, wholeness, and truth by examining works of literature and film through various lenses of critical analysis.

Explores the nature of human consciousness and the self. Focuses on the views of contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and Asian religious thinkers; readings include classical authors such as Descartes as well as contemporary philosophers such as Daniel Dennett.

Discusses the age-old question concerning the meaning of life as it has been explored in world philosophies. Themes include the roles of God and spirituality in life, the significance of death, freedom versus determinism, the possible absurdity of life, and the importance of goals such as happiness in our existence.

An introduction to astronomy �" the Solar System, Deep Space, and Astrophysics. Topics include astronomical observation techniques and instrumentation, stellar evolution, galaxies, modern cosmological theories, the planets, the Solar System, cosmic origins, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

Teaches the fundamentals of physics for students with preparation in algebra and trigonometry. Topics drawn from electricity and magnetism, heat, waves, sound, optics, and modern physics. Three hours of lecture, a three-hour laboratory, and one-hour interactive problem-solving session per week.

Concentrates on the subjects of electricity, and magnetism and on the concepts of particles and fields. Additional material drawn from kinetic theory, heat, and thermodynamics. Second course in physics for science majors. Three hours of lecture and a three-hour laboratory per week.

Students will have the opportunity to build research skills in the laboratory and theoretical sciences by becoming involved in active research projects in the Department of Chemistry and Physics. Undergraduate students in all majors are encouraged to participate.

Examines the fundamental principles of Newtonian mechanics; the conservation laws, the dynamics of a particle, including oscillations and central force motion; and the dynamics of a system of particles.

Covers the wave mechanical treatment of atoms, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, theories of chemical bonding, and molecular structure. Laboratory work comprises spectroscopic and computer modeling studies. Three hours of lecture and a four-hour laboratory per week.<br /><br /><b>Student Completed CHEM-216, PHYS 115, or CHEM-115; Minimum grade C- or Instructor Consent.</b>

Consent of instructor required. Selection of a research project involving scientific literature search and related laboratory work. Results presented in a research paper and a poster presentation.

Consent of instructor required. Selection of a research project involving scientific literature search, followed by laboratory work required for solution of the problem. Results presented in a thesis and a poster presentation.

Required of all chemistry and biochemistry majors completing CHEM 355. Includes instruction and preparation for technical writing such as a manuscript or senior thesis. Students will prepare and practice several oral presentations, culminating with a seminar on their independent study research open to the entire Simmons community. Two hours per week.

This course introduces students to major topics in international relations: power politics, IR theories of the origins of conflict, war, and cooperation, international trade and markets, international organizations and law, North-South relations, global environmental problems, the commons, globalization, and terrorism. The course will cover contemporary issues in interstate relations.

Introduces the study of governments other than the U.S. Countries selected for study include France, Russia, the People's Republic of China, and Egypt. Topics include political culture and socialization, political parties and institutions, the impact of socioeconomic transformations on politics (revolutions, coups d'tat, opposition parties), and the ways regimes respond to challenges.

Analyzes the Supreme Court's decisions in recent decades, with emphasis on the constitutional rights that individuals have against states and the federal government. Considers the court's impact on debates over privacy, race and sex discrimination, freedom of expression, and religion.

This course looks at the development of international organizations and their role in the post-Cold-War era. The course analyzes both the problems and processes of international organizations through case studies of different interventions. Focuses on the United Nations and its role in resolving international conflict. The course studies the development and increasing scope of international law, including the issues of war crimes and right to protect.

Discusses classic and contemporary theories of political justice. Topics include the relationship of personal ethics to political justice, the extent of our obligations to the state, the nature and proper scope of liberty and equality, and the relationship of justice to various economic and social systems.

This course aims to engage students in a discussion on transgender social, cultural, and political issues. Rather than focusing on individual identity, we will turn to structural and institutional forms of power that focus on gender. How have trans people historically resisted their subjugation and exclusion? What would transgender justice look like?

Why does Costa Rica serve as a model for democracy and development, while next-door neighbor Nicaragua remains one of the poorest countries in the world, mired in a struggle to democratize? Why have democratic regimes in Chile and Uruguay consolidated, while Venezuela and Ecuador have experienced a steady erosion of democratic institutions and norms? While some suggest that institutions, culture, or the timing of elections in democratic transitions play dominant roles in explaining these divergent outcomes, others point to the Cold War, neo-imperialism, and the resource curse as factors holding back would-be democracies. This course uses a comparative case study approach to test the major theories of democratic transition, focusing on the experiences of Central and South American countries.

