Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor in the engineering department.

(professor) Your email said you had some questions about the history of engineering course?

(male student) Yes, the course description in the catalog listed in two departments as a history course, and as a regular science course for engineering majors, I wasn\'t sure.

(professor) It is a little confusing. We\\\'ve never done this before. It\\\\\\\'s a bit of an experiment, but I\'m really hoping it works.

(male student) You mean, it\'s a new course?

(professor) Actually, no. It\'s always been our standard introduction to engineering course for engineering students. But after a lot of persuasion, I finally got the administration to agree to let me open up the course to non-engineering students as a history course.

(male student) That\'s what I thought. I mean, to me, it looked interesting is a history topic, because I don\'t really feel qualified to sign up for something super technical with labs and things like that.

(professor) Right. That\'s why I discussed this course with the head of the history department to come up with different sets of requirements. Engineering students who take it will be expected to attend labs and turn in weekly problem sets, but students who take it as a history course will be excused from those tasks.

(male student) So, Non-engineers…?

(professor) Will focus primarily on the historical component of the course, which is, of course, pretty substantial and their assignments will be different. They\'ll have to write a few essays and give some in class presentations on topics that have to do with the history of advances in engineering, be it in city planning, transportation, industry.

(male student) Sounds perfect for me. I\'ll definitely register for it.

(professor) Great. I\'m really glad the administration has finally agreed to let us do this. I\\\'ve been trying for years to find a way to open the course to students with diverse backgrounds and interests.

(male student) And it will fulfill my social science requirement. So, do I just register using the history department codes or…? I\'m a first-year student, is that a problem?

(professor) Not at all. The course is open to first-year students. However, your academic advisor will have to approve all your courses before you register. That\'s important because talking to your advisor helps with things like making sure this course is the best way for you to fulfill your social science requirement.

(male student) Oh, okay.

(professor) But, since I know you\'re interested, I can temporarily hold a spot in the class for you. This way, you won\'t have to worry about the course filling up while you\'re in that process.