Report of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

May 8, 2015

Page | 15

The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee recommends approval of the following:

1.  New Courses

ASTR 103. Introduction to Stars and Exoplanets. (3-0). Credit 3. A qualitative study of stellar birth, stellar structure and evolution, stellar nucleosynthesis, the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, white dwarfs, neutron stars, supernovae, black holes, proto-planetary systems, origin of the solar system and the search for exoplanets; utilizes active learning methods that incorporate observations from the current generation of ground and space-based telescopes. Open to all majors.

ASTR 104. Introduction to Galaxies and Cosmology. (3-0). Credit 3. A qualitative study of properties of galaxies, galaxy evolution through cosmic time, galactic archaeology, active galactic nuclei, super-massive black holes, large-scale structure, the expansion history of the universe, cosmological parameters and Big Bang nucleosynthesis; utilizes active learning methods that incorporate observations from the current generation of ground and space-based telescopes. Open to all majors.

FILM 345. Media Industries. (3-0). Credit 3. Survey of the business organization, economic structures and processes and regulations of the media industry. Prerequisites: Any lower-division COMM course, or junior classification, or approval of instructor. Cross-listed with COMM 345.

LMAS 201. Introduction to Latino/Mexican American Studies. (3-0). Credit 3. Introductory survey of the historical presence of U.S. Latinos and Mexican Americans from an interdisciplinary perspective that incorporates the group’s global origins; application of critical thinking skills to the study of Latinos and Mexican Americans.

2.  Change in Courses

AGSC 383. Teaching Ag Mechanics.

Prerequisites

From: AGSC 301.

To: AGSC 301 and AGSC 373.

MATH 467. Modern Geometry.

Course description

From: Rigorous development of Euclidean Geometry; Classic non-Euclidean models; Matrix representations of transformations in R3; Isometries; Transformation and symmetric groups; Similarity and Affine transformations.

To: Modern development of Euclidean geometry (Hilbert axioms) with historical and philosophical context; independence of the parallel postulate; models of hyperbolic non-Euclidean geometry.

STAT 414. Mathematical Statistics I.

Course description

From: Introduction to the mathematical theory of statistics, including random variables and their distributions, expectation and variance, point estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing.

To: Mathematical theory of statistics; probability, random variables and their distributions, transformations of random variables, expectations and variance, generating functions, sampling distributions and basic limit theorems.

STAT 415. Mathematical Statistics II.

Course description

From: Continuation of the mathematical theory of statistics, including sampling and limiting distributions, principles for statistical inference and inference for bivariate and categorical data.

To: Continuation of the mathematical theory of statistics, including principles for statistical inference, formulation of statistical models, reduction of data, point estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and Bayesian inference.

3.  Change in Curriculum

College of Liberal Arts

Minor in Film Studies

4.  Change in Curriculum

College of Science

Department of Mathematics

BA in Mathematics

5.  Change in Curriculum

College of Science

Department of Mathematics

BS in Mathematics

6.  Change in Curriculum

College of Science

Department of Mathematics

BS in Applied Mathematical Sciences

7.  Change in Curriculum

College of Science

Department of Mathematics

BS in Applied Mathematical Sciences

Computational Science Track

8.  Change in Curriculum

College of Science

Department of Mathematics

Minor in Mathematics

9.  Special Consideration

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications

Minor in Extension Education

Request for a new minor

10.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Chemical Engineering Program

BS in Chemical Engineering

11.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Electrical Engineering Program

BS in Electrical Engineering

12.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Mechanical Engineering Program

BS in Mechanical Engineering

13.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Petroleum Engineering Program

BS in Petroleum Engineering

14.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Petroleum Engineering Program

BS in Petroleum Engineering

15.  Texas A&M University at Qatar

Change in Curriculum

Texas A&M University at Qatar

Chemical Engineering Program

BS in Chemical Engineering