Cryptology is the study of the codes and ciphers used to create secret writing. This math course explores many early techniques in cryptology, such as cipher wheels, the Caesar shift, polyalphabetic substitution, and the Vigenère cipher, as well as modern techniques like RSA public key cryptography. You and your classmates will learn how data transmitted by computers can be secured with digital encryption, and how the vulnerabilities of each encryption system enable hackers to attack and decrypt messages using techniques such as frequency analysis and cribbing.

This course covers material normally included in a year-long introductory course in high school chemistry, which is usually a prerequisite for AP® or IB Chemistry. It explores physical and chemical properties, the periodic table, the atom and atomic theory, chemical bonding, chemical reactions and stoichiometry, solutions, thermodynamics, acids and bases, kinetics, equilibrium, and some organic chemistry.

Why do states fight, and what makes them cooperate? World affairs in the 21st century have raised new questions about international politics and revisited complicated old ones. Where the field once primarily sought to understand the causes of war, scholars now debate the impacts of globalization, the relevance of sovereignty and the state, and the power of global norms in promoting international development and human rights. Through discussions, debates, simulations, and individual research, this course explores these and other complex problems in international affairs.

What does it mean when bubbles burst, stock markets crash, and hyperinflation takes off? How do these major economic events affect businesses and individuals around the world?

This course covers material typically included in a year-long, algebra-based introductory course in high school physics, a usual prerequisite for advanced physics courses like AP® Physics 1, or IB Physics. The course is divided into two parts: mechanics; and electricity and magnetism. You and your classmates will explore elements of mechanics including kinematics; Newton’s laws of motion; work, energy, and power; systems of particles and linear momentum; circular motion and rotation; and oscillations and gravitation.

Reasoning, logic, and critical thinking are the building blocks of intellectual inquiry. This course will help develop your skills in these areas through problem-solving and exposure to a wide range of topics in mathematics. You’ll learn the different techniques used in inductive and deductive reasoning and examine the roles each play in the field of mathematics. First you’ll explore algebraic and geometric concepts, patterns, and real-world questions that can be answered using inductive reasoning, creating recursive and explicit formulas to describe patterns.

Between 2000 BCE and 300 CE, cultures with lasting impact flourished all around the world. In this course, you will learn about the daily life, social structures, governments, economies, and religions of these cultures, and consider how traces of them live on today. You and your classmates will read historical accounts of ancient societies and explore myths, legends, and arts.

Develop your writing style and study advanced English mechanics in this rigorous grammar course. Guided by a college-level textbook and multicultural reading excerpts, you will deepen your understanding of grammatical structure, applying concepts like subject/verb agreement, parallelism, sentence boundaries, passive and active voice, consistent verb tense, and pronoun usage while collaborating with classmates in asynchronous peer review workshops. You will also participate in written discussion forums that explore responsible readership and literary representation.

If you love to read, write, and talk about books, this is the course for you. In this course, you'll join a literary community and develop our vocabulary, close-reading, and critical thinking skills through workshops, where you’ll read short stories or novels, respond to them in our journals, and discuss as a class. Then you’ll learn and practice what professional writers do: decide on topics, gather material, talk about creative choices with peers, and draft, workshop, and revise works of creative fiction.

In this course, you will become familiar with traditional Greek myths and examine how modern authors draw upon Greek sources to create exciting new adventures. Along the way, you will learn critical reading skills, write persuasive arguments, and even create your own short stories! Your instructor will guide and challenge you with individualized weekly feedback. Persuasive writing assignments will push you to make inferences, evaluate arguments, and learn to use credible evidence to support your claims.