Is SIMILE for students interested in history or for students interested in science and technology?
Yes, and especially for students whose interests span those fields! SIMILE is a history program, about science. The program offers a lively community for students who are passionate about history as well as science and who want to understand these two subjects together.
How many course units is SIMILE? Will SIMILE students have time for other things?
SIMILE students earn a total of 16 units for the year: 4 units during two quarters and 8 units in the one quarter in which they are additionally taking the writing component. This provides the freedom to take two to three additional classes outside of SIMILE each quarter. SIMILE students will have plenty of time and energy for other classes — of whatever sort they choose — and for activities throughout campus.
Where do SIMILE students live? How do SIMILE and ITALIC participants interact?
SIMILE students live and learn together in Burbank House, part of Stern Hall, a centrally-located, all-frosh dormitory complex. The ITALIC program is also housed in Burbank. The two programs co-host occasional events. And students in the two programs are together every day for meals and for the other socializing that is a common experience of dorm life, plus while enjoying the many special facilities that are open only to Burbank residents (a music practice room, a flexible-use art studio/laboratory/workshop, and performance spaces). Roommates are assigned based on personal compatibility, and there are many SIMILE-ITALIC roommate pairings. Yet Burbank is a single house within a large freshman dormitory complex, so SIMILE students can also easily get to know lots of first-year students outside of Burbank.
How does SIMILE count towards degrees in Classics and History?
The fall quarter of SIMILE counts as one class towards a major or minor in Classics. The yearlong SIMILE sequence counts as three courses towards the History major or minor (e.g. it is half of a History minor, which is a total of 6 classes). Within the History major, SIMILE also fulfills the requirement to take two introductory lecture courses. Both fall and winter quarters of SIMILE fulfill the pre-1700 requirement for the History major. And all three SIMILE courses can count towards the History, Science, and Medicine interdisciplinary History major, which allows students to combine coursework within History with coursework in an allied subject such as STS, Philosophy of Science, the sciences, or the premed science requirements.
