Summer Term Undergraduate Courses

This course is an introduction to biology from an evolutionary, molecular, and cellular perspective. Specific topics and themes include evolutionary theory, the structure and function of biological molecules, mechanisms of harvesting energy, cell division, classical genetics, and gene expression.

Prerequisite: AP Biology.

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.

This course builds on the concepts presented and discussed in General Biology I. The primary foci of this course will be on the diversity of life and on the anatomy, physiology, and evolution of plants and animals. There will be a special emphasis on human biology.

Prerequisite: AP Biology or AS.020.151 (General Biology I).

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.

This two-semester sequence in calculus-based general physics is identical in subject matter to AS.171.101-AS.171.102, covering mechanics, heat, sound, electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics, but differs in instructional format. Rather than being presented via lectures and discussion sections, it is instead taught in an "active learning" style with most class time given to small group problem-solving guided by instructors.

Recommended Corequisites: AS.173.111 (General Physics Laboratory I) AND either AS.110.106 (Calculus I For Biology and Social Sciences) or AS.110.108 (Calculus I For Physical Sciences and Engineering) or AS.110.113 (Honors Single Variable Calculus).

This course is the second semester of a two-semester sequence in calculus-based general phyiscs identical in subject matter to AS.171.101-AS.171.102, covering mechanics, heat, sound, electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics, but differs in instructional format. Rather than being presented via lectures and discussion sections, it is instead taught in an "active learning" style with most class time given to small group problem-solving guided by instructors. 

Recommended Course Background: C- or better in AS.171.101 (General Physics: Physical Science Major I) OR AS.171.103 (General Physics I for Biological Science Majors) or AS.171.105 (Classical Mechanics 1) OR AS.171.107 [General Physics for Physical Science Majors (AL) I] OR or the first semester of EN.530.123 (Introduction to Mechanics I).

Prerequisite: Students must have taken or be concurrently enrolled in AS.110.107 (Calculus II for Biology and Social Sciences) OR AS.110.109 (Calculus II for Physical Sciences and Engineering) OR AS.110.211 (Honors Multivariable Calculus) OR AS 110.113 (Honors Single Variable Calculus).

Experiments are chosen from both physical and biological sciences and are designed to give students background in experimental techniques as well as to reinforce physical principles.

Prerequisite: Students must have taken or be concurrently enrolled in either AS.171.101 (General Physics: Physical Science Majors I) OR AS.171.103 (General Physics I for Biological Science Majors) OR AS.171.105 (Classical Mechanics I) OR AS.171.107 [General Physics for Physical Science Majors (AL) I] OR EN.553.123 (Introduction to Mechanics). Students must have completed Lab Safety training prior to registering for this class. To access the tutorial, login to myLearning and enter 458083 in the Search box to locate the appropriate module

Experiments are chosen from both physical and biological sciences and are designed to give students background in experimental techniques as well as to reinforce physical principles. Recommended Course Background: AS.173.111.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in either AS.171.102 (General Physics: Physical Science Majors II) OR AS.171.104 (General Physics: Biology Majors II) OR AS.171.106 Electricity & Magnetism I) OR AS.171.108 [General Physics for Physical Science Majors (AL) II] OR EN.530.123 (Classical Mechanics I). Students must have completed Lab Safety training prior to registering for this class. To access the tutorial, login to myLearning and enter 458083 in the Search box to locate the appropriate module.

This class approaches genetics as both the study of inheritance and as an approach to answer scientific questions. We cover the fundamentals of inheritance over generations and the molecular basis of resultant phenotypes, DNA sequencing and genomics, molecular evolution, and modern genetic techniques used to understand and address medically-relevant challenges. This course has no strict prerequisites, but is an upper-level science course intended for students who have taken General Biology I or have a strong biology background.

This course will be at the same technical level as EN.553.310. Students are encouraged to consider EN.553.420-430 instead. Combinatorial probability, independence, conditional probability, random variables, expectation and moments, limit theory, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, tests of means and variances, and goodness-of-fit will be covered. Recommended Course Corequisite: AS.110.202.

Prerequisite: AS.110.109 (Calculus II For Physical Sciences and Engineering) or AS.110.113 (Honors Single Variable Calculus).

Statistics Sequence restriction: Students who have completed any of these courses may not register: EN.553.310 (Probability & Statistics for the Physical Sciences and Engineering) or EN.553.420 (Introduction to Probability) or EN.553.421 (Honors Introduction to Probability) or EN.553.430 (Introduction to Statistics) or EN.560.348 (Probability & Statistics in Civil Engineering).

This course teaches intermediate to advanced programming, using C and C++. (Prior knowledge of these languages is not expected.) We will cover low-level programming techniques, as well as object-oriented class design, and the use of class libraries. Specific topics include pointers, dynamic memory allocation, polymorphism, overloading, inheritance, templates, collections, exceptions, and others as time permits. Students are expected to learn syntax and some language specific features independently. Course work involves significant programming projects in both languages.

