The Climate Change course allows students to take an interdisciplinary look at this complex issue. Students spend the first semester exploring the causes of climate change, discovering the scientific reasons behind the environmental effects we observe, and looking at the roles humans have played in these changes. The second semester focuses on climate justice, activism, and solutions: who benefits from climate change, who suffers, and what can we do about it? Throughout the course, students follow current events and keep a weekly journal documenting their thoughts and findings.

Students will learn about public health through a multidisciplinary approach that includes biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, history, English literature, language and culture, economics, anthropology, geography, statistics, communication, film, and visual arts. This course will center around leading health indicators that include access to health services; clinical preventive services; maternal, infant, and child health; mental health; nutrition; physical activity; obesity; reproductive and sexual health; social determinants of health; and substance abuse. Course topics will include environmental health, biostatistics, epidemiology, public health policy, problem-solving in public health, population dynamics, social and behavioral sciences, health literacy, community assessment, health informatics, global health, and women’s health and human rights.

What makes some internet videos more popular than others? Where do gender inequities pop up in the music industry? What are the demographics of police stops in the United States? Did you know that you can explore and analyze real-world questions like these using code? In this semester-long course, you will develop the skills to use the Python programming language to mine public datasets for interesting patterns and to statistically analyze and visualize those patterns using beautiful, code-generated graphs. You will then build upon these skills by learning how to create your own machine learning models that you can use to make predictions in fields of your choice, and even enter some of your models into competitions. You will come away with skills to critically analyze and evaluate trends in science, society, and culture with the goal of using code to dig deep into questions that you are interested in exploring. No previous coding experience is required, but students will be expected to take initiative in the process of researching and developing project topics, learning any extra skills required for the projects that they select, and tinkering with their codes to accomplish their goals. Enrollment in the first-semester course, 3D Models and Animations, will be useful but is not necessary for this second-semester course.

Offered Spring 2027

Are you interested in designing your own characters, animations, and games while also learning foundational skills in coding? In this semester-long, project-based course, you will create renderings of 3D models, physics-based animations, and user-interactive games using VPython, a coding environment that combines the Python programming language with a 3D graphics module. Through your projects, you will learn how to use coding elements such as variables, loops, lists, conditionals, functions, and more. We will use the engineering design process to develop each project, including research, brainstorming, iterative prototyping, peer feedback, and sharing. This is a highly collaborative class; you will share your codes with your classmates so that they can build upon them “open-source”-style, and you will adapt and cite some of the work of your classmates to move your own projects forward. No previous coding experience is required, but students should be comfortable with mathematical thinking, troubleshooting, and sometimes feeling confused! Since we will be drawing upon physics concepts to create animations, students should enter this course having completed a year of Physics 9 or equivalent.

Offered Fall 2026

Advanced Physics is our most challenging physics course that parallels an introductory algebra-based college physics course. Major topics include kinematics, forces, energy, momentum, rotation, and simple harmonic motion. This is a rigorous, fast-paced course that also includes a significant laboratory component. In collaboration with their lab teams, students will have significant license in designing experimental procedures and in analyzing and explaining their data in ways that demonstrate a strong command of the underlying physics concepts. Students will also enrich their understanding of the physics concepts by learning how to create and explore computational models of physics phenomena using the VPython coding environment. This course assumes that students are comfortable with both algebra and trigonometry. To allow for the completion of college-level laboratory experiments, the course meets for an additional 70-minute block each week.

The Equine Science course is an intense equine biology class that encompasses the anatomy and physiology of all systems of the horse, including nutrition, toxicology, parasitology, health management, neonatology, epidemiology, and sports medicine. Students will explore numerous case studies and immerse themselves in the world of equine medicine. Through hands-on labs at the Frank O.H. Williams Barn, student can apply the skills and knowledge of the class while they perform health and lameness exams and use stethoscopes to listen to heart, lung, and intestinal sounds.

This course is an introduction to the biology of women and their specific health concerns. This class will also address social and economic factors that specifically affect women’s health and well-being. The first half of the course will be directed at learning about female anatomy and physiology, growth and development, and reproduction. This part of the course will focus on female ontogeny, puberty, pregnancy, abortion, and contraceptives. The latter part of the course will deal with disease and aging, and the cross-section of women’s health in history, society, economy, politics, and culture. Here we will focus on gender identity, reproductive rights, social movements, representation, nutrition, and more. In both portions of the course, we will address ethical concerns for women that will range from the manipulation of embryos to healthcare access. Through labs and other major assignments, students will examine biological differences between men and women, develop an understanding of their own hormone cycle, and analyze societal expectations and pressures placed on women.