What are your plans for the summer?
Enroll in The College of Wooster’s summer session to explore an interesting subject and earn credit toward graduation from wherever you are in the world.
The 12 courses offered this summer were designed to be helpful for students looking to fulfill core requirements. As such, in addition to including interesting, engaging content, nearly all courses fulfill one or more core requirements, and only a couple courses have pre-requisites. Professors have also thought carefully about how to engage students online, and have adapted these courses so that they can support remote learning.
What does a summer course look like?
All courses are fully remote, allowing students to participate from any time zone, and are facilitated through a combination of live, online meetings and asynchronous content.
Classes start Monday, May 20, and last for 4 or 6 weeks.
All classes are a full credit (1.000) and allow students to fulfill a range of core curriculum requirements.
Tuition is $3,110 for each of these courses. Please visit the Business Office website for information about tuition and the refund schedule.
Need-based financial aid will be available, based on your FAFSA status. Financial aid is only available for currently enrolled Wooster students. Please contact financialaid@wooster.edu for further information.
Students may take up to two courses in the summer session.
Registration Information
For currently enrolled Wooster students: Registration for summer courses will open concurrently with registration for Fall 2024 courses. As with Fall and Spring courses, students can enroll in the Summer Session through Self-Service.
For students not already enrolled at The College of Wooster, complete this Special Registration Form to begin registering for a class. Additionally, students under 18 need to have a parent or guardian complete this Minor Consent form. The deadline for completing these forms is Friday, May 17.
Please visit the Registrar’s page for complete information about registration and academic deadlines.
For further questions or information, please contact Alicia Brazeau, Director of the Wooster Summer Sessions: abrazeau@wooster.edu.
Instructor: Richard Lehtinen
Designations: MNS
Length: 4 weeks
Schedule: MWF 10:00AM-12:00PM
Description:
Anthropogenic climate change is scientifically well established and is one of the biggest threats currently facing human civilization. This non-majors course will investigate the current scientific understanding of climate change as well as the needed policy, social and economic changes needed to avoid its worst effects. The first part of the course (‘knowledge’, two weeks) will establish the scientific basis for global climate change including coverage of essential aspects of Earth’s climate system (especially the carbon-cycle) as well as coverage of previous climate change events in Earth’s history and current and projected climate change impacts on biological and cultural systems. The second part of the course (‘action’, one week) will cover the changes needed to both collective and individual human behavior to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The third and final part of the course (‘anger’, one week) would focus on efforts by the status quo to prevent or forestall climate action (political movements, disinformation campaigns, etc.) and official and grassroots efforts worldwide to implement change (with a special focus on youth movements and activism). While some of the content can be perceived as “doom and gloom”, we will have a special and repeated focus on some of the important progress being made (at both the local, national and global levels) to meet the unprecedented challenges.
Instructor: Mark Snider
Designations: MNS, QL
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: MTWRF 9:00AM -10:30AM
Description:
Fundamental facts, concepts, and theories of chemistry and mathematical skills are emphasized. Topics include matter, measurements, calculations, elements, atomic theory, atomic mass, the mole, ionic and molecular compounds, types of bonding, mole calculations, types of reactions, limiting reagents, percent yield, solutions, gases, quantum mechanics, orbitals and electrons, electronic structure, atomic periodicity, and Lewis theory. Emphasis will be placed on problem-solving and the development of critical thinking skills.
Instructor: Mehri Yavari
Designations: HSS
Length: 4 weeks
Schedule: TR 10:00AM -12:00PM
Description:
This course examines the significance of communication in human life and introduces students to fundamental principles and processes of communication in a variety of contexts: intrapersonal, interpersonal relationships, small groups, public settings, and the mass media. Students will learn to think critically about communication and will apply the knowledge they gain through a variety of means: class exercises, a group project of limited scope, message analysis, and a public speech.
Instructor: Jillian Morrison
Designations: MNS, QL
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: MTW 10:00AM-11:30AM
Description:
Data Science is the study of the generalizable extraction of knowledge from data. This course will introduce students to this rapidly growing field and equip them with some of its basic principles and tools as well as its general mindset. Students will learn concepts, techniques and tools they need to deal with various facets of data science practice, including data collection and integration, exploratory data analysis, predictive modeling, descriptive modeling, data product creation, evaluation, and effective communication. Issues of ethics, leadership, and teamwork are highlighted
Instructor: Alicia Brazeau
Designations: AH,W
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: TR 5:00PM-6:30PM
Description:
Maya Angelou wrote in the mornings, in a space cleared of decoration and distraction. Steven King assigned himself the task of completing six pages every day. Kurt Vonnegut and Haruki Murakami swim, run, and do push-ups. In this course, we will explore how professional writers practice and conceptualize the work of writing, and then consider how these individual accounts match up with research on how writers learn and develop their abilities. We will also experiment with adopting and evaluating these habits, routines, and strategies for ourselves. Course projects will prompt students to examine and analyze their own writing process, and critically evaluate the strategies and routines of professional writers.
