Spring 2026 Course Search

The Herbarium: Research, Art & Botany — BIO4441.01

Instructor: Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie
Days & Time: TU,FR 2:10pm-4:00pm
Credits: 4

An herbarium is a museum of pressed plants, a record of flora following a system that dates back to the 16th century. Large herbaria at institutions like D.C.’s Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Chicago’s Field Museum, Cambridge’s Harvard University, and London’s Kew Gardens contain millions of specimens, collected from around the world. But, most herbaria are small herbaria, with less than 10,000 specimens.

Sculpture Studio/ advanced practice — SCU4217.01

Instructor: John Umphlett
Days & Time: TU 8:30am-12:10pm
Credits: 4

This course asks each student to work in a self-directed way among a community of critical thinkers. Finding one’s voice, as a maker, requires research sources of influence and inspiration. Students are expected to undertake a significant amount of work outside of regular class meetings. At this point in your Visual Arts Education you must be able to represent serious attention and dedication to your work, and prove that you can manage your time and energy towards advanced inquiry.

about the membrane — SCU2216.01

Instructor: John Umphlett
Days & Time: TH 8:30am-12:10pm
Credits: 4

This course focuses on the additive construction methods essential to contemporary sculpture. Students will embark on independent projects that hone their skills in constructing armatures and exploring innovative skinning techniques. Throughout the term, participants will learn to build and manipulate forms using primarily additive processes, developing their own sculptural vocabulary in a studio environment. There will be two personal independent projects in this class that will ultimately converge into a dynamic, large-scale collaborative sculpture.

Introduction to Cancer Biology — BIO2104.01

Instructor: Amie McClellan
Days & Time: TU,FR 10:30am-12:20pm
Credits: 4

The cells in our bodies need to grow and divide in order to make new tissue, and to repair or replace damaged tissue.  The processes that govern cell growth and division are tightly regulated. When the cells that comprise the tissues of our bodies lose the ability to properly regulate their growth and proliferation, cancer is the result.  This introductory level course will provide an overview of the basic mechanisms and genetics underlying human cancers, as well as explore current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Reading and Knitting the Forested Landscape — BIO2242.01

Instructor: Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie
Days & Time: MO,TH 1:40pm-3:30pm
Credits: 4

Why would a forest ecology course include an assignment to knit a wool hat? In this class we will explore the lasting impact of sheep on the Vermont landscape, from the earliest settler-colonizers through today’s small batch fiber mills and second growth forests studded with stone walls. Sheep, and especially a 19th century boom in merino sheep, radically altered Vermont’s forests and inspired early writing on conservation and sustainable land management.