ISI Florence and Penn State University have teamed up to provide a unique study abroad experience for STEM students in Biology and/or Chemistry. Students may elect to participate in the entire program or choose one or more courses available.
Please Note
For Penn State students the availability of these courses will allow most life science students to study abroad without falling behind in their coursework.
BIOL 240W – Function and Development of Organisms (4 credits)
Description
A study of development and physiological processes at the organismic level. This course provides an understanding of the major unifying principles as they apply to the study of the development and physiological mechanisms utilized by organisms from both animals and plants. In lecture a comparative approach will be taken in the examination of reproduction, development, and physiology primarily at the organismal level. In laboratory, experimental investigations of both animal and plant systems will reinforce the concepts covered in lecture. Through the lab, students are expected to become proficient in the interpretation and presentation of experimental results through written and oral reports. BIOL 24OW will help students to integrate concepts ranging from molecular and cellular events through principles governing entire populations and ecosystems. Further, BIOL 24OW provides the foundation on which students further their study of physiology and development.
Prerequisite: one semester of general biology
CHEM 212 – Organic Chemistry II (3 credits)
Description
This course follows on from CHEM 210: Organic Chemistry I, with emphasis placed on the role of organic reactions in biological chemistry. CHEM 212 will continue to build upon the important concepts learned in the prerequisite course, CHEM 210, with an emphasis on reaction mechanisms and organic synthesis. The course will begin with conceptually new material such as the elucidation of the structures of organic compounds using mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The majority of the new material is concerned with the chemistry of carbonyl compounds and includes: 1) the nucleophilic addition reactions of ketones and aldehydes; 2) nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions of acid chlorides, anhydrides, esters and amides; 3) carbonyl alpha-substitution reactions and 4) carbonyl condensation reactions. The latter part of the course will be concerned with biologically relevant compounds such as amines, amino acids/peptides/proteins and carbohydrates.
Prerequisite: Organic Chemistry I or equivalent
To learn more about this unique opportunity, visit the dedicated STEM page