According to your four-year degree plan, you will be required to take different type of courses throughout your four years which include following categories of courses
- Habib Liberal Core Courses: These are mandatory courses of Habib Liberal Core Curriculum for all University students
- Core/Required Courses related to your focused degree program: These are core/mandatory courses by your degree program. They differ for each Program.
- Elective Courses related to your Program: These are the courses pertaining to your degree program and you need to select them from the given options.
- Free Electives – These are university wide open courses and you can take them as per your interest and eligibility. These do not necessarily be from your degree program.
For each program, all the above courses have been distributed in eight semesters (four year) and documented in the form of Four-year gird of your program. We will introduce this Four-year Grid to you during enrolment advising sessions.
As a starting point, you may start with your semester 1 courses. Following sections will help you learn about your semester 1 course Plan and the description of the courses. First try to understand your semester 1 course plan and then read the description of various courses.
You can explore the full syllabi of your courses at https://syllabus.habib.edu.pk/. Identify the relevant details from the following sections about various courses in order to search them at the above link. Read the Course Description of All Core/Mandatory Courses (Students have already been enrolled in these courses by the Registrar’s Office) Course title: Rhetoric and Communication (CORE 101) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: The need for civic engagement, for well-reasoned debate in the public sphere, is still of course very much with us, but the study of rhetoric today covers a far wider field of expression. Argument and persuasion are not simply matters for politics and the university, but find cultural resonance in a number of symbolic forms. There is a rhetorical dimension, for instance, in pop songs, video games, memes, advertisements, jokes, graffiti, images, public monuments, photographs, films, podcasts, blogs, memos, op-eds, poems, tweets, stories, plays, and so on. Whether verbal, visual, or physical, all these forms of expression carry a certain rhetorical charge. They also imply a distinct relationship between the speaker and their audience, between a text and its context. A rhetorically informed analysis will highlight the intricacies of this complicated social relationship, and thus deepen our understanding of the powerful effects language can have on the structures that frame our everyday lives. In their respective seminars, students will analyze a selection of texts from multiple perspectives, argue critically about plausible interpretations of those texts, and debate with each other about the pressing social issues they raise. The primary aim in doing so, and the overarching goal for RhetComm this year, is to practice and develop analytical writing skills. Students will learn to read, write, and think critically about a variety of texts, arguments, and forms of expression. They will also learn to advance a compelling line of argument by linking a series of interrelated texts using close reading and analysis. The larger goal here is not only to increase academic literacy, but to stimulate that spirit of critical inquiry which is the heart and soul of a liberal arts education. In the first 10 weeks of this course sessions will introduce students to fundamental skills and knowledge required for producing successful academic writing: systems of documentation, proper citation practices, text incorporation, use of Turnitin and plagiarism, and sessions on database navigation and the fundamentals of research. The aim of this course is to provide students with a shared intellectual vocabulary to help them articulate some of the issues they will grapple with as their undergraduate journey begins. Course title: Logical Problem Solving (CORE 111) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: Logic is fundamental to the way humans communicate. Our public debates and private reasoning are shaped by our intuitive sense of what is rational and what is not. Yet, that “sense” also serves to fool us more often than we would like to think. “Logical Problem Solving” will help you understand the distinction between what seems sensible and what actually is. By learning the essential elements, the language, and the formal tools of logic, you will learn to deconstruct and analyze different types of natural language arguments. You will also learn how to how to avoid common mistakes in reasoning. Combined, these tools and learning will help you develop a better sense of truth and the ability to argue and opine rationally. This course introduces basic methods for representing and assessing the logical form of various arguments at an undergraduate level. Students will learn to differentiate between both inductive and deductive arguments in natural language in terms of their structure and content. Further, students will learn to identify and avoid common mistakes in reasoning based on content (informal reasoning). The majority of the course will focus on imparting formal reasoning (structure-based) skills to students. Students will study various forms of deductive arguments based on form, and learn to identify these forms in natural language arguments. Students will also learn to represent natural language statements and arguments in formal symbolic and graphic notations. They will further learn various tools to analyze the validity, truth, and soundness of deductive statements and arguments, to build a better understanding of