Proposal Title
Exploring Pathways to the Development of New Degree Majors within Undergraduate Science Education
Session Type
Poster
Room
PAB Atrium
Start Date
9-7-2013 5:30 PM
Keywords
B.Sc. majors, curriculum design, nanoscience, nutraceutical science
Primary Threads
Curriculum
Abstract
Over the past decade two new majors have been developed within the Bachelor of Science degree program at the University of Guelph; they are B.Sc. Nanoscience (NANO) and B.Sc. Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences (NANS). Both majors were developed in response to a rapid increase in basic research in the respective areas, and a corresponding dramatic increase in commercial activity that resulted, partially, from those basic research discoveries. Faculty members at the University of Guelph, intrigued by the new fields, designed and offered graduate courses on the topics.
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are emerging as new ways to examine complex phenomena that require a perspective view simultaneously from the more traditional disciplines of Chemistry, Physics and Biology. The research first grew out of the subfields of condensed matter physics, surface science, macromolecular chemistry, and cellular physiology.
Nutraceutical science is an emergent branch of food, nutritional, pharmacologic and health sciences that recognizes that food has an impact on human health that is greater than providing essential nutrients and energy. Bioactive chemicals in foods and food supplements have the capacity to provide a medicine-like function, altering the risk of a variety of chronic degenerative diseases.
The explosive growth of the new fields caused us to reflect upon the appropriateness of studying these interdisciplinary fields directly at the undergraduate level. We will compare and contrast the very different approaches to the subsequent development of these two undergraduate majors, with an emphasis on key decisions that shaped curriculum design.
Exploring Pathways to the Development of New Degree Majors within Undergraduate Science Education
PAB Atrium
Over the past decade two new majors have been developed within the Bachelor of Science degree program at the University of Guelph; they are B.Sc. Nanoscience (NANO) and B.Sc. Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences (NANS). Both majors were developed in response to a rapid increase in basic research in the respective areas, and a corresponding dramatic increase in commercial activity that resulted, partially, from those basic research discoveries. Faculty members at the University of Guelph, intrigued by the new fields, designed and offered graduate courses on the topics.
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are emerging as new ways to examine complex phenomena that require a perspective view simultaneously from the more traditional disciplines of Chemistry, Physics and Biology. The research first grew out of the subfields of condensed matter physics, surface science, macromolecular chemistry, and cellular physiology.
Nutraceutical science is an emergent branch of food, nutritional, pharmacologic and health sciences that recognizes that food has an impact on human health that is greater than providing essential nutrients and energy. Bioactive chemicals in foods and food supplements have the capacity to provide a medicine-like function, altering the risk of a variety of chronic degenerative diseases.
The explosive growth of the new fields caused us to reflect upon the appropriateness of studying these interdisciplinary fields directly at the undergraduate level. We will compare and contrast the very different approaches to the subsequent development of these two undergraduate majors, with an emphasis on key decisions that shaped curriculum design.