New science course to be offered on Italian campus

Microbiology classes offered at OU in Arezzo, July 2013

Basic Immunology: A 4000-level course that teaches students about the bodys immune response when it encounters pathogens. It will also show how the immune system develops and how it can make mistakes and cause autoimmunity, allergies and cancer.

Pathogenic Microbiology: A 4000-level course that teaches students about pathogens that try to cause infections. It also will talk about emerging pathogens effects on society, as well as health care services.

A new microbiology study abroad program will infect OUs Arezzo campus next July and make it easier for science majors to earn credit while abroad.

The summer program will include OUs basic immunology and pathogenic microbiology courses and will join two other science programs already offered in Arezzo Organic Chemistry/Chemistry & Wine Culture and Chemistry & Art.

Science classes offered abroad are a rare phenomena for a number of reasons, immunology professor Casie Collamore said in an email.

I think part of the rarity is because it seems daunting to offer hard science courses in a four week time frame, she said. Some subjects just cant be tailored to fit such a tight schedule and expect the students to really absorb the material. Another problem is that many hard science faculty also have research labs that require their attention, and it is difficult to leave the lab bench and their students for a long period of time.

This isnt the first time the microbiology department has attempted to offer classes abroad, Collamore said. A few years ago, pathogenic microbiology professor Tyrrell Conway submitted a proposal to teach a microbiology class, but it was denied because it wasnt going to be taught alongside a second course.

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New science course to be offered on OU's Arezzo campus