Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Major: Origins Sciences

The Origins Sciences Program offers the Bachelor of Arts degree. The major provides a rigorous course of study with great flexibility in the choice of specific topics and courses. Students play a creative role in designing their own individual educational plans within the major. As a result, they are free to explore nontraditional, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary subjects. 

The Origins Sciences major is designed to connect students with professors breaking through barriers to ask big questions in ways that matter, both at the highest theoretical levels and with immediate practical applications in areas such as medicine and technology. Its concerns range from the nanoscale to ecological relationships to galaxies to dark matter, dark energy and the nature of the universe itself. The major's sponsor, the Institute for the Science of Origins (ISO), brings together scientists from Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and other partner institutions to answer questions about the origin and evolution of simple and complex systems, from the big bang to the human mind. 

The curriculum emphasizes a broad grounding in the origins sciences, including fundamentals of physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics, and encompassing aspects of anthropology, cognitive science, astronomy and earth, environmental and planetary sciences, making it reasonable for students to consider a double or secondary major or a dual degree. A faculty actively engaged in research in these fields and beyond provides first-rate instruction and opportunities for undergraduate involvement in cutting-edge research, including laboratory and museum experience and fieldwork across the globe.

An undergraduate degree in Origins Sciences can be tailored to meet the needs of pre-med or other pre-health students or to prepare students for graduate programs in any of the allied disciplines, including anthropology, astronomy, biology, chemistry, cognitive science, geosciences, applied mathematics, paleontology and physics.

Majoring in Origins Sciences gives students added value in applying to medical school, graduate school or the increasingly technical science-related MBA and JD programs. The major also provides a strong background for students interested in pursuing careers in science writing; internships are available at ideastream, ISO's public TV and radio partner institution.

Undergraduate Policies

For undergraduate policies and procedures, please review the Undergraduate Academics section of the General Bulletin.

Accelerated Master's Programs

Undergraduate students may participate in accelerated programs toward graduate or professional degrees. For more information and details of the policies and procedures related to accelerated studies, please visit the Undergraduate Academics section of the General Bulletin.

Program Requirements

Students seeking to complete this major and degree program must meet the general requirements for bachelor's degrees and the Unified General Education Requirements. Students completing this program as a secondary major while completing another undergraduate degree program do not need to satisfy the school-specific requirements associated with this major.

Origins Sciences is a primary major, but may also be pursued in conjunction with a more traditional disciplinary major. Up to 12 credits in required and elective courses taken by students for their other major may be applied to their Origins Sciences major.

The 30-credit interdisciplinary major in Origins Sciences consists of:

1. Science Core
2. Origins Core
3. Origins Foci

Within the Origins foci, each student will design a curriculum that includes concentrations in at least two Origins Sciences fields, such as:

• Cosmology and astrophysics
• Integrative evolutionary biology  (e.g., biochemistry, physical anthropology, paleontology, and evolutionary cognitive science)
• Planetary science and astrobiology

In consultation with a major advisor, students create individual plans of study to suit their particular interests within the major. A typical student will develop a proposal as a sophomore and submit that plan for approval by the Origins Sciences Major Advisory Committee. Each concentration must include at least two 300 or higher level classes and their prerequisites. Subsequent revisions to the plan are encouraged when appropriate but must be submitted for approval by the committee at least two weeks before the beginning of the semester preceding the one in which the revisions take effect. Students are strongly encouraged to include an Origins Sciences research experience in their educational plans.

Science Core:

Origins Core: