NST1060 Science & Technology of Oceans
4 CreditsOver 70% of the globe is covered by ocean. Marine systems are a nexus of life - crucial sources of protein for human populations, reservoirs of minerals, and regulators of the global climate. However, human populations have increased demand for ocean resources in greater numbers than is ecologically sustainable. In addition, the ocean serves as a dumping ground for many types of waste, resulting in waters degraded by pollution. The objective of this course is to give you a basic understanding of the physical, biological, and chemical processes driving ocean fundamentals. In addition, we will examine how human demand on marine resources impacts ocean communities.
This course will stress the importance of the scientific method - both in principle and in practice. Extensive discussion of human environmental impacts on the ocean (e.g., climate change, marine pollution, overfishing) will enhance perspectives of self-awareness and ethical decision-making related to social, economic and environmental responsibility and sustainability (SEERS). Critical analysis is emphasized in class discussions, exam questions, lab reports, written assignments, and the group project. Assignments facilitate development of logical communication skills, appropriate use of graphs and tables, and organizing, synthesizing, evaluating and interpreting scientific information. Through lab and group activities, this course fosters team work and ability to work with others. International and multicultural perspectives are integral to the course, since the oceans influence on human populations is global, both directly on the coasts, and indirectly away from the coasts (via weather, climate, and seafood production).
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1060
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1010 Science & Technology of Space
4 CreditsThe evolution and structure of the universe are explained using underlying basic physical principles along with the historical development of our present understanding. We will explore the instruments and data collection techniques used by astronomers and learn how they can be applied to solve problems in other disciplines.
Prerequisites: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1010
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1090 Science & Technology of Sports
4 NST1 Credits
From the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games in 760 BC to the present, humans have long been captivated by sports. Humans are competitive by nature, and while sports are thrilling to both watch and play, sports are also a powerful demonstration of science. Every sport from soccer to cricket, baseball to softball, football, swimming and track and field all involve a complex symphony of science, technology, engineering, and math. This course will explore the science that underlies sport, specifically incorporating the traditional scientific disciplines of anatomy and physiology, physics, psychology, biomechanics and math. We will explore the systems of the human body that make it possible for a pitcher to throw a baseball at 100 mph, a marathoner to run 26.2 miles in just under 2 hours or a figure skater to land a quadruple axle. We will explore how science contributes to the limits of human speed, strength and endurance. We have accumulated considerable amount of information that contributes to our understanding of health, the human body and human performance in relation to sport and exercise. We will explore a range of topics from the effects of exercise on heart rate, oxygen consumption, muscle function and fatigue, joint mechanics, metabolism and concussion. Importantly, we will put the concepts we learn in class into practice in the lab and on the field to test them and collect and use data to critically analyze athletic performance and the underlying scientific principles that define it.
Prerequires: None
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1090
- Number of Credits: 4
NST1040 Science of Biotechnology
4 Foundation Liberal Arts CreditsThis course will provide you with a broad review of the basic scientific concepts, ethical considerations, and practical applications of biotechnology in our daily lives. We will discuss the regulations, technologies, and methods used by academic research laboratories, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, and forensic scientists. Through this course, you will gain a number of different perspectives on personalized medicine, stem cells, drug discovery, development, and regulation, food, and the environment, all of which are directly connected to human health and well-being. By the end of this course, you will recognize the importance of biotechnology in the world today and see multiple scales of its application from molecular to global levels. You will be able to compare and contrast the positive and negative contributions biotechnology has made to our lives and you will grasp its strengths and limitations as we move forward into the middle of the 21st century.
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Foundation Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: NST1040
- Number of Credits: 4
MBA7570 Science, Technology and the Enterprise -- Foundation
3 CreditsThis, the foundation course for the _Science, Technology, and the Enterprise_ MBA intensity track, is motivated by the increasing application of science and technology in many facets of business -- operations, processes, products, big data, and even management -- in enterprises of all types and regardless of scale, industry vertical, and commercial orientation. Shying away from the particulars of science and technology, the course addresses the distinctive perspectives, knowledge, competencies, and ethos critical to leading and managing science- and technology-intensive businesses and enterprises. The course is structured around four themes -- science and technology acquisition, development, and management; the enterprise and its ecosystem; plate techtonics, disruptive change, and enterprise transformation; and science/technology choice and human, social, and environmental consequence. Drawing on the disciplines of science and technology management, organizational development, strategy, public policy, and social change, the course uses contemporary topics and study materials for context. Student learning is reinforced by in-the-first-person visits by managers and leaders of science- and technology-intensive enterprises.
