Undergraduate Courses for Qualified Pre-College Students
These Summer Term courses are a great way to earn college credit before college. As someone who has completed 10th grade, you have many opportunities this summer to expand your mind and explore the world at Johns Hopkins.
Spanish Elements II - AS.210.112
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students May 26 - June 26 OnlineThis introductory Spanish language course is a continuation of the content covered in Spanish Elements I. On completion of this course, the students will have further developed the communication and grammatical skills necessary for speaking, writing, listening, and reading in Spanish. Students will demonstrate these skills through their performance in class by completing several online assignments and by taking part in three group presentations in addition to two comprehensive exams which focus on the following thematic topics: Food, Sports, Shopping, Travel, and Health. Students will also be introduced to the culture, history, and geography of various Spanish and Latin American countries. The content covered in Spanish Elements II prepares the students for Intermediate Spanish. May not be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. No new enrollments permitted after the fourth class session.
Prerequisite: AS.210.111 (Spanish Elements I) or appropriate Spanish placement exam score.
This online course is primarily delivered asynchronously; however, your instructor may schedule live interactions as well. Please refer to your syllabus for these opportunities and for important course deadlines.
Spanish Elements II - AS.210.112
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students June 29 - July 31 OnlineThis introductory Spanish language course is a continuation of the content covered in Spanish Elements I. On completion of this course, the students will have further developed the communication and grammatical skills necessary for speaking, writing, listening, and reading in Spanish. Students will demonstrate these skills through their performance in class by completing several online assignments and by taking part in three group presentations in addition to two comprehensive exams which focus on the following thematic topics: Food, Sports, Shopping, Travel, and Health. Students will also be introduced to the culture, history, and geography of various Spanish and Latin American countries. The content covered in Spanish Elements II prepares the students for Intermediate Spanish. May not be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. No new enrollments permitted after the fourth class session.
Prerequisite: AS.210.111 (Spanish Elements I) or appropriate Spanish placement exam score.
This online course is primarily delivered asynchronously; however, your instructor may schedule live interactions as well. Please refer to your syllabus for these opportunities and for important course deadlines.
Statistics for Civic Life: Reasoning with Data in Democracy - AS.110.265
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students June 1 - July 24 OnlineThis course introduces students from all disciplines to the principles and practices of calculus-based statistics as a tool for understanding civic life. The course integrates foundational concepts from probability theory with statistical inference, emphasizing how probabilistic models underpin the construction of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests. Students develop fluency in describing, interpreting, and critically evaluating quantitative information found in public discourse, including polls, media reports, policy analyses, and scientific studies. Through a combination of theoretical development and hands-on data analysis, students learn to compute and interpret confidence intervals, conduct hypothesis tests, and assess uncertainty using probabilistic reasoning. Real-world case studies are used to connect formal statistical methods to questions arising in democratic society. Students will use R and other relevant software (e.g., Python) to analyze datasets, simulate probabilistic models, and communicate evidence-based conclusions.
A flexible weekly schedule accommodates all student schedules and time zones, and courses include pre-recorded lectures, notes, and interactives to help students learn the material. Assessments include computer-scored items for immediate feedback as well as instructor-graded assignments for personalized learning. Students have access to instructors through email or individual reviews, and weekly instructor-led synchronous problem-solving sessions are recorded for viewing at any time. Students should expect to work a minimum of 5-10 hours per week.
The Mathematics of Cryptography and Cybersecurity - AS.110.375
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students June 1 - July 24 OnlineMathematical Cryptography introduces students to the exciting practice of making and breaking secret codes as well as the mathematical theory behind them. Cryptography has applications to communication security, electronic funds transfer, and military and law enforcement. Students will study mathematical topics in both classical and modern cryptography, such as RSA, digital signatures, and elliptic curve cryptography through topics from probability, statistics, abstract algebra, computational complexity, and number theory.
A flexible weekly schedule accommodates all student schedules and time zones, and courses include pre-recorded lectures, notes, and interactives to help students learn the material. Assessments include computer-scored items for immediate feedback as well as instructor-graded assignments for personalized learning. Students have access to instructors through email or individual reviews, and weekly instructor-led synchronous problem-solving sessions are recorded for viewing at any time. Students should expect to work a minimum of 5-10 hours per week.
The Mathematics of Politics, Democracy, and Social Choice (W) - AS.110.303
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students June 1 - July 24 OnlineThis course is designed for students of all backgrounds to provide a mathematical introduction to social choice theory, weighted voting systems, apportionment methods, and gerrymandering. In the search for ideal ways to make certain kinds of political decisions, a lot of wasted effort could be averted if mathematics could determine that finding such an ideal were actually possible in the first place. The course will analyze data from recent US elections as well as provide historical context to modern discussions in politics, culminating in a mathematical analysis of the US Electoral College. Case studies, future implications, and comparisons to other governing bodies outside the US will be used to apply the theory of the course. Students will use Microsoft Excel to analyze data sets. There are no mathematical prerequisites for this course.
A flexible weekly schedule accommodates all student schedules and time zones, and courses include pre-recorded lectures, notes, and interactives to help students learn the material. Assessments include computer-scored items for immediate feedback as well as instructor-graded assignments for personalized learning. Students have access to instructors through email or individual reviews, and weekly instructor-led synchronous problem-solving sessions are recorded for viewing at any time. Students should expect to work a minimum of 5-10 hours per week.
A writing-intensive course (W) engages students in multiple writing projects, ranging from traditional papers to a wide variety of other forms, distributed throughout the term. Assignments include a mix of high and low stakes writing, meaning that students have the chance to write in informal, low-pressure--even ungraded--contexts, as well as producing larger, more formal writing assignments. Students engage in writing in the classroom through variety of means, including class discussions, workshop, faculty/TA lectures, and class materials (for instance, strong and weak examples of the assigned genre). Expectations are clearly conveyed through assignment descriptions, including the genre and audience of the assigned writing, and evaluative criteria. Students receive feedback on their writing, in written and/or verbal form, from faculty, TAs, and/or peers. Students have at least one opportunity to revise.
The Mind and Brain: Introduction to Cognition, Attention, and Memory - AS.200.215
Pre-College students & Undergraduate students June 29 - July 31 OnlineWhy do we "not see" things right in front of us? What makes some memories crystal clear and others "hazy"? Why does hurting a fake hand cause you physical pain? How can we recognize thousands of human faces? In this course we will learn about the cognitive processes—such as attention, memory and perception—that help us answer these kinds of questions. Through a combination of psychology and biology research, students will explore how the mind and brain give rise to how we interact with and experience the world. This course is designed for students who are interested in an introduction to psychology, biology, and neuroscience.