Science and Mathematics

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Term
Time & Day Offered
Level
Credits
Course Duration

Algorithms and Data Structures — CS4378.01

Spring 2022
Instructor: Jim Mahoney
Credits: 4
A survey of the most common patterns of storing digital information and the recipes to search, process, and access that information. Topics include data structures such as arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash tables, and trees and algorithms such as brute force, divide and conquer, and recursion. Students will learn to compare the efficiency of these recipes and storage
Science and Mathematics

Algorithms and Data Structures — CS4378.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Jim Mahoney
Credits: 4
A survey of the most common patterns of storing digital information and the recipes to search, process, and access that information. Topics include data structures such as arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash tables, and trees and algorithms such as brute force, divide and conquer, and recursion. Students will learn to compare the efficiency of
Science and Mathematics

Alternative Facts: The Undoing of Science in America — ENV2185.01

Fall 2017
Instructor: Betsy Sherman
Credits:
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. (Isaac Asimov, 1980). Does the recent U.S. election suggest that the
CAPA Environment Science and Mathematics

An Environmental History of Food and Farming — ENV2204.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Kerry Woods
Credits: 4
Modern Homo sapiens have been around for about 200,000 years and for about 95% of that time, our ancestors lived as hunter-gatherers. Around 10,000 years ago, several distinct sets of our ancestors came up with agricultural technology (active ecosystem management for enhanced food production), and immediately began changing their world irreversibly. Long‐term feedbacks
Science and Mathematics Environment

An Environmental History of Food and Farming — BIO2204.01

Spring 2017
Instructor: Kerry Woods
Credits: 4
Modern humans have been around for well over 100,000 years. Our ancestors came up with agricultural technology (active ecosystem management for enhanced food production) only about 10,000 years ago, and began changing their world irreversibly.  The long‐term feedbacks triggered by adoption of food production on human population dynamics, socio-cultural systems, and
Science and Mathematics Environment

An Introduction to Functional Programming — CS4138.01) (cancelled 10/5/2023

Spring 2024
Instructor: Michael Corey
Credits: 4
In this course we will introduce functional programming through Learn You a Haskell for Great Good, one of the more entertaining and approachable manuals on functional programming. This material will be supplemented by looking at how the R programming language was influenced by functional programming concepts and methods. The latter part may be of particular interest to people
Science and Mathematics

An Introduction to the Rust Programming Language — CS4381.01

Spring 2023
Instructor: Michael Corey
Credits: 4
Rust is a new programming language focused on reliability and efficiency. Rust uses very specific approaches to types, memory-safety, and inheritance which make it an increasingly popular language for backend and system programming. In this course we will start by working through the the core learning documentation offered by the language community. After getting a firm footing
Science and Mathematics

Analysis — MAT4214.01

Fall 2019
Instructor: Andrew McIntyre
Credits: 4
For the first one hundred and fifty years after its introduction, calculus saw an explosive development in its applications to mathematical and physical problems, defeating old problems thought of as insoluble, and solving new problems no-one had even thought to consider before. At the same time, it was under a cloud of suspicion: it rested on vague arguments about quantities
Science and Mathematics

Analysis — MAT4214.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Katie Montovan
Credits: 4
For the first one hundred and fifty years after its introduction, calculus saw an explosive development in its applications to mathematical and physical problems, defeating old problems thought of as insoluble, and solving new problems no-one had even thought to consider before. At the same time, it was under a cloud of suspicion: it rested on vague arguments about quantities
Science and Mathematics

Analyzing Blockchain/Web3 as an open distributed database — CS4391.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: Michael Corey
Days & Time: TH 3:40pm-5:30pm
Credits: 2

Following up on the fall course on web3, this course helps students learn to track transactions and actions across blockchains, which are large distributed censorship resistant databases. The course starts by exploring the fundamental nature of the blockchain: how data is stored, accessed, and traversed. It then introduces common patterns

Computer Science

Ancient to Modern Environments: Near and Far — ES4106.01

Spring 2023
Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Credits: 2
To study a planet’s climatic variation over geologic time we must look for subtle clues in the sedimentary rock record. We are currently doing this on two planets, and scientists have their sights set on more planetary bodies around the solar system. At the same time, the James Webb telescope is offering an unprecedented glimpse of what planets may look like outside of our
Science and Mathematics Environment

Ancient to Modern Environments: Near and Far — ES4106.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Credits: 2
To study a planet’s climatic variation over geologic time we must look for subtle clues in the sedimentary rock record. We are currently doing this on two planets, and scientists have their sights set on more planetary bodies around the solar system. At the same time, the James Webb telescope is offering an unprecedented glimpse of what planets may look like outside of our
Science and Mathematics Environment

