Quizzes, problem sets, papers, and exams are assigned in exactly the same manner as in the regular curriculum. Weekly records of your progress are made available to you and your advisor. Credit for a General Institute Requirement is granted when the work is completed, in the same manner as a mainstream course. In the fall, you will be graded under Pass/No Record where D and F are not passing. A possible grade report for the fall term might appear as follows:
Fall Semester 2009 (credit limit: 54 units) |
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| Subject Number | Subject Name | Grade | Units |
| 3.091* | Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry | Pass | 12 |
| 8.01/8.012 | Physics I (Mechanics) | Pass | 12 |
| SP.318 | Introduction to Psychology (HASS elective) | Pass | 12 |
| 18.01A-18.02A** | Calculus | Pass | 12 |
or |
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| 18.02 | Calculus II | Pass | 12 |
* This course combines 3.091 and 5.111/5.112, with some organic chemistry as well. Students may go on from this course to 5.12 (organic chemistry).
** All MIT students taking this sequence will receive a Pass for 12 units of 18.01A at the end of the fall term. You may elect to complete the 18.02A over IAP or during the spring term (where you can take it concurrently with 18.03). For those students who have received credit for 18.01, 18.02 is also offered through the Concourse Program.
In the second semester, you will be graded under the A/B/C/No Record system where D and F are non-passing. A possible grade report for the spring term might appear as follows:
Spring Semester 2010 (credit limit: 57 units) |
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| Subject Number | Subject Name | Grade | Units |
| SP.317 | Memory and Literature (HASS-D, Category 1, CI-H) | A | 12 |
| 8.02 | Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism) | A | 12 |
| 18.03 | Differential Equations | A | 12 |
With some exceptions, Institute-wide rules normally limit students to 54 units of credit in the first semester and 57 units in the second semester. In any case, students may round out their schedule with courses taken elsewhere at MIT provided at least three core courses are taken in the fall and two courses in the spring term within Concourse. For example, Concourse students in the past have taken courses in foreign languages, music, and computer science, or enrolled in freshmen seminars. Also, if you have advanced-placed any of the Institute Requirements offered within Concourse, you may substitute an outside course for each such requirement, provided the three-course minimum within Concourse is met. We strongly advise students not to take advance placement unless they are completely sure of their proficiency in the subject.
The Concourse program is comprised of two required MIT core curricula, the Science Core and the Humanities Core. The Science Core fulfills the Institute Requirements in Math, Physics, and Chemistry. For the two courses in the Humanities Core, SP.318 (Introduction to Psychology) is a HASS elective; SP.317 (Memory and Literature) is a HASS-D, Category 1, Communication Intensive Humanities course.
The regularly scheduled science core classes that we teach during the year are:
Fall Term
3.091 Concourse Chemistry
8.01/8.012 Physics I (Mechanics)
18.02 Calculus II
18.01A-18.02A (recitations only)
Spring Term
8.02 Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism)
18.03 Differential Equations*
*Can be taken spring term simultaneously with 18.02 or 18.02A.
These courses stress technical competence in handling the material as well as the intellectual grasp of it. In scheduled as well as informal recitation sessions, the students may practice their mastery under guidance by faculty and tutors. In Concourse we can look every week at how you are doing in all your courses, and your teachers all talk to one another, as in any small school. As a result we generally detect any difficulties quite early, and we can avoid the classic MIT problem of work "piling up." Classes in Concourse are at least as rigorous as the mainstream versions, but the approach is very personal, and the road to achievement can be made much smoother.
Physics in Concourse: a personal note from Prof. Mtingwa: This is a calculus-based introduction to Newtonian mechanics, and includes all the MIT mainstream topics: kinematics, forces on systems of particles, Newton's Laws, universal gravitation and projectile motion, simple harmonic motion, circular motion, work, kinetic and potential energy, conservation of energy, inertial and non-inertial frames of reference, the kinetic theory of ideal gases, fluids, and static equilibrium. But Concourse physics is "up close and personal," in a much smaller universe, and I expect to get to know you all. So, we don't need to use TEAL.
