This course is an introduction to human biology and the science of medicine, drawing upon basic biological and chemical concepts to explore the intricate anatomical and physiological mechanisms underlying normal human function. You and your classmates will investigate homeostatic imbalances that cause diseases, learn about diabetes and gain an in-depth understanding of the endocrine system, the pancreas, the metabolism of sugar, and the biochemical effects of glucose. Lab work covers techniques in histology, anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology, including dissections.

Comic book heroes punching dictators in the face and aircrafts papering the ground with pamphlets—these types of propaganda are easy to recognize, but what about contemporary ones, like bot-generated tweets, mudslinging political ads, misleading advertisements, and fact-distorting TV news reports? Without an objective distance from current events—and with ever subtler techniques for influencing opinions—how can we tell what is “fake news”? This course examines nonfiction sources from political systems around the world to analyze the ways people have swayed others to their points of view.

When Lon Chaney's mask first came off in the silent-film version of The Phantom of the Opera, some viewers were reportedly so frightened by the actor's ghoulish makeup that they fainted in the theater. In addition to exploring literature such as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, we will examine works in other media like video games and podcasts to pinpoint how moments of fright operate within creative works.

Called "The Queen of Mathematics" by the great mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, number theory is the study of the natural number system from which all others are derived. Despite the simplicity of the natural numbers, many accessible problems in number theory remain unsolved. For example, the Goldbach Conjecture, formulated in 1742, which posits that every even integer larger than 2 is the sum of two prime numbers, has defied all proof attempts. In this proof-based course, you’ll learn the major ideas of elementary number theory and the historical framework in which they were developed.

Has anyone ever told you that you have your mother’s eyes? Or your father’s nose? Or even your great aunt’s hair? Whether they know it or not, they are talking about your genes. Your genetic makeup, the thousands of building blocks that make you—well, you—has been passed down for generations.

In football, does the home team really have an advantage? Does dribbling the basketball before shooting a free throw increase the odds of scoring? Where should a goalie stand to block the most penalty kicks? Explore the science of statistical reasoning with an emphasis on practical application in sports. Learn classic statistical techniques, including how to determine averages and standard deviations to compare quantitative and qualitative variables across data sets.

What does a subatomic particle measured in femtometers have in common with a galaxy measured in light years? Both are a part of humans’ effort to quantify our world. In this course, you’ll explore numbers, from the miniscule to the unimaginably large, and learn how they help explain natural phenomena such as time, distance, and temperature. Moving beyond traditional arithmetic, you and your classmates will consider questions like: how much dog food would you need if your dog were the size of a dinosaur?

This course explores methods of computer programming—the algorithmic aspects of computer science and the theoretical constructs common to all high-level programming languages. You and your classmates will study the syntax and basic commands of a programming language such as Java, C, C++, or Python and, building upon this knowledge, move on to study additional concepts of programming, such as object-oriented programming or graphical user interfaces.

Learn how digital artists animate the mouth of a Toy Story character by manipulating a single point on a polygon, or how combinations are applied to turn three unique robot designs into 3,000 individual robots for background characters in Wall-E. How many helium-filled balloons does it take to fly? What do combinatorics, geometric modeling, and trigonometry have in common? All are mathematical questions answered every day by animators at Pixar Studios.

From microscopic investigation to the basics of veterinary medicine, this course explores the principles of comparative animal anatomy, physiology, and genetics. You will learn key concepts of zoology such as characteristics of the animal cell, heredity, taxonomy, and evolution, including natural selection. Through laboratory dissections of animals ranging from perch to rats, you’ll explore the different systems of each species—digestive, nervous, immune, endocrine, reproductive, and circulatory.