Prerequisite: EN.500.132 (Bootcamp: Java) OR EN.500.133 (Bootcamp: Python) OR EN.500.134 (Bootcamp: MATLAB); OR C+ or better in EN.500.112 (Gateway Computing: Java) or EN.500.113 (Gateway Computing: Python) or EN.500.114 (Gateway Computing MATLAB); OR a score of 5 on the AP Computer Science A Exam.

Intermediate Spanish I is a comprehensive study of Spanish designed for students who have attained an advanced elementary level in the language. The course is organized around a thematic approach to topics relevant to contemporary Hispanic culture. Students will practice the four language skills in the classroom through guided grammatical and creative conversational activities and through the completion of three comprehensive exams. Outside of class, students will complete extensive online assignments and write three major compositions (as part of the three exams). In addition, students will broaden their knowledge of Hispanic culture by viewing a Spanish-language film and by reading several literary selections. Successful completion of Intermediate Spanish I will prepare students for the next level of Spanish (Intermediate Spanish II).There is no final exam. May not be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. No new enrollments permitted after the third class session.

Prerequisite: AS.210.112 (Spanish Elements II) 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.

Intermediate Spanish II is a comprehensive study of Spanish designed for students who have attained a mid-intermediate level in the language or who have completed Spanish 212. The course is organized around a thematic approach to topics relevant to contemporary Hispanic culture. Students will practice the four language skills in the classroom through guided grammatical and creative conversational activities and through the completion of three comprehensive exams. Outside of class, students will complete extensive online assignments and write three major compositions (as part of the three exams). In addition, students will broaden their knowledge of Hispanic culture by viewing a Spanish-language film and by reading several literary selections. Successful completion of Intermediate Spanish II will prepare students for the next level of Spanish (Advanced Spanish I). There is no final exam. May not be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. 

Prerequisite: AS.210.112 (Spanish Elements II) 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.

Intermediate Spanish II is a comprehensive study of Spanish designed for students who have attained a mid-intermediate level in the language or who have completed Spanish 212. The course is organized around a thematic approach to topics relevant to contemporary Hispanic culture. Students will practice the four language skills in the classroom through guided grammatical and creative conversational activities and through the completion of three comprehensive exams. Outside of class, students will complete extensive online assignments and write three major compositions (as part of the three exams). In addition, students will broaden their knowledge of Hispanic culture by viewing a Spanish-language film and by reading several literary selections. Successful completion of Intermediate Spanish II will prepare students for the next level of Spanish (Advanced Spanish I). There is no final exam. May not be taken Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

Prerequisite: AS.210.112 (Spanish Elements II) 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.

A first introduction to abstract algebra through group theory, with an emphasis on concrete examples, and especially on geometric symmetry groups. The course will introduce basic notions (groups, subgroups, homomorphisms, quotients) and prove foundational results (Lagrange’s theorem, Cauchy’s theorem, orbit-counting techniques, the classification of finite abelian groups). Examples to be discussed include permutation groups, dihedral groups, matrix groups, and finite rotation groups, culminating in the classification of the wallpaper groups.

Prerequisite: AS.110.201 (Linear Algebra) or AS.110.212 (Honors Linear Algebra).

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.

This course introduces world art and architecture from the late fourteenth century to the present, inclusive of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Islamic world. We will engage with three primary thematic threads throughout, exploring landscape and the changing environment; portraiture, self-representation, and the body; and the circulation of artists, materials, and ideas around the globe. Wherever they are located, students will be asked to visit monuments, architecture, and/or museums to engage with art in person. Recorded lectures by the professor, scholarly readings, digital resources, films, and the textbook material will serve as the foundation for the course. Assignments will include close-looking annotations, short writing assignments often keyed to museum contexts (like label writing, image description for the blind and partially sighted), video tours, and peer-to-peer presentations. Students will have the opportunity to check-in weekly with the professor via synchronous office hours. Expect a fast pace—this is a full semester course in four weeks. Plan to spend 3 hours each weekday working through the materials (“contact hours”) and another 1-3 hours per day working on assignments, including visiting museums or sites in your area. 

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.

This online course introduces students to important concepts in data analytics across a wide range of case studies. Students will learn how to gather, analyze, and interpret data to drive strategic and operational success. They will explore how to clean and organize data for analysis, and how to perform calculations using Microsoft Excel. Topics include the data science lifecycle, probability, statistics, hypothesis testing, set theory, graphing, regression, and data ethics.

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.

