Honors Courses: Fall 2025

Professor Evan Schneider, Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 to 2:15 p.m.; Tuesdays noon to 12:50 p.m.

This course will be an introduction to astronomy and astrophysics. The 4-credit honors course will consists of all aspects of the 3-credit course, including lectures and homework with additional problems tailored for this course. ASTRON 0413 includes an additional 50-minute class session each week. In these extra sessions, basic topics will be covered in more detail than in ASTRON 0113. These extra sessions will also involve significant problem solving and discussions of the derivations of fundamental results in astronomy and astrophysics.

Professor Barry Mitnick, Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Market Manipulations is a course about the forms of market failure and the generalizations we can draw to understand market behavior in the future. The course compares financial panics in U.S. business history: 1792, 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893/95, 1907, 1929, and 2008. How can we generalize to understand future panics? We look at major forms of market scams, including bubbles (Tulipomania, South Sea Bubble, Dot Con Bubble), Ponzi schemes, and typical behaviors of con artists (e.g., Gregor MacGregor) and generalize their common patterns. We consider the origin of the modern business firm (joint stock trading company) as the solution to the general agency problems of managing risk and providing assurance. We examine how Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Westinghouse built their companies, seeking monopoly, and identify the "monopolist's playlist," generalizations about patterns of monopoly-building. These tactics surprisingly remain as relevant today as they were during what Mark Twain called the "Gilded Age." We shift to the Progressive Era, and pushback. Coxey's Army was the first march on Washington, anticipating the New Deal 40 years later. The "stunt journalists" and "muckrakers," including Nellie Bly, Jacob Riis, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, and Ray Stannard Baker, sought to influence repair of market defects via journalistic investigation. We look at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 and the career of Frances Perkins. We review causes of the Crash of 1929/Great Depression. Thus, this course is highly unusual in using events in business history to generalize about our expectations of business behavior today and in the future.

Professor Kiersten Maryott, TBA

Professor Eugene Wagner, Lecture section on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Lab sections on Wednesdays  8 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. or Tuesdays 1 p.m. to 4:50 p.m

Chemistry 0710 and 0720 comprise a two-term introduction to the fundamental properties of matter. The courses emphasize the fundamental principles of chemistry as exemplified by applications to industrial and environmental chemistry. Chemistry 0710 covers stoichiometry, electronic structure of atoms and molecules, periodic behavior, theories of bonding, and spectroscopy.

Professor Paul Floreancing, Lecture section on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.; Recitation section on Tuesdays from noon to 12:50 p.m.

An introduction to theory and practice of organic chemistry through study of structural principles, reaction mechanisms, and synthesis leading toward end of second term, when complex molecules of biological interest are discussed. Basic goals of course are to develop appreciation and skill in methods of molecular analysis which have made organic chemistry such a powerful intellectual discipline. Course will prepare student for work in advanced topics of organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and health related sciences.

Professor John Ramirez, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

This is an intermediate programming course that focuses on programming via an object-oriented paradigm. Students entering CMPINF 0401 are expected to have some previous concepts and then focus on object-oriented programming, including classes, encapsulation and abstraction, inheritance, polymorphism and interfaces. Some introductory data structures and algorithms will also be covered in this course.This class is a programming-intensive course, and students will be expected to complete several non-trivial programming projects throughout the term.

Professor Nicholas Farnan, Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.

The purpose of this course is to give an introduction and insight into designing and implementing video games. This course questions the nature, intent, and motivation of games and how to construct a compelling experience for users. It is a project-based course, with a final project being to make a game with a small team.

TO BE ANNOUNCED

A course directed toward development of basic skills in recording engineering through expanded understanding of the science and engineering of music. The course will use the music engineering laboratory (MEL) located in Benedum Hall. The MEL is a state of the art sound recording facility with research and educational capabilities for sound recording and music engineering. Topics covered: recording engineering (microphones, amplifiers, and mixing, filtering, special effects), mathematical basis of sound and music (acoustics, speech and singing, hearing, pitch, stereo perception), musical instrument function (mechanical and electronic).

Professor Irene Mena Lora, Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 5:50 p.m.

In this course, we will learn basic programming skills using MATLAB and C. In addition, we will address teamwork and professional integrity, both important aspects of engineering. This is a team-based, hands-on course, in which most of our class time will be spent working in teams to develop programs, solve problems, and participate in discussions, using what we learn in the course.

