Incoming, first-year Sondheim Scholars are enrolled in small seminar-style two courses together:
Fall Semester
ENG100P/281: Centering on the conventions of academic argument, English 100P/281 is designed to help Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars develop critical approaches to reading, thinking, and composing. Public Affairs Scholars will be expected to articulate informed opinions in a wide variety of academic as well as social situations. To that end, the design of this course is dependent on students being able to read insightfully, to extract pertinent information for discussion and to present that information through writing and discussion at an advanced level. The course combines traditional writing instruction, online technology, service-learning, and guided reflection to prepare students to meet the demands of writing in different disciplines as well as in the larger world. The purpose of the course is to generate engaging and thoughtful written work and closely examine how social issues impact individuals as well as groups of people.
Spring Semester
PUB 150H: This course is about contemporary public problems and the strategies that are being (or could be) used to solve them. We consider the efforts of nongovernmental organizations as well as current and proposed public policies, and along the way engage debates about the strengths and weaknesses of these different approaches to problem-solving. Weekly service in the Baltimore community is paired with classroom reflection, discussion, and instruction pertaining to public policy issues and processes.
The entire UMBC Undergraduate Catalog and instructions on how to search for course offerings is available from the Registrar’s Office.