The Mathematics of Money
Why are round-trip fares from Orlando to Kansas City higher than those from Kansas City to Orlando? How do interest-rate adjustments affect the real estate market? How does one calculate the price-to-earnings ratio of a stock and use it to predict future performance? Mathematics plays an indispensable part in answering these questions.
Philosophy
Do we have free will, or do our brains automatically respond to stimuli? What, if anything, distinguishes right from wrong? Philosophers relentlessly pursue fundamental questions of life, and their techniques apply to problems in any discipline. They establish standards of evidence, provide rational methods for resolving conflicts, and create templates for evaluating ideas and arguments. This course surveys several major areas of Western analytic philosophy: metaphysics and epistemology, ethics, and philosophies of mind, language, religion, and science.
Introduction to the Biomedical Sciences
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.
Persuasion and Propaganda
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.
Number Theory
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.
Numbers: Zero To Infinity
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?
Foundations of Programming
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.
Zoology
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.
Electrical Engineering
The first transistor, created at Bell Laboratories in 1947, was about 4 centimeters in size. Today, millions of transistors fit on a single computer processor chip—about the size of a postage stamp. Innovations like these are hallmarks of the exciting and challenging field of electrical engineering. This course explores foundational concepts, starting with electromagnetism. You’ll map the electric field lines generated by an electric charge and investigate current, voltage, resistance, energy, and magnetism.
Macroeconomics and the Global Economy
What are the key indicators of an economy’s performance? How do governments craft policies that promote economic growth? What does it mean for a country to have a trade deficit? Analyzing economies at an aggregate level, macroeconomics explores questions such as these, providing a bird’s-eye view of economic activity. This course surveys fundamental concepts in macroeconomics, including money, banking, inflation, employment, national income, economic growth, financial markets, and the role of public policy.