Animal Social Behavior — BIO4307.01

Spring 2020
Instructor: Betsy Sherman
Credits: 4
E. O. Wilson has said that "the organism is simply DNA's way of making more DNA". Are the elaborate, bizarre, (at times flamboyant), energy requiring social systems of animals simply adaptations which permit those animals to reproduce? Why is there so much diversity among animal social systems? Why are most mammals polygynous and most birds monogamous? Can we make predictions
Science and Mathematics

Animal Social Behavior — BIO4307.01

Spring 2018
Instructor: Betsy Sherman
Credits: 4
E. O. Wilson has said that “the organism is simply DNA’s way of making more DNA”. Are the elaborate, bizarre, (at times flamboyant), energy requiring social systems of animals simply adaptations which permit those animals to reproduce? Why is there so much diversity among animal social systems? Why are most mammals polygynous and most birds monogamous? Can we make predictions
Science and Mathematics Environment

Applied Computing: Foundations of Python Programming — CS2119.01

Fall 2019
Instructor: Amber Hancock
Credits: 4
In this introduction to computer science, you will learn to design, implement, test, and analyze algorithms and programs using Python, currently one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Within the context of programming, you will learn to formulate problems, think creatively about solutions, and express those solutions clearly and accurately. Problems
Science and Mathematics

Applied/Engineering Physics — PHY4217.01

Spring 2021
Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Credits: 4
This course applies the concepts of mechanical physics to practical engineering and environmental problems. Any structure, be it a building, a nuclear reactor, a dam, an embankment, or a natural hillside, must be able to withstand the stresses that are placed on it by its environment without failing in order to ensure people's safety. You will learn how forces cause stress
Science and Mathematics

Applied/Engineering Physics — PHY4217.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: Tim Schroeder
Credits: 4
This course applies the concepts of mechanical physics to practical engineering and environmental problems. Any structure, be it a building, a nuclear reactor, a dam, an embankment, or a natural hillside, must be able to withstand the stresses that are placed on it by its environment without failing in order to ensure people’s safety. You will learn how forces cause stress
Science and Mathematics

Artificial Intelligence — Canceled

Spring 2017
Instructor: Justin Vasselli
Credits: 4
In this class, students will learn the basics of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.  We’ll talk about algorithms that allow computers to play simple games like Mancala or Pac-Man, including search algorithms, decision trees, and pathfinding. We’ll talk about how software can “learn” from a dataset, and apply that “knowledge” to improve its future effectiveness.
Science and Mathematics

Artificial Intelligence — CS4105.01

Spring 2026
Instructor: Darcy Otto
Days & Time: TU,FR 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 4

How can we create machines that think, learn, and solve problems? This course explores the fascinating field of artificial intelligence (AI), introducing the fundamental concepts, techniques, and ethical considerations that drive this rapidly evolving discipline.

Building upon your programming knowledge, you will explore key AI paradigms including search algorithms,

Computer Science

Bennington Biodiversity Project — BIO4303.01

Fall 2018
Instructor: Kerry Woods
Credits: 2
An All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is an effort to compile the full list of species of all taxa present in some area on the planet. No ATBI has ever been (or ever will be?) completed, but this class is an ongoing effort towards a working ATBI for the Bennington College campus (which is unusually diverse for its area). Past terms have addressed fungi, various invertebrate
Science and Mathematics

Bennington Biodiversity Project — BIO4214.02

Spring 2021
Instructor: Carly Rudzinski
Credits: 2
An All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is an effort to compile the full list of species of all taxa present in some area on the planet. No ATBI has ever been (or ever will be?) completed, but this class is an ongoing effort towards a working ATBI for the Bennington College campus (which is unusually diverse for its area). Past terms have addressed fungi, various invertebrate
Science and Mathematics

Bennington Biodiversity Project — BIO4303.01

Fall 2016
Instructor: Kerry Woods
Credits: 2
An All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is an effort to compile the full list of species of all groups present in some area on the planet. No ATBI has ever been (or is ever likely to be) completed, but such efforts have provided striking insights into the largely undocumented diversity of the earth.  This class is an ongoing effort towards a working ATBI for
Science and Mathematics Environment

Biochemistry — CHE4335.01

Spring 2025
Instructor: John Bullock
Credits: 4
Biochemistry is an intermediate chemistry course in which students apply principles from general and organic chemistry, as well as general biology, to understand the molecular processes that characterize life. Biochemistry is a broad discipline that is growing rapidly in its scope – new developments and discoveries are being made daily. The goal of this class will be to give
Science and Mathematics

Biochemistry — CHE4335.01

Spring 2022
Instructor: John Bullock
Credits: 4
Biochemistry is an intermediate chemistry course in which students apply principles from general and organic chemistry, as well as general biology, to understand the molecular processes that characterize life. Biochemistry is a broad discipline that is growing rapidly in its scope – new developments and discoveries are being made daily. The goal of this class will be to give
Science and Mathematics