Why do you need to learn all this stuff, even if you do not intend to be a physicist, even if you learned (in high school) to hate it? Because this is the basic language, not only for all of advanced physics (quantum mechanics and all that) but also for all the other sciences and for professions such as finance and investment banking and many other important parts of modern life.
Because this is Concourse and because I am a high energy physicist who loves what he is doing, we will cover this material in ways which will deepen your understanding (and, yes, enjoyment!). I intend to show you, at the very beginning, the similarity in the kinematics and dynamics between translational and rotational motion. Even more powerful, I want to show you the basic symmetries in nature, the invariance of reference frames under translations and rotations which lead to the conservation of linear and angular momentum. If your enthusiasm is such that you want to fly higher, you can get credit for 8.012 (instead of 8.01) by some extra work and then by taking the 8.012 final exam.
Chemistry in Concourse: The Concourse chemistry course has always been novel in that it covers both solid-state chemistry (3.091) and conventional chemistry (5.111/5.112), and offers an introduction to organic chemistry as well. You will be ready for both engineering majors and for biology/biochemistry oriented majors, and it is excellent pre-medical preparation as well. You will not have to decide, before you are ready to decide, whether to take mainstream 3.091 or mainstream 5.111/5.112. Because of the way we connect the core courses, there are additional advantages: your ability to see things in three dimensions will be developed by Concourse chemistry, and you can go on directly to 5.12 (organic chemistry) from this course. You may even enjoy it! In addition, there will be a discussion of Chemistry in the broad realm of human thought, including the nature of the questions that Chemistry addresses and the future technologies for which Chemistry aims.
Math in Concourse: Concourse 18.02 (Multivariable Calculus) follows essentially the same syllabus as the mainstream version, since most of the topics in the course are required by the departments at the Institute. The main differences are in emphasis: for example, one of the main themes of the course is visualization and manipulation in three-dimensional space, which ties in naturally with the stereo-chemistry taught in Concourse 3.091, and which is also a skill used in all scientific and engineering fields.
Concourse 18.01A/18.02A is a hybrid. Lectures are in mainstream with Professor Arthur Mattuck, one of the best lecturers ever to teach at MIT. Recitations are in the comfortable Concourse environment with Dr. Orloff.
Differential Equations (18.03) along with Electricity and Magnetism (8.02) will be taught during the spring. More detailed information will be distributed in early November.
Introduction to Psychology (SP.318) is a HASS elective taught in the fall term. Psychology is the study of behavior and mental life. Any statement that you can make about yourself has behind it a host of psychological questions. For instance, “I got up at 6 a.m. this morning.” Why? What woke you up? An alarm? Why is a loud alarm needed to wake you up when you can hear a soft whisper right now? Perhaps you woke without help? How does that happen? Do you have an internal alarm clock? Why were you asleep in the first place? What is sleep for? Once you were awake, why did you get up? What motivated you to get out of bed? Why get up in the morning? Why not sleep until noon every day? Is this a function of the biology of sleep? Is it a function of the social psychology of western industrial civilization? We could continue, and we could perform the same exercise for an infinite set of statements. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the efforts of academic psychology to answer such questions. We will cover topics from perception to memory to intelligence testing to love to mental illness. Psychology may be the perfect HASS field since the study of behavior and mental life will allow us to make connections between the worlds of science and engineering and those of humanities, arts, and social sciences.
Memory and Literature (SP.317) is both a HASS-D, Category 1 and a CI-H class. It is taught by Professor Jeremy Wolfe and Professor John Hildebidle in the spring term. It is not offered in mainstream. Among the many questions the class will investigate are these:
By presenting the perspectives of both psychologists and writers, the goal is to explore a great many issues that are central to literature, psychology, and self. Only those students who received a "Pass" on the Freshman Essay Evaluation (or have already satisfied the requirement by taking a CI-HW, fall term) will receive CI credit. All students will receive HASS-D credit.