DHSP is a 2-semester commitment. Students in the program take the following four courses in their freshman year:
| Fall Semester | Winter Semester | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Math 115 (Calculus 1) | 4 credits | Math 116 (Calculus 2) | 4 credits |
| Math 145 (DHSP Workshop) | 2 credits | Math 146 (DHSP Workshop) | 2 credits |
The workshops have no exams and almost no homework. Grading is credit/no credit (like pass/fail). The main requirement for credit is showing up to every class and participating intensively. (There is no room to be a passive observer in the workshop.)
The one small amount of homework is this: students must attend 2 science-related events of their choice outside of class each semester, and report back to the class on what they saw. Michigan is one of the greatest research universities in the world, and a tremendous amount of new science is being generated all the time. This is an opportunity to see some of it. There is enough variety available that everyone can find events that interest them.
At least one of each student’s 4 events for the year will be an interview with someone in a science field. Sometimes that’s a professor or a graduate student or a medical doctor, and sometimes it’s an upperclassman who was in DHSP a few years earlier. This is a great way to make connections.
Here are some examples of events DHSP students have attended recently:
- Astronomy: Water on Mars; Life Cycles of Star Clusters; Optical Surveys for Orbital Debris
- Biology: Protein Transport into Chloroplasts; Dolphin alliances; Predicting virus evolution
- Chemistry: Light Harvesting in Solar Cells; Introduction to Forensic Science
- Computer Science: Modeling People from Billions of Photos; Underwater Glider Path Planning and Control
- Geology: The Evolution and Diversity of Archosaurs; Heat Storage in the Gulf Stream
- Math: Sudoku; Enumeration in Combinatorics, Algebra, and Geometry; Modeling blood vessels in cancer patients
- Physics: Solar, Wind, Biofuels, and Nuclear Energy; New Approaches to Energy Harvesting and Storage; The Evolution of Galaxies
From here, you might go to the Application page, the FAQ, the Student Quotes page, or the More Student Quotes page.