Consent of department required. Open to students in political science wishing to do advanced work with a member of the department.

Analyzes global politics from a feminist and gendered perspective on foreign policies, conduct of war, military, and prospects for development. Explores gender and sexuality in the construction of nationalism and identity, justice for war crimes and human rights abuses, trafficking in persons, resolution of conflict, and terrorism.

Consent of department required.

This course aims to engage students in a discussion on transgender social, cultural, and political issues. Rather than focusing on individual identity, we will turn to structural and institutional forms of power that focus on gender. How have trans people historically resisted their subjugation and exclusion? What would transgender justice look like?

Analyzes global politics from a feminist and gendered perspective on foreign policies, conduct of war, military, and prospects for development. Explores gender and sexuality in the construction of nationalism and identity, justice for war crimes and human rights abuses, trafficking in persons, resolution of conflict, and terrorism.

Surveys contemporary approaches to the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Covers topics from neurons to neuroses, including perception, memory, social interaction, personality, and mental disorders.

Considers some of the ways behavior and experience are related to biological processes. Classroom and laboratory topics include brain structure and function, drugs and addiction, brain damage, sleep and consciousness, stress, memory and amnesia, and mental illness. Includes lectures and laboratory sessions.

An introduction to methodologies and statistical analyses used in psychological research, including surveys, observation, correlation, and experiments. Lectures and lab activities emphasize critical-thinking in the evaluation of scientific evidence.

An introduction to a specialized topic within the field of psychology. Offerings will vary.

Explores the nature and dynamics of psychological disorders including anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, mood disorders, and addiction. Emphasizes the issue of individual psychological growth and the interrelationship of normal and abnormal phenomena.

Explores the biological, psychological, and social factors related to health and illness. Includes discussion of the biological factors involved in prevention and treatment; the role of personal factors such as lifestyle choices, stress, addictions, and coping mechanisms; and social factors related to compliance and health care delivery.

Considers the theoretical approaches and methodological issues involved in understanding normative development from conception to adolescence. Examines the origins and progression of biological, perceptual, cognitive, social, and emotional systems, as well as the complex interactions among them, via lecture, discussion, demonstration, and observation. Childrearing and education implications are discussed.

(Previously Memory, Thought, and Language) Examines the mental processes that underlie perception, attention, memory, language, and reasoning from the perspective of psychological theory, experimental findings, and everyday experience.

Explores the psychological, biological, and societal factors that influence drug use. Focuses on the neurochemical bases of drug action and the experimental paradigms used in studying the behavioral effects of drugs. Topics include illegal and legal drugs, including medications for mental illness.

Examines behavior as it is influenced by other people and social situations. Studies social influence, person perception, interaction, attitude change, and group dynamics.

<b>Consent of instructor required. Must also be registered for PSYC 301L.</b><br />Provides opportunity for participation as a member of a research team in all phases of a laboratory study. Includes seminar discussion of current evidence regarding selected topics, design of an experiment, collection and analysis of data, and preparation of a report for publication. Includes lectures and laboratory sessions.

Consent of instructor required. Surveys the methods psychologists use to investigate personality. Topics include how theories of personality guide hypothesis development, research ethics and design, data collection and analysis, and the presentation of research findings. Students will gain direct experience in conducting a research project in personality psychology. Includes a laboratory component.

Consent of instructor required. Introduces the role of the clinician, diagnostic assessment, psychological treatment, and clinical research. Considers psychotherapy as a mode of treatment for disordered behavior.<b>Completed PSYC 230, 231 OR 232 and Instructor Consent Only </b>

Consent of instructor required. Normally open only to seniors. Addresses the intellectual history of controversial themes that cut across the psychology curriculum, such as mind vs. body, nature vs. nurture, and normal vs. abnormal. Challenging readings reveal the basis for our modern theories and practices, highlighting the connections between other courses in the major.

Consent of instructor required.

Consent of department required.

<div>The Capstone is a culminating academic project where you will develop your skills for critically evaluating research-based claims in the field of psychology. Focusing on a topic of interest to you, you will have the opportunity to explore popular press claims about human behavior and to critically evaluate such claims by reading, interpreting, and synthesizing empirical evidence. You will also have the opportunity to advance your skills for explaining and communicating scientific information to various audiences and in different formats. This course is asynchronous, but will provide opportunities for engagement with your peers and instructor.</div><div></div>

Consent of instructor required. Provides staff-supervised experience to seniors in a variety of service and research settings. Involves exposure to activities such as counseling, psychological testing, special education, human resources, interviewing, psychotherapy, and laboratory research.