McMaster Integrated Science
The Honours Integrated Science Program (also known as iSci) is a course offered at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It has an interdisciplinary teaching staff from the sciences and emphasizes scientific literacy and research-oriented learning. Upper year students can concentrate their studies in one of eleven disciplines such as biophysics and chemistry to complete the equivalent credits of a standard university honours course.
| Established | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Director | Dr. Carolyn Eyles |
| Undergraduates | 240 |
| Location | , , Canada |
| Website | www |
Curriculum
McMaster Integrated Science is a four-year undergraduate program that offers 66 units of iSci courses (out of a total of 120 required to graduate). Electives can be taken to complete the necessary units for a concentration or minor in an area outside the faculty of science. The classes specific to iSci are in the form XAYY like all McMaster courses, where X is the year and YY is the number of units. Its courses are 1A24, 2A18, 3A12 and 4A12.
Students learn to integrate concepts and methods from different disciplines (i.e. physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, psychology, and earth science) in standard lecture format and research module-oriented learning. By adopting the scientific method, these long-term projects encourage integrated science students to develop formal scientific writing styles, professional citation habits, perspective, and a broad understanding of scientific experiments and use of experimental data. Standard module format combines dossier writing with hands-on laboratory experiments and relevant presentations by visiting scientists and businessmen.
Starting in second year, students can select a "concentration". Concentrations allow students to choose a specific scientific discipline to take courses in throughout their second, third, and fourth year studies. Courses offered in concentrations are taken alongside iSci courses and so are taken in addition to research projects. The complete list of concentrations is as follows:
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Chemical Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Geography and Environmental Sciences
- Mathematics & Statistics
- Medical & Biological Physics
- Physics
- Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour[1]
iTeach
iTeach is the faculty of iSci responsible for teaching and facilitating all iSci courses. iCore is the group within this that facilitates the functioning of the iSci program as a whole.
ISCI 1A24
The first year iSci course, ISCI 1A24, consists of 6 year-long components. These are Mathematics, Chemistry, Life Science, Physics, Earth Science, and Science Literacy. Throughout the year, students are also tasked with completing five interdisciplinary research projects (RPs). The themes of these are water contamination, planning a mission to mars, drug doses and biodistribution, renewable energy, and cancer. These projects require understanding of concepts learned in each of the individual components and teach students about the research process as well as applications of their knowledge in the real world.
ISCI 2A18
The second year iSci course, ISCI 2A18, consists of 4 six-week modules, 2 ten-week modules, and 2 year-long modules. The six-week modules are Plant-Animal Interactions (PAIx), Drug Discovery (DD), History of the Earth (HotE), and an Enrichment Project (EP). The ten-week modules are Neuroscience and Thermodynamics. Each of these consist of lectures, lab work, and a culminating project or projects that span the length of the module, with the exception being EP. EP is a year-end module where the students have an opportunity to pursue a project of their own design in a field of their choice with an iSci faculty supervisor.
The year-long modules are Mathematics and Science Literacy. Mathematics consists of 3 hours of lecture a week as well as four assignments, six quizzes, online homework, and one midterm. Science Literacy in second year is an entirely independent module, where students are required to complete suitable work to earn marks (writing blog posts, science communication reflections, and more).
ISCI 3A12
The third year iSci course, ISCI 3A12, consists of 3 modules in the first term and one in the second, along with an Individual Project (IP). There is also a year long module of Science Literacy. The 4 project-based courses are Forensics Investigation, Wine Science (WS), Climate Change (CC), and The Light Universe and Everything (LUE). IPs may consist of items such as wet lab work, a mathematical model, a literature review, and a video.
ISCI 4A12
The fourth year iSci course, ISCI 4A12, consists of an independent undergraduate thesis course (9 credits), and a seminar component (3 credits).[2]
The iScientist
The iScientist was founded in 2013 by the students and faculty of the Integrated Science program at McMaster University. The founding Editor-in-Chief of The iScientist was Andrew Colgoni, who is the Services Librarian and an iCore member in the Integrated Science Program at McMaster University. The journal's editorial board currently consists of students in School of Interdisciplinary Sciences (SIS).
The iSci Society
The iSci Society is a student-run and student-elected committee that handles the concerns of the student body and relays them to the faculty of iSci, iTeach.
iCreate
iCreate is a creative publication founded in 2017 by Angela Dittrich and Meghan Kates. It contains creative art pieces, poems, writing, photographs, and an advice column submitted by iSci students. It currently has four issues published.
The iStudy
The iStudy is a private study space on the third floor of Thode Library, accessible to only iSci students. The space includes large 6-seat tables for group work, as well as two sitting areas with sofa chairs. It also contains a selection of textbooks and journals donated by iSci students, as well as a number of whiteboards for students to use. The space is a favourite of many iScis and is found in close proximity to ThINK space, as well as the SIS office.
iSci Terminology
iSci students tend to use many terms that pertain to the specific aspects of the program and they include, but are not limited to:
- iStapler: the beloved tool used to hold the iSci student lab reports together
- iCry: a common sentiment felt by iSci students during midterm and exam season
- iTeach: the faculty of iSci that is responsible for teaching iSci courses
- iSNL: the yearly variety show that celebrates the program