Elective Choices

hey Kristin, for electives, I am thinking of are Math 1B03 (Linear Algebra), and HTH SCI 1G03 PSYCHOBIOLOGY. However i don't think we cant really decide until we know our timetable for iSci 1A24, because the time could possibly overlap. we'll just have to see

psychobio is a healthsci exclusive class, 100% sure, you can only take it if you're enrolled in health sci. it involves group work exclusive to health sci. anyways, it wouldn't make sense to take that class as part of isci, seeing that you'll get all required prerequisites in second year biology and psychology as well as sufficient knowledge.

if i were you, i'd recommend perhaps looking into a social sciences or humanities course as your other elective, because you might feel science overload (trust me on this one, i'm sure it doesn't seem like that's possible yet). i've heard good and bad things about anthropology (i think theres 2 or 3 different anthro courses), and good things about language courses, also i think english and linguistics got positive reviews by isci students (check out our second year profiles to see what we took)

however, if you really want to take another science-y course as an elective, i've heard good things about the medical radiation course. outside of that one, comp sci, lin algebra, (and the two human geo courses which are technically under science), i'm pretty sure those are the only useful science courses to take considering the prerequisites of isci.

Yes, Psychobio is a a health science course, but that course is open to anyone, as long as you are taking a biology course http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/CALENDAR/current/pg1867.html#53393 . And yeah, it probably have nothing to do with iSci, because iSci covers lots of information anyways, but I am just looking into it for fun. I have lots of good friends in health sci, so maybe I thought it would be fun to meet up with them sometimes and work on stuff, plus i like anything biology ~ lol

Yeah thanks for the advice, and i think that's definitly a good point there. I probably would have too much science, which could be both a good thing and bad thing i guess (depending on how you look at it). What exactly is anthropology? and just wondering, what is micro-economy? which course would you say is most interesting?

hey, double check with science still. i'm 100% sure iSci can't take it, so talk to Sarah Robinson or somebody in Admin before you jump the gun.. just trust me on this.

When it says:
Prerequisite(s):
Credit or co-registration in BIOLOGY 1A03 or HTH SCI 1I06.

You will not be registered in either of those, and if ISCI1A24 is allowed, it will say it on the calendar.

It also says "Not open to students with credit or registration in PSYCH 1XX3," and you will have this credit through iSci.

I could go in to describe each individual elective, but I'd check out the course calendar, it does a good job on briefly explaining each course, better than I can do. I (in all my bias) would recommend human geo: society and culture, only because I took it and I enjoyed it.

o geez. thanks for informing me Hmmm, I guess this means I can take another elective other than that.

alright, I will check out different courses. And human geo? I will definitly consider it

For elective choice, I loved my classics 1bo3 lecturer, but you will prob never use what you learn again. I just enjoy trojan myth stuff.
If you are lookin for a science course that will def help you out for the cancer unit, check out physics in medicine and biology. I took it, it was a decent work load, no midterms only 2 essays 3 easy assignments and a final. give it a look if you are into that kind of stuff

how is physics in medicine in terms of difficulties? because I have a feeling that ISCI 1A24 is LOTS of work ....honestly, i dont really want to stress myself out with heavy courses.....

You shouldn't worry about the work as you'll get used to it and elective marks count only for 20% of your overall mark (10% per elective) and isci is 80% so it won't make much a difference. Also the workload for most electives are so minute comparatively, you'll end up forgetting that you even have an elective

physics in medicine is actually pretty easy... it reinforces some of te stuff covered in isci so its not a bad thing. the assignments are pretty much jokes, but you do have to put in a bit of work for the essays. the final was pretty easy too

hey thanks a lot for the information. Aha, essays don't sound that appealing. Also, I am sort of debating over humanities or social science? which one's easier? or rather which one's more interesting??

it varies very greatly from course to course
have a look at the undergrad calendar and see what peaks your interest

To James SungJun Han
Not too hard. I did not actually take the course but I attended nearly every lecture for fun.
It definately helps when the iSCI "cancer project" comes along because you learn different imaging techniques and the pysics principles behind them.
But don't be afraid that you will be left behind in the "cancer project" if you don't take med phys.

hey, i just did some moderating and decided to separate discussion on electives as a separate topic, as not to congest the introduction forum...

Once scheduling comes out, you'll have a much clearer view on which electives you'll actually be able to take (don't get your heart set on anything in particular and have plenty of back-up choices in case the class fills up also)

I checked on the McMaster website today, and it appears that the timetable is available for next year. I found iSci, but am having some difficulty understanding all of the information. Does anyone have any tips about reading the timetable? I did read the helpful hints, but I still don't understand.

someone told me that it needs to be corrected....im not sure if they are corrected yet

also does Mcmaster have a media art course? like making movies and stuff?

James, look into "communication studies and multimedia" courses. They sound like amazing courses. Sadly last year all of the first year courses were either full or conflicted with the iSci schedule.

^^^great point!

I forgot that in our year our elective choices were limited, so a lot of our original first choices didn't fit in the timetable.

Definitely! I think those type of courses would correspond well with the media/presentation aspect of iSci as well.

Also, to answer the question above, I talked to Carolyn today (director of iSci)... and the real schedules for both first year and second year are not up yet. Apparently, this is out of iSci's hands, and deals with McMaster administration.

Not sure what the hold up for first year iSci timetable is, but for second year it's trying to organize the courses around all the different concentrations that's proving the biggest challenge.

Lori,

First of all, as of right now, the Integrated Science 1A24 section of the timetable is not complete (note the TBA after C01).

The C in C01 basically stands for lectures - the core part of the course. iSci has yet to determine when the lectures will be, but when it no longer says TBA you can start figuring out your electives.

The L in L01 and L02 stands for labs. The 01 means 'lab group 1' and the 02 means 'lab group 2', since there are 2 different lab groups in iSci, and you will be assigned to one of them. If you find an elective that conflicts with one of the lab groups, but doesn't conflict with the other lab group, I would recommend checking with Sarah Robinson to make sure that you are allowed to sign up for the elective. Technically you should be fine, it's just that last year they changed our lab groups weekly.

The T in T01 stands for tutorial, which covers guest speakers, math tutorials, and some lectures.

It says BSB and other strange letters after the times - this represents the building that the class will be in.

If you have any other questions about the timetable, don't hesitate to ask! It can definitely be confusing