Instructor: Matt Mariola
Designations: AH
Length: 4 weeks
Schedule: MW 6:00PM- 8:00PM
Description:
How is the history of the natural environment legible to us? How is the natural environment interwoven with the human-built environment? How does deepening our knowledge of place allow for us to better understand our position in the ecosystem? To help answer these questions, we will dive into a variety of short nonfiction essays and environmental poetry, some as homework and some live in class. We will discuss concepts such as sense of place, the right to roam, wayfinding, and interdependence. And each week students will engage in a self-directed, asynchronous “experiential lab” activity in the outdoors, such as walking outdoors for three continuous hours, spending 3 hours in an outdoors “oasis”, and working outside with natural materials. You will improve your writing skills by writing and peer-editing multiple short reflections on these outdoors experiences. This class counts for an ENVS credit in all ENVS tracks.
Note:
Instructor: Ahmet Atay
Designations: AH
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: MW 11:00AM -12:30PM
Description:
This course will delve into the genre of the mystery, long one of the most popular genres in popular culture. We will seek out clues that establish hallmarks of the genre, as well as those films, TV shows and literary texts that push its limits. The course will investigate the mystery at the heart of detective films, TV shows, and literature. Critics have suggested detective stories work to restore order in the world but that narrative arc raises questions of what sorts of order are presented: Is it political? social? And what happens if a solution is not found? You can thus see how sleuthing will discover that mystery films, TV shows, and novels are not just mindless thrills. Our investigation will interrogate films and TV shows such as Agatha Christie’s adaptations, Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, as well as suspects TV shows such as Midsomer Murders, Vera, Father Brown, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. We will map out characteristics of the genre, as well as why such films are often labelled “thrillers” or “suspense.” We’ll also take a look at films that bend the genre, blending mystery with parody, spy films, horror, etc.
Instructor: Karen Haely
Designations: AH, SJ
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: T 10:00AM -12:00PM; R 10:00AM -11:00AM
Description:
In this course, you will learn to identify and use major ethical theories; central moral principles of bioethics; and approaches to ethical problem-solving and decision-making. This background knowledge will be put to use in the analyses of ethical problems in the healthcare field. In the beginning, we will concentrate on the details of prominent ethical theories as well as get acquainted with the principles of bioethics. In addition, much of the course will focus specifically on the ethical issues particular to clinical healthcare. To aid us in doing this, we will use some videos, case analyses, and some medical narratives to give voice to the patient’s perspective. Throughout the semester we will review and analyze cases to develop skills in reasoning about ethical issues that inevitably occur in the clinical setting.
Instructor: Grit Herzmann
Designations: HSS,GE
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: MW 12:00PM – 1:30 PM
Description:
After an introduction to disability studies, psychological theory, and the neuroscience of disability, cultural, cross-cultural, and religious perspectives will analyze how different cultures and communities perceive and address disabilities. Class discussions will consider one’s own position relative to issues of disability and take the perspective of individuals in various communities across the globe. These discussions will address questions of stigma, inclusion, and support systems like access to healthcare and social networks. Public health aspects like policy and advocacy will be examined in the global context as will culturally competent assessment tools used to diagnose disabilities in various communities. This course counts as elective in the Psychology major, Neuroscience major, and Public Health pathway. The pre-requisite of PSYC100 will be waived by the instructor if another introductory course in the social sciences (e.g., SOCI100) or natural sciences (e.g., BIOL111) has been taken.
Instructor: Aída Díaz de León
Designations: Language Requirement
Length: 6 weeks
Schedule: MTWF 9:00AM -10:30AM
Description:
Oral-aural instruction and practice with grammar, reading, and some writing. Emphasis on practical everyday language for direct communication. Instruction focuses on the cultural meaning of language.
Instructor: Balam
Designations: Language Requirement
Length: 6 week
Schedule: MTWF 10:00AM -11:30AM
Description:
Additional oral-aural instruction and continued practice with grammar, reading, and writing. Further emphasis on practical everyday language for communication. Instruction focuses on the cultural meaning of language.