Professor Abigail Caroll, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Climate change poses a critical challenge for the global community, with increasing impacts on food security, water resources, human health, ecosystem diversity, and energy, among others. A fundamental step towards developing climate change solutions is the ability to recognize, understand, and communicate its causes and impacts. This course offers a multi-disciplinary approach to learning about climate change that both develops the science and enables the students to build ongoing interactions with the broader community, setting them up to be "Climate Science Ambassadors." The course will cover the evidence supporting anthropogenic climate change, future climate projections, and the development of climate policy related to adaptation and mitigation strategies. Students will engage in active and collaborative learning exercises, integrate data analysis projects using physical and social climate science data, and develop written and oral communication techniques through workshops with local journalists and political and social scientists. Students from this course will be invited to participate in the Dietrich School Climate and Global Change Center to access resources and mentorship on science communication. This course requires no previous background in climate science. Honors students will be given enrollment priority.

Professor Diego Holstein, Thursdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. 

This course offers a venue to explore a large variety of political regimes frequently bounded together in the professional literature under the conceptual umbrella of "dictatorship." After gaining an introductory overview and acquiring a conceptual toolkit we will systematically scrutinize the trajectories, structures, and policies of some twenty political regimes throughout the world aiming to identify their commonalities and singularities. These findings will allow us to search for shared patters, identify types of political regimes, establish comparisons and connections between them, and understand every regime within a wider global context.

Professor Raja Adal, Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 to 2:15 p.m. 

The history of Japan since 1800. This course stresses the modernization and economic development of Japan into the industrial giant it has become today. It also investigates the major by-product of that development, World War II, and the events that led to the war.

Professor Josh Cannon, Fridays 2 to 2:50 p.m. 

In this seminar, students will learn foundational research concepts, applicable to any discipline, while also learning how to navigate the world of undergraduate research. Course topics range from identifying a faculty research mentor to developing a research project proposal students can use to pursue research opportunities in their area of interest the Frederick Honors College.

Professor David Hornyak, Professor Nicola Foote, Thursdays noon to 12:50 p.m.

This is the first course in a two-semester informational seminar sequence for first-year Chancellor Scholars. Students will gain a better understanding of an issue from a multi-disciplinary perspective through discussions with faculty and experiential learning activities. Students will also learn about the services, functions, policies, and opportunities available through the David C. Frederick Honors College.

Professor Brian Williams, Ralia Adams, Wednesdays 3 to 3:50 p.m.

Professor Bryan Schultz, Fridays from noon to 12:50 p.m.

This is a 1-credit, multi-disciplinary research-based course aimed at providing a clearinghouse for research and training on the long-term effects of out-migration from Appalachian communities. The research is based on facilitating collaboration with community partners in Fayette County in Pennsylvania. This course will provide students with the tools they need to begin the co-creation of knowledge with community partners in a way that centers community self-determination and research ethics. Participation in this course is by permission only. Contact one of these faculty members if you wish to join the course: Michael Glass (glass@pitt.edu), Kristin Kanthak (kanthak@pitt.edu), or David Sanchez (david.sanchez@pitt.edu).

Professor Brian Williams, Steven Anderson. To be arranged

Professor Ron Idoko, Mondays from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

This is the first part of a two-semester sequence for students participating in the Justice and Equity Honors Network (JEHN), which is a consortium of honors colleges in the United States whose students examine issues of justice and equity in depth and in context. Through high-level thinking and self-critical analysis, students will identify and create new definitions and new understandings of the principles necessary for achieving equity. They will inquire, research, and collaborate across academic disciplines, across communities, and across geographic regions.

Professor Samantha Balbier, Fridays to 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

This is the first part of a two-semester sequence for students participating in the Elsie Hillman Honors Scholars Program, which connects entrepreneurial and creative students with regional community partners to join an existing project or develop a student and agency-led project that addresses issues important to the organization and reflects the social commitment of Elsie Hillman. Through a structured and collaborative process, the student will work closely with their community agency and mentor to develop a project, product, or conduct research.

Professor Josh Cannon

This course is restricted to students participating in the Martinson Applied Projects program (MAPs). Students participating in the MAPs program work on applied projects during the academic year, led by a Pitt research mentor. Students meet regularly with their project lead each week to identify a project-specific deliverable.

Professor David Hornyak

Undergraduates pursuing the bachelor of philosophy degree through the honors college may register for this course only after their thesis proposal has been approved and they have been admitted to honors college candidacy.

Professor Ahmed Ghuman, Mondays 3 to 4:30 p.m., Recitation sections varies

The purpose of this course is to teach undergraduate students skills for having resilience in the face of commonly experienced stressors and difficulties. Stated simply, resilience is the ability to both survive and thrive. Resilience is not only about your ability to positively adapt in the face of adverse or challenging circumstances (that is, survive), but it is also about learning the positive skills, strategies and routines that enable you to live a happy, fulfilling, and successful life (in other words, thrive). This course will provide you with a personalized set of strategies and skills for self-care and optimize your academic and social experiences while at the University of Pittsburgh and beyond.