the nature of truth and sensibility. And students will learn to identify and avoid common mistakes in reasoning based on argumentation structure (formal reasoning). Course Title: Design your Habib Experience (PLAY 113) – 1 Credit Hour Brief Description of the Course: Course Title: First Year Fundamentals (FYE 1011) – 0 Credit Hour Brief Description of the Course: Course title: Development and Social Change (SDP 101) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: This course provides an introduction to development and social change. It is a required course for SDP majors but can be taken as an elective for other students interested in the field. The course provides an overview of ideas, theories and concepts as well as a discussion on critical development challenges. This includes issues of urbanization; food security; migration; intersectionality and gender; as well as wars disasters and conflict. For those planning to take SDP as a major this course provides a foundation that will be further expanded on and interrogated in the next four years in the different courses you will take. Development is one of the principal ideas of our time. The stated purpose of national and international development programs is to improve the wellbeing of people, whether through training, construction of roads and water supply schemes, or the improvement of health services, or in management of disasters such as the current pandemic. At the same time, the distribution of the benefits of development policies and projects are becoming more skewed, and the harmful effects of large-scale development projects are becoming more prominent. This situation leads us to ask what counts as development and for whom? How have modern societies sought to realize their visions of progress? The purpose of this foundational course is to get you as students to think about these questions by introducing you to the history, theory, and the contemporary practice of development. First, we will explore the concept of ‘development’ within the broader field of social sciences and see how it works as a social category, institutional practice, and political technology. This will be followed by an analysis of the assumptions and effects of development programs and policies in specific areas of concern such as poverty, gender, health, education, and disaster preparedness. Course title: Materials and Practices (CND 101) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: Fundamental to practice in the creative art and design disciplines is the ability to see phenomenon in the real world differently, to be able to use observation as the basis for imagination and creative insight, and to materialize both observed and imaginary phenomenon into basic material and visual artifacts, or prototypes. This studio course aims to give incoming freshmen students the foundational skills, tools, and techniques in creative observation, ideation, and prototyping that they will build on in subsequent semesters in more advanced courses. Students will be introduced to a range of drawing and prototyping techniques through a range of mediums. The course will start from basic 2D drawing and will transition after mid-semester towards technical drawing and crafting 3D models from various materials. Students will also cover foundational concepts and frameworks in working with gestalt relations, perspective, light, texture, color, framing etc., and engage with readings and important critical texts that introduce them to discourses in design around these concepts. This course will ensure that the students have a firm grasp of core principles in creative expression through sketching, drawing and working with physical materials on aspects such as figure/ground, color theory, composition etc. The students will also develop sharper observational skills in being able to perceive real form phenomenon and abstract them into visual and material representations. They will also appreciate the importance of prototyping as a systematic process of materializing and refining ideas and will have learned to value the necessity of developing technical skills and craftsmanship working across a range of media commonly used in design prototyping. Course title: Ideation and Processes(CND 102) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: In this class, we will investigate and explore the creative process in order to generate ideas for art, tech and design projects and more. The course will show how different concepts, techniques, and methods can inspire, inform, and bring depth to what one ultimately creates and prototypes. Students will expand their arsenal of design and research skills, learn how to think critically about their audience, content, form, and processes, as well as, understand the importance of utilizing more than one research and design strategy. The course will introduce a number of tools and techniques through hands-on exercises and assignments to really drive home how iterative, messy and exciting the creative process can be! This course aims for students to develop conceptual thinking skills to generate ideas and content in order to create something new, turn problems into opportunities and express one’s point of view through making. They learn to use their imagination to create something entirely new & innovative OR to reinvent an old idea into something new and improved. This learning also helps the students to start developing their research and studio practice through inquiry, experimentation and iteration. Their critical thinking skills are also enhanced that will for analysis of creative work within cultural, historical, and technological contexts. Their collaboration skills are also put in practice in the course to teach them to effectively work in a team