Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • GRS AS 781: Planetary Atmospheres
    Planetary and cometary atmospheres; atmospheric vertical mixing; radiative processes; catalytic ozone destruction; aurorae and airglow; planetary ionospheres; energy budgets. Planetary evolution: solar nebula, outgassing, water loss on Venus and Mars, escape of light gases, greenhouse effect, isotope fractionation, impact theory.
  • GRS AS 783: Ionospheres
    The formation of the ionosphere. The structure and dynamics of the ionosphere and thermosphere. Aeronomy. Thermosphere/ionosphere coupling. Ionospheric electric fields and current systems. Ionospheric storms. Ionospheric waves and irregularities. Active experiments in space. Radio and optical ionospheric diagnostics.
  • GRS AS 785: Magnetospheres
    Solar wind/magnetosphere interaction. Magnetospheric dynamics and substorms. Magnetospheric electric fields and current systems. Ionosphere/magnetosphere coupling. The aurora. Magnetospheric plasma waves and instabilities. In situ plasma and field diagnostics.
  • GRS AS 786: The Sun and Heliosphere
    Fundamentals of solar and heliospheric physics, including observational methods and theory from the sun's interior through interplanetary space and into the local interstellar medium. The sun as a star. Relation of our heliosphere to astrospheres surrounding other stars.
  • GRS AS 850: Graduate Literature Seminar I
    Weekly seminar offering graduate students the skills and practice needed for reading, evaluating, and discussing scientific peer-reviewed literature on current research topics.
  • GRS AS 851: Graduate Literature Seminar II
    Weekly seminar offering graduate students the skills and practice needed for reading, evaluating, and discussing scientific peer-reviewed literature on current research topics.
  • GRS AS 865: Graduate Research Seminar I
    Weekly seminar offering graduate students the skills and practice needed for oral presentations on current research topics and to receive peer and expert feedback.
  • GRS AS 866: Graduate Research Seminar II
    Weekly seminar offering graduate students the skills and practice needed for oral presentations on current research topics and to receive peer and expert feedback.
  • GRS AS 901: Research in Astronomy
  • GRS AS 902: Research in Astronomy
  • GRS AS 911: Directed Study in Astronomy
  • GRS AS 912: Directed Study in Astronomy
  • GRS BI 607: Animal Behavior
    Ethological approach to animal behavior. Physiological, ontogenic, and phylogenic causes and adaptive significance of behavior are examined within an evolutionary framework, minimally including humans. Three hours lecture, three hours laboratory. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • GRS BI 610: Developmental Biology
    Contemporary aspects of development, drawing from current literature. Emphasis on the use of experimental approaches to address topics such as polarity in the egg, body axis specification, embryonic patterning and organogenesis. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion.
  • GRS BI 611: Microbiome: Our Intimate Relationship with Microorganisms
    The microbial community - referred to as "microbiome" - that colonizes the human body plays an important role in our health. Topics include (1) the human microbiome; and (2) fundamental aspects of the interactions between animals and the microorganisms that reside with them. Three hours lecture; one hour discussion.
  • GRS BI 613: Microbial Ecology
    Microorganisms are the most abundant, diverse form of life on Earth. Through lectures and discussions, this course views microbes in coordination with their environments, exploring how they evolve, move, metabolize, and interact in relation to their abiotic and biotic surroundings.
  • GRS BI 614: Ornithology
    Examines the behavior, ecology, and morphology, physiology, classification, and evolution of birds. Flight, navigation, migration, territorial courtship, nesting, and parental behavior. Field trips. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion and demonstrations.
  • GRS BI 621: Biochemistry 1
    Introductory biochemistry. Protein structure and folding, enzyme mechanisms, kinetics, and allostery; nucleic acid structure; macromolecular biosynthesis with emphasis on specificity and fidelity; lipids and membrane structure; vitamins and coenzymes; introduction to intermediary metabolism. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, four hours lab. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Critical Thinking
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • GRS BI 622: Biochemistry 2
    Cell metabolism, with special emphasis on the uptake of food materials, the integration and regulation of catabolic, anabolic, and anaplerotic routes, and the generation and utilization of energy. Lectures include consideration of events in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Three hours lecture, one hour discussion, four hours lab. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Research and Information Literacy, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • GRS BI 623: Marine Biogeochemistry
    Oceanic nutrient and biogeochemical cycling in the context of the marine response to global change. Links between local and global scales are emphasized. Topics include oceanic productivity, iron limitation, oceanic glacial carbon dioxide budget, biogenic particle fluxes, oceanic glacial-interglacial biogeochemistry.

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