Prospective Students

SDU Program

The Science, Discovery and the Universe (SDU) program offers better students the opportunity to live together as a group and challenge themselves with a diverse set of colloquia and activities. In the course of the 2-year program SDU students discuss the nature of science, discover the world through excursions, and wonder at the spectacle of the Universe revealed by the latest research. Students who fulfil the SDU requirements receive the honor of a citation on their transcript that only College Park Scholars are eligible for.

SDU students take 1-credit SDU colloquia in both of their freshman semesters, together with supporting courses (most of which also satisfy CORE requirements). As sophomores, SDU students enrol in a 2-credit course as they carry out their Scholars' capstone project and meet every second week for colloquia. In addition, SDU students can go on any of the typically 10 excursions offered every year, including an overnight trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. The excursions both build the SDU community (a priority for the program) and encourage scientific exploration.

SDU is sponsored by the Astronomy Department and the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and most of the faculty are astronomers, but we serve students from all across campus, not just science and engineering majors: any student with a general interest in science and the wider universe will find SDU rewarding.