or group setting; and the students also develop a habit of reflecting, writing, documenting and showcasing their work. Course title: Critical Inquiry and the Humanities: Love and Desire (HCI 101) – 4 credit hours Brief description of the course: This is the first course in the core sequence of the new Comparative Humanities major. The course is team-taught and consists of four units, one for each of the major concentration areas in the program: History, Literature, Philosophy and Religious Studies. Using the central organizing theme for this course, which is love and desire, we will explore how each of these disciplines frames and examines some aspect of a broad complex issue that transcends a single academic discipline. We will consider what sorts of questions historians, scholars of literature, philosophers and religious studies scholars ask about love and desire, and how they analyze the topic and pursue answers to the questions they ask. By bringing together these four major disciplinary fields in the humanities, you will both learn something about how each discipline works and also about how intellectual discourse crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries. This facility for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary inquiry is an important outcome for this major and yields the distinctive abilities in critical thinking for which the graduates of humanities programs have long been distinguished and valued. Through this course you will also develop a deeper appreciation for differing perspectives. Course title: Introduction to Western Philosophy (PHIL 122) – 3 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: This course aims to provide a systematic introduction to the main problems of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics, as addressed in the Western philosophical tradition. It familiarises students with central debates in Western philosophy and permits them an overview of the works of some of the discipline’s most pertinent thinkers. It does so by pointing out long term traditions of Western philosophical thought as well as their implications for contemporary intellectual discourse. This course aims to provide a systematic introduction to the main problems of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics, as addressed in the Western philosophical tradition. Students will study fundamental questions that have been significant to Western philosophy from its beginning. Course title: Rhetoric and Communication (CORE 101) – 4 Credit Hours Brief Description of the Course: This course will introduce students to the study of writing and the liberal arts at Habib. As the first class in the liberal core, RhetComm aims to cultivate the foundational skills and habits of mind students will need to be successful throughout the core and, ultimately, throughout their time as undergraduates at Habib. The study of rhetoric stretches back to classical Greece where it was intimately tied to the rise of the Greek city-states and early forms of democratic governance. The link between rhetoric, communication, and rigorous civic debate has been integral to a liberal arts education ever since. The need for civic engagement, for well-reasoned debate in the public sphere, is still of course very much with us, but the study of rhetoric today covers a far wider field of expression. Argument and persuasion are not simply matters for politics and the university, but find cultural resonance in a number of symbolic forms. There is a rhetorical dimension, for instance, in pop songs, video games, memes, advertisements, jokes, graffiti, images, public monuments, photographs, films, podcasts, blogs, memos, op-eds, poems, tweets, stories, plays, and so on. Whether verbal, visual, or physical, all these forms of expression carry a certain rhetorical charge. They also imply a distinct relationship between the speaker and their audience, between a text and its context. A rhetorically informed analysis will highlight the intricacies of this complicated social relationship, and thus deepen our understanding of the powerful effects language can have on the structures that frame our everyday lives. In their respective seminars, students will analyze a selection of texts from multiple perspectives, argue critically about plausible interpretations of those texts, and debate with each other about the pressing social issues they raise. The primary aim in doing so, and the overarching goal for RhetComm this year, is to practice and develop analytical writing skills. Students will learn to read, write, and think critically about a variety of texts, arguments, and forms of expression. They will also learn to advance a compelling line of argument by linking a series of interrelated texts using close reading and analysis. The larger goal here is not only to increase academic literacy, but to stimulate that spirit of critical inquiry which is the heart and soul of a liberal arts education. In the first 10 weeks of this course sessions will introduce students to fundamental skills and knowledge required for producing successful academic writing: systems of documentation, proper citation practices, text incorporation, use of Turnitin and plagiarism, and sessions on database navigation and the fundamentals of research. The aim of this course is to provide students with a shared intellectual vocabulary to help them articulate some of the issues they will grapple with as their undergraduate journey begins. Course title: Algorithmic Problem Solving (CS 101/CS101L) – 4 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: Computer science is the art of solving problems using computers. An “algorithm” is a sequence of steps that a computer can execute in order to solve a problem. This course applies your creativity to devise solutions to given problems, express the solutions as algorithms, and communicate the algorithms to a computer using a high-level programming language so that the computer may execute it. We will look at problems from various subdomains of computing, e.g., AI, vision, cryptography, and graphics. We will also learn some formalisms required to express our solutions as algorithms: variables, loops, conditionals, functions, data types. And we will use python as the programming language which will instruct the computer to execute our solutions. Course Title: Design your Habib Experience (PLAY 113) – 1 Credit Hour Brief Description of the Course: Course Title: First Year Fundamentals (FYE 1011) – 0 Credit Hour Brief Description of the Course: Course title: Calculus I (Math 101) – 3 Credit Hours Brief Description of the Course: The course covers important pre-requisite content related to functions, their behavior, and multiple contexts for which they serve as an important modelling tool. This course lays the foundations for students to think visually, symbolically and numerically on the two overarching concepts of Differentiation and Integration. The course seeks to pave the way for students to develop the necessary computational and analytical skills (both in context and abstract terms) required in higher mathematics courses. Course title: Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering (EE 102/CE 102 ) – 2 Credit Hours Brief description of the course: Through a series of hands-on projects, this course aims to expose the students, having little or no prior exposure, to the fascinating world of electrical and computer engineering. We’re surrounded by creations of electrical and computer engineers in our daily lives. These range from fans, cars, clocks, phones, cameras to power grids and communication networks. If one were to open any of these devices, they would not only find electronics inside but in most cases some kind of processor as well to add the power of computing to these devices. Our goal in this class is exactly to open up some of these devices, at times literally but most of times figuratively, to gain an understanding of how they function. As such, students will spend some time on theoretical analysis of circuits and practice those skills on homework assignments. But most of their time will be spent in the lab, constructing and debugging electronic systems identified for them. The experiential learning model allows the students to build exciting ECE systems on their own in their first semester, exposing them to the fun and rewarding aspects of engineering. The course not only presents a comprehensive picture of EE and CE curricula at Habib University, but also highlights the scope of ECE globally thus equipping the students (any student, not just EE or CE) for their own personal voyage into Electrical and Computer Engineering. Course title: Electric Circuit I (EE 112 and CE 112 ) – 2 Credit Hours Brief description of the course:Course Descriptions for the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Habib Liberal Core Courses for All AHSS Students
Type of course: Liberal Core Course
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
This course will introduce students to the study of writing and the liberal arts at Habib. As the first class in the liberal core, RhetComm aims to cultivate the foundational skills and habits of mind students will need to be successful throughout the core and, ultimately, throughout their time as undergraduates at Habib. The study of rhetoric stretches back to classical Greece where it was intimately tied to the rise of the Greek city-states and early forms of democratic governance. The link between rhetoric, communication, and rigorous civic debate has been integral to a liberal arts education ever since.
Type of course: Liberal Core Course
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of the Course: Required
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Program: PG
This course will take you through the basics of Human-Centered Design: an approach to problem-solving that involves empathizing with people; defining problems; generating ideas; prototyping solutions; and testing to learn what works and what doesn’t. The first twelve weeks of the course will take students through the design process, practically applying key methods and mindsets to tackle problems around us at Habib. For example, this could be redesigning the university food experience, or designing a new student governance model. In the last three weeks of the course, students will apply their skills and knowledge to a more personal challenge: designing their own Habib experience.
Students will leave this course having understood how Human-Centered Design can be used for creative problem-solving. Through practice-based learning they will be able to apply core concepts, tools and methodologies to any problem faced: on an individual level; in any industry; or as a global citizen. Moreover, the Design Your Habib Experience part of this course will help students to navigate their university experience on a personal and professional level, with a lot more clarity and purpose.
Type of the Course: Required
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Program: University Requirement
The first year of college/university is an important milestone in a student’s academic life. Whether it’s developing effective study habits or fostering relationships with professors and peers, the first-year experience (FYE) impacts academic success and community relations. A good FYE is critical for student success and retention. It is relevant to all students irrespective of their educational background and the Major in which they are enrolled.
