Online Programs Courses

What do punch-activated flamethrowers, automatic pet feeders, and mind-controlled drones have in common? They’re all real devices built and programmed using Arduino® microprocessors. This open-source ...

What creatures live around you, and how can you tell? How does gardening or mowing the lawn affect local animals and plants? What happens to bathtub water after it goes down the drain? Explore your ...

What can we learn from fossilized plants? What do biologists do as they study humans, plants, and animals? In this course, we’ll answer these questions and others as we learn about different types of biology, the study of living things, and the job requirements of various biologists.

Why do animals adapt? What are the advantages of renewable energy? What do environmental scientists do? In this course, we’ll answer these questions and others as we learn about different types of environmental science and scientists who work in this expansive field.

Why is it so hard to hail a cab in the rain in New York City? Why do some people pay for annual gym memberships when they would save on a pay-as-you go basis? Integrate ideas from the social sciences ...

With the emergence of COVID-19, ethical issues in medicine have never been more pronounced in our social consciousness. Explore salient issues such as rationing scarce resources, making shutdown ...

Print evidence can place suspects at a crime scene, identify missing persons, and exonerate the innocent. Begin with an overview of the history of print evidence, focusing on fingerprints, footprints ...

Have you ever wondered why you slide into your friend when you're on the Tilt-A-Whirl, or why you don't fly out of a rollercoaster even when you're traveling upside down? Examine the physics of our ...

Stories of discrimination capture headlines in America daily, reflecting how the promise of equal protection under the law is still unrealized for people of color. The United States is far from alone ...

Calling all enthusiastic readers! Do you like talking about books almost as much as you like reading them? Join our 12-week reading challenge to meet other curious and motivated readers and talk about books. This course meets six times over 12 weeks and is guided by an instructor. Every two weeks, we’ll take up a new challenge: to select and read a book that satisfies the challenge category. In between meetings, we’ll engage in virtual discussions and prepare reviews on the book(s) we’ve read.

This is an Online course adapted from the On-Campus course Data and Chance. Your CTY friend teaches you a dice game. If you roll a 4, you win and the game ends. If your friend rolls a 5, they win and the game ends. You take turns rolling until one person wins. If you roll first, what is the probability you will win? This course explores probability and statistics, two areas of mathematics that easily transfer from the classroom to the real world.

Doctors often have to make quick decisions based on their knowledge, experience, and a short list of symptoms—it’s not so easy to always get it right, and lives are often on the line. Drawing upon ...

When the threat of pandemic looms, all eyes turn to the experts. Each outbreak is unique and raises different concerns; in providing answers, infectious diseases specialists rely on data and accurate ...

Engineering design is a rich, sometimes chaotic blend of concerns: aesthetic, financial, material, theoretical, environmental, and practical. Explore elements of design theory while responding to a ...

What draws audiences into the settings of their favorite fantasy worlds? What makes these otherwise mythical places feel like real locations in readers’ minds? In this course, we’ll use applications ...

What counts as a game? What are games made of? How are successful games designed and built? Read theory that orients you to how games work, why people play them, and what makes a good game. Play ...

How do individuals interact? How do they cooperate, compete, and respond to incentives? All involve strategic behavior, the purview of the economic theory of games. Study game theory through ...

Geometric and spatial reasoning skills are essential for living in and making sense of the world around us. Everything from solving a jigsaw puzzle to arranging furniture to efficiently packing a bag ...

The human body is an amazing but sometimes gross thing. From the blood inside us to the gas that comes out, each slimy, gunky, or smelly part has a vital role to play in keeping us healthy. Why do we ...

Imaginative writing is a powerful tool. As authors, our written pieces can make someone laugh, change their mind, or even help them better understand the world. How can you do this in just a page, a ...

Did you know the idea for the microwave started with a candy bar? Inventor Percy Spencer was standing in front of a magnetron when he noticed his chocolate treat was melting in his pocket. When Spencer held a bag of corn kernels next to the magnetron and they started popping, he knew he was on to something. In this course, we'll explore the principles of invention by focusing on one of history's most exciting creations: the catapult. Students will delve into the history and mechanics of catapults, experimenting with building their own models to understand the science behind this ancient tool. Join us to uncover the magic of invention and apply creative thinking to solve problems just like the great inventors did!

Objection, your Honor! Overruled! Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt! These are the phrases that lawyers and judges battle with in our favorite courtroom dramas. They speak to the argumentation at the ...

Reasoning, logic, and critical thinking are the building blocks of intellectual inquiry. Focus on developing these skills through problem-solving and exposure to a wide range of topics in mathematics ...

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 ...

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 ...

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is about 100nm in size but has caused a global pandemic. How can something so small cause so much damage? Explore different types of viruses and bacteria ...

Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity—robots sent by NASA to explore Mars—each outlasted their missions but were ultimately bested by the planet’s harsh conditions. Sojourner lost its base station ...

How we behave under stress often gives a rare, unfiltered glimpse into how we think and act, but what about our institutions? Examine the UN—specifically, the World Health Organization (WHO)—by ...

In the age of digital surveillance, apps boasting end-to-end encryption such as WhatsApp and Telegram have flourished. What are these tools, and how do they work? How have developments in modern ...

This is an Online course adapted from the On-Campus course 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 the unique human effort to quantify the world around us. In this course, we’ll explore numbers, from the very small to the unimaginably large, and learn how numeric representations help to explain natural phenomena such as time, distance, and temperature.

What do your T-shirt, water bottle, and DNA have in common? They’re all made of chemical units called monomers, which combine to form polymers. To make the world a better place, scientists regularly ...

Develop strategies for solving a wide variety of word problems using resources from Ken Johnson and Ted Herr’s Problem Solving Strategies: Crossing the River with Dogs and Other Mathematical ...

You and your classmates take on the role of intrepid interplanetary explorers, designing a space probe, learning about the complexity of landing an exploration vehicle, and planning a Martian colony ...

As forms of cultural and political expression, satire and comedy are important tools for exposing uncomfortable truths about powerful individuals and institutions that might otherwise seem untouchable ...

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 ...

What can a bucket of water or lounging beneath a shade tree teach you about science? Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy in a bathtub, and Newton allegedly discovered gravity while sitting ...

Books often ask you to dream up imaginary worlds, but important science concepts lie behind the words and pictures. Analyze the science woven through Judi and Ronald Barrett’s Cloudy with a Chance of ...

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 ...

Surveil the world of cryptography, the science of secret-keeping. From passing notes in class to keeping online banking transactions secure, the need for confidential communication has been present ...

Step right up and try your hand at solving some of the world’s classic math conundrums! We have options galore: Plinko, Golden Balls, Deal or No Deal, and many more. Pull the curtain back on the ...

Between 3000 BCE and 500 CE, influential civilizations left lasting legacies that continue to shape our world today. In this course, we'll focus specifically on Ancient Egypt, exploring its distinctive geography, daily life, social structures, government, economy, and religion.

What rights would you give up in order to feel safe? What safety would you give up to protect your rights? How does a democratic republic, with rights reserved for both the federal and state ...

This is an Online course adapted from the On-Campus course The Mathematics of Money. Have you ever wondered why round-trip fares between cities vary, or how changes in interest rates impact the real estate market? Discover how mathematics influences everyday financial decisions in this online enrichment course! This course will provide you with a solid grasp of essential business and finance concepts, including the mathematics of buying and selling; the effects of simple and compound interest on loans, mortgages, and savings; and the role of taxes in personal and government budgets.

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? Focus on the boom-bust ...

This is an Online course adapted from the On-Campus course The Physics of Sports. Ever wondered how a baseball curves mid-pitch or why an ice skater spins faster by pulling in their arms? Curious about how LeBron James makes those incredible slam dunks and precise three-pointers? Physics is the key to unlocking these and other intriguing sports phenomena. In this course, we'll delve into the mechanics of sports, exploring concepts such as kinematics, dynamics, momentum, energy, and power.

Eyewitness testimony is often viewed as one of the most powerful forms of evidence in a legal case, but human memory is complicated.

Why are some things easier to remember than others? Why do people have vastly different memories of the same event? Why do most people remember Darth Vader saying, “Luke, I am your father,” when what ...

Mathematicians have studied games for over a century. How do they analyze them? In this course, we’ll learn combinatorial game theory pertaining to games of perfect information, such as Go and chess. In these games, there are no dice or hidden cards; all game information is known to players except their individual strategies. In this introduction to combinatorial game theory, we’ll learn mathematical concepts such as disjunctive sum and Grundy numbers, and use them to explore winning strategies in games such as Nim, Domineering, and Hackenbush. Between class meetings, students will also explore optional readings and resources, and dive deeper into the history and application of combinatorial game theory.

When you look at a photograph, what do you see? You find photographs everywhere—in journalism, art, family albums, and social media. What stories do they tell? Explore the ways that photographs can ...

Nearly one in six people globally has a neurological disorder. Despite how common they are and how effective treatment can be, neurological disorders are often misunderstood and marginalized. Explore ...

For generations, great mysteries have captivated readers with compelling characters and suspenseful storytelling punctuated by intriguing, unconventional sleuths like Eve Titus’s Basil of Baker Street ...

Fictional worlds often stick with us even longer than the stories that are set within them. They can be havens or nightmares, futuristic glimpses of what our world could be, or looking-glass critiques ...