Pitt’s new classes and programs for fall 2023

Have you ever loved a course so much you wanted to dive deeper? Now you can do that at Pitt.

New this semester, the David C. Frederick Honors College is offering enhancement contracts, where students can work with instructors to add new ways of engaging with a course like creative works, community engagement or presentations. It’s not just knowledge that’s up for grabs — students who successfully complete a contract can earn course credit toward an honors degree or honors distinction.

That’s just one of the new offerings at Pitt this fall. Read on to learn about new African language offerings, a medical curriculum revamp, frugal engineering and more. Remember, the add/drop period ends Sept. 8.

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

New offerings in the Graduate School of Public and International affairs give students a chance to translate their book knowledge into real-world impact. A 15-credit Public Policy Minor and an 18-credit Nonprofit Management Certificate provide skills that layer onto students’ primary major, allowing them to connect their area of interest with meaningful impact in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

New undergraduate courses include one on how public policy works and one on skills for policy research and analysis. At the graduate level, the school is offering new courses in international affairs and human security, focused on how U.S. presidents make foreign policy decisions, how states fight wars and nonviolent civil resistance movements.

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

New in the Katz School is a micro-credential in sustainable business, which emphasizes a long-term approach to the relationship between business, society and the environment.

As one of 10 specializations offered by Katz, the nine-credit program lets graduate students and working professionals learn about developing business strategies that prioritize long-term value creation, including making decisions that align with sustainability goals and fostering a culture of sustainability at an organization.

Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

A new, 18-credit Digital Studies and Methods Certificate in the Dietrich School is designed to guide students through the process of gaining their own deeply engaged understanding of the ways digital technologies affect their daily lives.

Also, in the Less Commonly Taught Languages Center, the number of African languages offered is increasing to five with the addition of Akan/Twi (available in the course catalogue as LCTL 0101 1200) and Wolof (LCTL 0101 1210). Learning Wolof will prepare students for a new Global Experiences Program being offered in the Summer of 2024 in Dakar, Senegal, and learning Akan/Twi will prepare students for the Pitt in Ghana Global Experiences Program.

Among other new courses in the Dietrich School is Crime and Punishment in Hip Hop (RUSS 0670), which combines a close reading of Dostoyevsky with a discussion of how his novel’s themes apply to rap and hip-hop lyrics.

Learning Research and Development Center

Interested in the neural, cognitive, developmental, psychological, technological, organizational and social factors that make for successful learning? A new undergraduate transcript distinction in Learning Sciences allows you to take advantage of Pitt’s powerful research environment and gain a valuable perspective on a domain rich in interdisciplinary opportunities and growth. Transcript distinctions allow students to document their learning on their academic transcript with a meaningful credential of value to both prospective employers and graduate schools.

School of Computing and Information

A new 15-credit Information Science Minor lets Pitt students from any degree program add technical expertise in system design, network management and data analysis to their professional capabilities.

In the minor, students take one required programming course and a combination of electives in information science, with suggested clusters covering topics like cybersecurity, data analytics and user experience.

School of Education

The Certificate in Instructional Design and Technology is a 12-credit, fully online program focused on creating learning experiences that incorporate digital media, online learning and equitable practices. The curriculum is geared toward aspiring or current instructional design professionals who want to work in K-12, higher education or the government, corporate or nonprofit sectors. The program is now accepting applications — no GRE required — and officially begins in the spring 2023 term.

School of Medicine

Incoming students in the School of Medicine’s Class of 2027 will experience an entirely revamped set of courses and programs: the Three Rivers Curriculum, which features fewer lectures, more small-group discussion and more of a focus on linking disparate topics.

Among many changes, first-year students can choose from different experiences during “flex week” like participating in clinical shadowing, professional development and other opportunities.

Meanwhile, graduate students in the school interested in equity, diversity and inclusion can now go beyond existing workshops and take a course on these topics: Basic Understanding of EDI as Related to Graduate Education (MSCMP 2280).

School of Public Health

This fall will be the first full semester for an 18-credit Bioethics Certificate conferred by the School of Public Health, open to all undergraduates on the Pittsburgh campus. The certificate is designed to be interdisciplinary and focus on the development of transferable skills used in the field of bioethics. Applications for the fall cohort will be open until October 13. Interested students can cindy.mccarthy [at] pitt.edu (subject: Bioethic%20Certificate) (contact the certificate’s director), Cindy McCarthy.

Students can learn about bioethics outside the classroom, too: In Ethics in Action, a collaboration with the Frederick Honors College and Outside the Classroom Curriculum, the school will offer seminars and experiential learning opportunities related to ethical issues in public health, research and the health sciences.

Swanson School of Engineering

Interested in AI but don’t know where to start? A new course in the Swanson School serves as a first step for graduate students across math, engineering and the sciences interested in pursuing machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence. Introductory Data Science (ME 2232) will teach students the mathematical and programming knowledge necessary to start applying data-driven modeling in science and engineering.

The school has also introduced several new courses related to the recently launched Engineering Data Analytics Certificate: Exploratory Data Science (ENGR 1451), Data Science: Statistical Learning, Modeling and Prediction (ENGR 1453) and Introduction to Optimization for Machine Learning (IE 1187).

Another new graduate course, Frugal Engineering and Value Analysis (IE 2104), focuses on optimizing the design of processes, products and projects.

Pitt-Greensburg

Nine new courses are available at Pitt-Greensburg. Learn about cross-cultural conceptions of what women do and achieve in Women’s Work (ANTH 1470), study the history of the migration of African Americans from the rural South to urban industrial centers in Transnational Pittsburgh: Black Migration (HIST 1636) or ponder our thoughts and desires in Fantasy and Romance (ENGLIT 1572).

Another opportunity for students extends outside the classroom. SOCSCI 1905 — Policy Practicum is built around programming with the Washington Center, a nonprofit internship provider. Alongside the practicum, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Communication Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell is recruiting students for a seminar that includes an eight-day visit to Washington, D.C., and a campus forum.

— Patrick Monahan, photography by Aimee Obidzinski