FYE becomes more critical in light of the issues students face while transitioning from a High School to a University. To address issues pertaining to student transition as well as to provide a strong foundation to the students for their success, Habib University has designed ‘HU First-Year Experience’ (HU FYE) Program in light of the general as well as very specific issues faced by the first-year students at Habib University.
First-Year Fundamentals (FYF), being part of the FYE, is one of the special programs designed to address some of the first-year challenges and improve students’ first-year experience. It will focus on three key elements
1. Knowledge and Understanding – Helping first year students to know and understand all key academic and non-academic policies and processes critical for their success at HU
2. Skills and Values – Engaging first year students to understand and refine their skills and values which play key role for their success at Habib
3. Community Building – Engaging first year students in building relationships with HU community (students, staff, faculty, alumni, leadership etc.)
Social Development and Policy Core Courses
Type of course: SDP Required Course
Open for: SDP Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Communication and Design Core Courses
Type of course: Liberal Core Course
Open for: CND students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of course: Liberal Core Course
Open for: CND students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Comparative Humanities Core Courses
Type of course: Comparative Humanities Core Course
Open for: All Comparative Humanities Students
Type of course: Comparative Humanities Core Course
Open for: All Comparative Humanities students
Course Descriptions for Dhanani School of Science and Engineering
Habib Liberal Core Courses for All DSSE Students
Type of the Course: Liberal Core Course
Open for: All DSSE Students (CS, EE and CE)
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of course: Liberal Core Course, , CS Foundation Course and Computing Course
Open for: All students – Mandatory for all DSSE students of CS, EE and CE
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of the Course: Required
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Program: PG
This course will take you through the basics of Human-Centered Design: an approach to problem-solving that involves empathizing with people; defining problems; generating ideas; prototyping solutions; and testing to learn what works and what doesn’t. The first twelve weeks of the course will take students through the design process, practically applying key methods and mindsets to tackle problems around us at Habib. For example, this could be redesigning the university food experience, or designing a new student governance model. In the last three weeks of the course, students will apply their skills and knowledge to a more personal challenge: designing their own Habib experience.
Students will leave this course having understood how Human-Centered Design can be used for creative problem-solving. Through practice-based learning they will be able to apply core concepts, tools and methodologies to any problem faced: on an individual level; in any industry; or as a global citizen. Moreover, the Design Your Habib Experience part of this course will help students to navigate their university experience on a personal and professional level, with a lot more clarity and purpose.
Type of the Course: Required
Open for: All Students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Program: University Requirement
The first year of college/university is an important milestone in a student’s academic life. Whether it’s developing effective study habits or fostering relationships with professors and peers, the first-year experience (FYE) impacts academic success and community relations. A good FYE is critical for student success and retention. It is relevant to all students irrespective of their educational background and the Major in which they are enrolled.
FYE becomes more critical in light of the issues students face while transitioning from a High School to a University. To address issues pertaining to student transition as well as to provide a strong foundation to the students for their success, Habib University has designed ‘HU First-Year Experience’ (HU FYE) Program in light of the general as well as very specific issues faced by the first-year students at Habib University.
First-Year Fundamentals (FYF), being part of the FYE, is one of the special programs designed to address some of the first-year challenges and improve students’ first-year experience. It will focus on three key elements
1. Knowledge and Understanding – Helping first year students to know and understand all key academic and non-academic policies and processes critical for their success at HU
2. Skills and Values – Engaging first year students to understand and refine their skills and values which play key role for their success at Habib
3. Community Building – Engaging first year students in building relationships with HU community (students, staff, faculty, alumni, leadership etc.)
Type of the Course: DSSE Required Math Course
Open for: All DSSE Students (CS, EE and CE)
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of course: Electrical, and Computer Engineering Core Course
Open for: All Electrical, and Computer Engineering students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Type of course: Electrical, and Computer Engineering Core Course
Open for: All Electrical, and Computer Engineering students
Pre-requisite (if any): None
Electric Circuit I is a course designed for first semester students of Dhanani School of Science & Engineering. In this course, students will learn about the main components of electric circuits, measuring entities, laws and techniques to analyze different types of electric circuits.
Electives will be announced in Summer 2026