Prerequisites: Full-time MBA students should have completed all their core courses; part-time and Blended Learning students should have completed a majority of their core courses
- Program: Graduate
- Division: Marketing
- Level: MSBA Elective (Grad),Graduate Elective (Grad)
- Course Number: MBA7570
- Number of Credits: 3
SCN3640 Science and Innovation
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsAn examination of the concepts, principles and policies related to research and development activities with examples from the history of the subject from its Greek beginnings to modern times. Successful and failed R&D projects from multiple disciplines will be explored as a driving force for innovation. The complex relationships that the scientific and engineering enterprises have to the innovation process will be examined with respect society, industry, and political motivations.
Prerequisites: NST10%%
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Mathematics Analytics Science and Technology
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: SCN3640
- Number of Credits: 4
FIN3520 Security Valuation
4 General Elective CreditsThis course is designed for students interested in investment banking, fixed-income valuation or equity analysis. Students develop tools and techniques for the valuation of different securities. Topics covered include: bond pricing, bond duration, the term-structure of interest rates, financial statement analysis, equity valuation models, and firm valuation. A major focus of this class is the valuation of specific firms and securities using finance theory and applications.
Prerequisites: SME2021 or FIN2000
Recommended: ACC3502
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Finance
- Level: Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Management (UGrad)
- Course Number: FIN3520
- Number of Credits: 4
HUM 1001: Self as Global Citizen
3 Credits course for Humanities and Entrepreneurship Certificate Students Only
Building on the first two courses in the Babson College program in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Self as Global Citizen explores the self in social context and in relation to a set of 21st century issues and problems. We begin with an exploration of the notion of citizenship, focusing especially on philosophies of nationalism v. cosmopolitanism as well as contexts such as gender, race, and identity, and then expand our previous work on trauma and the self to explore the broader cultural transmission and political implications of trauma, including intergenerational trauma. From there, we examine crucial issues that face each one of us as global citizens: climate crisis, toxic cultures, forced migration, technology and artificial intelligence, mental health and the future of medicine.
Students will analyze and synthesize material in weekly close reading and writing assignments. The major course project is an individual case study and presentation for an idea to address one of the issues we have studied. This work will be undertaken with the mentorship of Babson College seniors who have studied Entrepreneurship extensively and are currently taking an advanced course in human rights.
Prerequiste: Course is for Humanities and Entrepreneurship students only
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Course Number: HUM1001
- Number of Credits: 3
HSS2058 The Modern American City (HIS)
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsIn this intermediate course, students will analyze how urban centers such as Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles have served as catalysts for major developments in nineteenth and twentieth-century American history. The course will consider how these cities have spurred the nation's economy, politics, and culture, and have shaped American identity by welcoming millions of immigrants, artists, intellectuals, and bohemians. Selected subjects include Boston's institutions of culture, Chicago's factory system, the popular amusements of Coney Island, the architecture and music of _Jazz Age_ New York, the development of public housing, the counterculture in San Francisco, and the urban crisis in Los Angeles.
Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: History and Society
- Level: Intermediate Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: HSS2058
- Number of Credits: 4
LIT4616 Shakespeare's Sex
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsShakespeare's works have long held a privileged position in the histories of sex, gender, and eroticism. In this course, we will consider how Shakespeare helps us "think sex" in its various bodily, psychological, political, textual, and historical dimensions. What counts as "sex" in Shakespeare's world(s)? What desires, relations, and practices are rendered perceptible-and/or imaginable-through his poetry and plays? Which categories, identities, and emotions mattered when Shakespeare and his contemporaries imagined sex and its meanings, and how do these align with, and diverge from, those which inform our present lives and erotic relations? To explore these and related questions, we will read four major plays and two works of poetry: Romeo & Juliet, Othello, As You Like It, Cymbeline, The Rape of Lucrece, and selections from The Sonnets. Drawn from across the Shakespearean canon, such works will allow us to consider how differences of genre and literary form shape erotic possibilities, as well as how issues of race, gender, status, religion, reputation, and ethnicity intersect with sexual meanings, both in that era and our own. To enhance our appreciation of these works and their erotic possibilities, we will routinely consider modern, cinematic adaptions of the plays we read, as well as select screen biographies (Shakespeare in Love, All Is True). Finally, we will attend to the curious case of Shakespeare's sex: not only what we know-and don't know-about the playwright's (sexual) biography, but why his erotic relations continue to arouse interest and speculation, some four hundred years after his death.
Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)
- Program: Undergraduate
- Division: Arts and Humanities
- Level: Advanced Liberal Arts 4600 Requirement (UGrad),Advanced Elective (UGrad),Advanced Liberal Arts (UGrad)
- Course Number: LIT4616
- Number of Credits: 4