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To incoming freshmen and their families,

Greetings from the College Park Scholars program Earth, Life & Time (or ELT for short). We are a Scholars program dedicated to the understanding of the Science of Nature and the Nature of Science. Please explore this website to find more about ELT, and the sorts of academic and other activities which we do over the four semesters of the program.

ELT students and faculty at the American Museum of Natural History (New York), April 19, 2008

For those students who have not yet gone through a summer Orientation Session: as you register for courses please keep in mind that for the Fall 2008 semester you MUST register for the following classes:

• CPSP 118G 0101: The Earth, Life & Time Freshman Colloquium
• UNIV 100 or an equivalent (UNIV 101, JOUR 100 for journalism majors, ENES 181 for engineering majors). Any section of UNIV 100 that fits your schedule is fine; however, be aware that there are two sections (1401 and 1402) that are reserved for ELT students only.

Additionally, although not a requirement, incoming ELT students are advised to register for either a List A: Introductory Historical Natural Sciences class (such as GEOL 100/110 or 120 or 124; BSCI 105 or 106, etc.) or a List B: Supporting Course. These List A and B classes can also serve as requirements for your major and/or fulfill CORE distribution requirements.

The complete requirements to fulfill the ELT Citation over your next four semesters are listed on this website.

If you did not go to a Scholars Summer Orientation session--or if you did, but want a second copy--you can download the packet of information that we handed out at that occasion.

Also, you should check out the information concerning Service Day (Friday, August 29, 2008), an annual event that all new College Park Scholars participate in. More information about Service Day will be forthcoming.

Please note: participation in Service Day is MANDATORY for incoming ELT students (and is part of your grade for the CPSP 118G colloquium). If for some reason you are unable to attend Service Day, you MUST contact either Dr. Holtz (Ph: 301-405-4084) or Dr. Merck (Ph: 301-405-2808) so that we can arrange some alternative.

Last year's ELT Freshmen at work at Kennilworth Aquatic Garden for Service Day 2007

Below are a set of links that might help you better understand what we are about, what we do, and what experiences we offer ELT students:

• A general orientation to the program and its themes
• Answers to frequently asked questions about ELT and Scholars
• The required and supporting classes for the four semesters of the program
• Galleries of images of ELT activities during the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters
• Information about the ELT faculty
• Websites of our sophomores and freshmen, and especially:
  • ELT Freshmen "Time Capsules": words of wisdom from current, last year's, and previous freshmen to YOU about classes and life from people who've just been through their first semester at the University.
  • Former, last year's, and current ELT Sophomore three-semesters review describing their life and times in ELT so far
  • ELT Sophomore Academic Showcase posters (here for the previous year's, and here for 2006) as describing their work for the capstone Practicum project.

Some of the ELT Citation Class of 2007

2009 is considered the Year of Science; ELT, as a new member of the Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), is looking forward to a variety of activities and efforts to promote scientific thinking and understanding.

There is a lot else to examine here. Please spend some time looking around. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Drawing by J. Yang (incoming class of 2006), 2007

Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. (Faculty Director)
Dr. John W. Merck, Jr. (Associate Faculty Director)

Last modified: 11 July 2008