Perspectives on Science and Engineering (Science 198) gives students with exceptional preparation in science and mathematics a special opportunity to start exploring research as soon as they enter Yale. This interdepartmental program is designed to introduce first year students to a representative cross-section of science and engineering faculty and their research disciplines. Perspectives on Science and Engineering (PSE) is designed to supplement the academic program of selected freshmen who have exceptionally strong preparation in the areas of science, mathematics, and engineering. PSE consists of a series of lectures and discussions that reveal the scope and interconnectedness of many scientific disciplines. It is also designed to be fun. PSE meets for an hour and a half each Friday afternoon—about half the time of a standard course. Students earn one course credit for a full year's enrollment; no credit is received if the entire course is not completed.
Student and faculty participants attend biweekly lectures and, in the intervening weeks, divide into smaller seminar groups for discussion of the previous lecture's topic. In these small and intimate classes, students get a sense of the excitement of contemporary research, while getting to know some of the faculty active in their fields of interest. At the end of the year, Perspectives students are offered stipends to support summer research in faculty laboratories. In the fall, sophomores return to present their research at the Perspectives on Science and Engineering Summer Research Symposium.
Some of Yale's most distinguished researchers and teachers address the seminar groups or participate with the students in the lectures and discussions. Each lecture is designed to introduce a key scientific question and to illustrate it with a specific observation, theory, or experiment that students from many disciplines can evaluate critically. Topics have included RNA enzymes, black holes, atomic clocks, evolution of birds and reptiles, chemistry of photosynthesis, thermodynamics of global warming, and development of the nervous system.
Admission to PSE is limited to approximately sixty freshmen who are selected on the basis of outstanding records in mathematics and natural science. Typically the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of places. Selection is made on the basis of the online application to the program and on the student's Yale College application. The Freshman Web site and the Yale Programs of Study provide further information about the program.
If you are interested in being considered for this program you must apply by early June. Applicants will be notified of admission decisions by the end of July. If you apply to this program, you may not apply to Directed Studies. If you are accepted into PSE, you may not apply for any courses offered through the Freshman Seminar program.
If, after reading this material, you have questions about Perspectives on Science and Engineering, please contact the Yale College Dean's Office at 203 432-1037.
