GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. What is College Park Scholars?

2. How are College Park Scholars students chosen?
3. What is Science & Global Change (SGC)?
4. Is SGC a major? Is it a minor?

SGC REQUIREMENTS

5. What sort of course requirements does SGC have?
6. What sort of extra course burden does SGC put on a student?
7. Do SGC courses count for CORE?
8. Can AP, IB, or similar transfer credit be used to replace any requirements?

THE SGC PROGRAM

9. What does the colloquium entail?
10. Does the student have to pay for field trips?
11. Are field trips required?
12. What days are the field trips conducted?
13. What about the field courses?
14. What does the practicum entail?

BENEFITS OF BEING AN SGC STUDENT

15. Outside of the colloquium and practicum, what sort of experiences does College Park Scholars provide?
16. What does a student get out of being in SGC?

OTHER QUESTIONS? Feel free to contact:

Faculty Director Thomas Holtz, Ph: (301) 405-4084, email: tholtz@umd.edu
Associate Faculty Director John Merck, Ph: (301) 405-2808, email: jmerck@umd.edu

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. What is College Park Scholars?
College Park Scholars is a "living-learning" program: a residential honors enrichment program for academically talented incoming students. It differs from the University Honors Program in that each student in Scholars becomes a member of one of several different programs centered on some major interdisciplinary theme. Students in College Park Scholars take a series of colloquia and required or supporting classes while simultaneously progressing in their own major.
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1A. Do Scholars have to live on campus? Do they have to live in the Cambridge Community?
College Park Scholars does have its own corner of campus (the Cambridge Community: several dorms and a community center in North Campus). Nearly all students living in that community are in Scholars. However, there is no requirement that Science & Global Change students have to live in the Cambridge Community. Every semester there are several students who live on other dorms on campus, who live in apartments near campus, or who commute from homes off campus. These students can still be part of the Science & Global Change program.

For more information, go to the Scholars Housing website.
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2. How are College Park Scholars students chosen?
Students are selected for invitation to College Park Scholars primarily based on their outstanding academic achievement in high school (based on GPA, SAT/ACT, and so forth), but also evidence of their commitment to community or social programs, willingness to participate in extracurricular activities, and interest in pursuing challenging academic or professional careers.

For more information, go to the Scholars Admissions website.
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3. What is Science & Global Change (SGC)?
SGC is one of the several College Park Scholars programs. In this program students of all majors will explore the foundations of scientific practice; the evidence, causes, and implications of past and present global change; and the importance of that understanding when making decisions for the future.
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4. Is SGC a major? Is it a minor?
SGC is neither of these. Each student will also have their own major (which may be in a subject totally unrelated to Global Change science), and will be responsible for taking classes for that field. SGC (and other College Park Scholars programs) resemble minors; a supplemental program with some requirements outside of the major, resulting in completion with a special citation on the student's record. However, unlike a minor as traditionally conceived, the College Park Scholars Citation Program involves a wider variety of experiences than simply a set of classes. (SGC is officially supported by the College of Computer, Mathematics & Physical Sciences and especially Department of Geology; while many of SGC's students come from the physical sciences (Physics, Geology, Mathematics, Geography, and so forth), its intellectual scope is much broader and SGC students will include representatives of a wide variety of majors).
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4A. I am a pre-med student. Can I still be in SGC?
Yes. Most pre-meds are majoring in some Department in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences. As such, they are already required to take a number of classes during their first four semesters (various BSCI courses, various CHEM courses, etc.) which also fulfill the SGC requirements. In fact, the only additional classes that SGC students in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences have to take beyond major requirements are the 1 credit Colloquium class for the first three semsters, and the 1-3 credit Practicum course their fourth semester. Additionally, many pre-med students can use their Practicum project as a means by which they can make contacts for their future professional careers, by interning with medical practices, clinics, or laboratories.
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4B. I am an engineering major. Can I still be in SGC?
Yes, you can be a major in the School of Engineering and still be in the SGC program. So long as you manage to complete our citation requirements in the first four semester, you can be in any major and still be in SGC. However, some majors (for example, several within the School of Engineering) have a higher-than-normal number of required classes within the first several semesters. Engineering students should definitely contact their major's academic advisor to plan out a schedule for the first four semesters to make certain they can both complete the SGC requirements and stay on schedule towards advancement in their major.
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SGC REQUIREMENTS