An introduction to basic strategies in the writing of poetry and fiction, with readings by Baldwin, Joyce, Lahiri, Garcia Marquez, Munro, Woolf, Donne, Bishop, Brooks, Komunyakaa, Tretheway, and others. Students will learn the elements of the short story and try their hand at a variety of forms: realist, fantastical, experimental. They’ll also study the basic poetic forms and meters, from the ballad to the sonnet, iambic pentameter to free verse. Students will compose short stories and poems and workshop them in class. This course is a prerequisite for most upper-level courses. This course is part one of the year-long Introduction to Fiction and Poetry and must be taken before AS.220.106.

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.

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 second half of IFP, this course delves deeper into the finer points of fiction writing, including tone, description, and point of view; students will also enrich their knowledge of poetic forms and devices, such as figurative language, verse rhythm, and the poetic line. Readings include work by Achebe, Atwood, Calvino, Ishiguro, Maria Machado, Zadie Smith, Auden, Keats, Ada Limón, Li-Young Lee, Rankine, and others. Students will write and workshop their own stories and poems, and they will complete a final portfolio. This course is a prerequisite for most upper-level courses.

Prerequisites: AS 220.105 (Introduction to Fiction & Poetry I).

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.

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.

This course is a broad introduction to the fields of medical and mental health interpreting. Modules will include: (1) Three-way communication: managing role expectations and interpersonal dynamics; (2) Basic interpreting skills and techniques in a healthcare setting; (3) Ethical principles, dilemmas, and confidentiality; (4) Elements of medical interpreting; (5) Elements of mental health interpreting; (6) Trauma-informed interpreting: serving the refugee population. The course is taught in English, and has no foreign language pre-requisites.

This online course is primarily delivered asynchronously; however, your instructor has scheduled a regular synchronous session each Monday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and may schedule additional live interactions as well. Please refer to your syllabus for these opportunities and for important course deadlines.

Recent scientific evidence shows that our brain has a great deal of malleability at any age and that our lifestyle choices play an important role in shrinking or growing different parts of our brain. Factors such as poor sleep, obesity, anxiety, and poor diet lead to accumulating shrinkage in the brain while even three months of exercise, brain training, meditation, and optimal sleep can grow the brain. You can learn to apply these new discoveries into your day-to-day life in order to improve your memory, attention, organizational skills, and overall brain vitality. Much of your learning in this course will happen during classes. Each lecture is followed by a 10-minute engaging and fun discussion session to make sure you have grasped the main concepts for that presentation.

This course will provide a fundamental understanding of the mammalian nervous system, with an emphasis on how molecules, cells, circuits, and systems in the brain work to promote behavior and cognition. Topics covered in this course include the function of nerve cells, signaling between brain networks, basic neuroanatomy, and the neural bases of movement, sensation, and memory. This course is designed for any student who has an interest in the range of disciplines we call neuroscience.

This course will provide a fundamental understanding of the mammalian nervous system, with an emphasis on how molecules, cells, circuits, and systems in the brain work to promote behavior and cognition. Topics covered in this course include the function of nerve cells, signaling between brain networks, basic neuroanatomy, and the neural bases of movement, sensation, and memory. This course is designed for any student who has an interest in the range of disciplines we call neuroscience.

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.

This course will provide a practical introduction to mathematical proof, both as they have been done for centuries, and using a modern technological theorem prover. The course begins with the basic building blocks of mathematics: propositional logic, set theory, functions, and relations. These foundational tools lead to answers to questions that are surprisingly difficult, like “what are numbers?” Students will be exposed to mathematical notation and how to create it in digital documents, as well as an “artificially intelligent” proof assistant. The course will conclude with a consideration of the role of A.I. in pure mathematics, particularly as it applies to proofs.

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.

Do we all see colors the same way? How did so many "good" people support the Nazi party? Do crossword puzzles really stave off Alzheimer's Disease? This course tries to answer these questions and many others, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of the mind. We'll explore topics such as perception, language, memory, decision-making, creativity, love, sex, art, politics, religion, dreams, drugs, brain damage and mental illness, grappling with deep and long-standing controversies along the way: differences between the sexes, the relationship between mind and brain, causes and consequences of racism, human uniqueness (or not) within the animal kingdom, nature vs. nurture, good and evil, consciousness. Appropriate for anyone wanting to know who and what we are as human beings (or who noticed that psychology is now on the MCAT).

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.

The course introduces students to the discipline of sociology. You will learn about (a) theoretical approaches in sociology; (b) some of the subject matters that sociologists study, including inequality, capitalism, labor, the state, social control, race, gender, sexuality, culture, religion, population dynamics, and health; and (c) sociological methods. Most importantly, you will learn (d) how to see the world as a sociologist. That is, you will become a sociologist.

The basic concepts of point-set topology: topological spaces, connectedness, compactness, quotient spaces, metric spaces, function spaces. An introduction to algebraic topology: covering spaces, the fundamental group, and other topics as time permits.

Prerequisite: AS.110.202 (Calculus III: Calculus of Several Variables) or AS.110.211 (Honors Multivariable Calculus).

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.