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Hands-on theory building—turn ideas into testable explanations

Sem02 (2025-2026) Fundamentals: Becoming better at explaining and understanding*

Scientific theories quietly power everything—from vaccines to your smartphone. But theories aren’t just for labs; we all (try to) explain the world every day. In this Honours course, you’ll learn how to shape those explanations into detailed theories and improve them step-by-step.

How do scientific theories get built? How do we know an explanation truly makes sense? You’ll learn by doing: you’ll pick real-world phenomena, propose explanations, detail their mechanisms (with simple diagrams or models), and design ways to test them. Expect interactive tutorials, direct feedback, and tangible outputs.

For more information and course details, go to 'Curriculum' at the top of the page.

* Also open for 1st year students

This is an honours course

More about the course format

Comments from students

Comments from students

"I really like this idea of creating your own theory and working with others to make it work. It was a very creative and unique course in my experience."

"I loved the interactive tutorial sessions [...]. I really respected the professor for taking consideration of our time & not just telling us to do the assignments at home."

"I liked the relaxed and fun atmosphere in general. The regular presentations & feedback was a strong part of this course."

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