5. What sort of course requirements does SGC have?
These will be given in more detail on another page. In brief, the program requires the student to:


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6. What sort of extra course burden does SGC put on a student?
This depends on the student's major. For students majoring in the sciences the list of supporting courses include the introductory courses required by those departments; thus, the only additional burden is the 1 credit colloquium each semester for the first three semesters and the 1-3 credit practicum their fourth semester. For students in other majors the supporting courses may not fulfill departmental requirements, but most of these DO fulfill the general CORE distribution requirements that all students must take.
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7. Do SGC classes count for CORE?
While the colloquia and practicum do not, many of the supporting classes do. All students at the University of Maryland have to complete certain general distribution, or CORE requirements. If you examine the lists of supporting classes you will see that many of them fulfill some CORE requirement as well. In fact, taking a single class can simultaneously complete a CORE requirement, an SGC requirement, and a major requirement!
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8. Can AP, IB, or similar transfer credit be used to replace any requirements?
Yes: if the transfer credit is considered by the university to be equivalent to ENGL 101 or one of the supporting classes. However, the faculty would like to point out that the experiences the student might have in a university class will often be above and beyond that provided in high school or a similar setting, and encourage the students (where possible based on time and schedule) to take their classes at UMCP.
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THE SGC PROGRAM

9. What does the colloquium entail?
The 1 credit colloquium (CPSP 118G for semesters 1 and 2, CPSP 218G for semester 3) meets once a week, and represents the time when all SGC students and faculty meet together. The colloquium consists of:

Additionally, field trips to various sites are organized through means of the colloquium. These trips have included a variety of locations:
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10. Does the student have to pay for field trips?
The student may be responsible for food expenses and sometimes a small fee (for example, for Metro fare). On some of our more expensive trips, a larger payment may be required (for example, the Scholars in New York trip).
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11. Are field trips required?
Yes, field trips are one of several different required graded experiences in the colloquium. Students will be required to do a field trip experince and report for a grade, and may do multiple field trips a semester for possible extra credit.
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12. On what days are the field trips conducted?
Field trips are held on the weekend so as not to conflict with other classes; they are organized so that some occur on Saturday and others on Sunday so as to balance out various conflicting schedules. At present our only overnight field trip is SGC's participation in the cross-program Scholars in New York activity. Dates for the field trips are announced at the beginning of the semester to allow the students plenty of time to reschedule conflicts, if possible.
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13. What about the field courses and study abroad courses?
SGC is developing various plans for possible travel study courses in the U.S. and abroad; more details as they arise! These would represent opportunities for SGC students, but would not be requirements.

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14. What does the practicum entail?
The practicum (CPSP 239G or 249G) is the 1-3 credit individual research, volunteer, or internship project, conducted in the fourth semester in SGC. The number of credits reflects the number of hours worked on site; the spread of credits reflects the fact that some students will have more free time available in their schedules than others. Practicum work and results are presented to the University community during the Undergraduate Research Day or the Scholars Academic Showcase, held late in the Spring Semester.
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BENEFITS OF BEING AN SGC STUDENT

15. Outside of the colloquium and practicum, what sort of experiences does Scholars provide?
College Park Scholars has a number of different activities held in the shared common spaces of the dorms and the Cambridge Community Center, including special presentations, dances, parties, talent shows, and much more. Additionally every Spring the different College Park Scholars programs compete against each other in a softball tournament.
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16. What does a student get out of being in SGC?
As an academic enrichment program in a smaller residentially-based setting within the larger University, SGC offers its students a number of advantages:


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What is that symbol at the top of the page?

This image combines a capital delta (the standard mathematical symbol representing "change") and an image of the globe. Called "delta globe" or "del Earth", this symbol represents "change in the globe"; hence, "global change".
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