Combining direct action, experimentation, and improvisation

This course will be run in partnership with the Small World Initiative (SWI) and the Tiny Earth Network (TEN), two innovative programs that encourage students to pursue careers in science while addressing a worldwide health threat – the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics. This course centers around an introductory biochemistry course in which students conduct original hands-on field and laboratory research in the hunt for new antibiotics. Through a series of student-driven experiments, students will collect soil samples, isolate diverse bacteria, test their bacteria against clinically-relevant microorganisms, and characterize those showing inhibitory activity. This is particularly relevant since over two thirds of antibiotics originate from soil bacteria or fungi. SWI and TEN’s approach provides a unique platform to crowdsource medical breakthroughs by tapping into the intellectual power of many people concurrently addressing a global challenge and advancing promising candidates into the drug development pipeline.

Prerequisites: Completion of Chemistry and Biology and departmental approval. Possible concurrent enrollment with Honors or Advanced Biology.

What does it mean to be a writer? How does an author find her style? The Visiting Writer Seminar is a semester-long course in which students have the special opportunity to immerse themselves in a study of one writer’s works. Throughout the semester, students read a critical mass of texts by that writer before the course culminates with a visit by that person to the school. During this visit, the writer will teach master classes, conduct writing workshops, and participate in class discussions. The writer will also deliver a schoolwide assembly and a public reading to our community.

This course is based on the Stan-X experimental biology course developed by Professor Seung Kim of Stanford University. Students will be introduced to fundamental concepts in molecular and cellular biology and genetics, in addition to laboratory and husbandry techniques specific to the fruit fly. The course is focused on laboratory research where students will use transposon biology to create transgenic fruit flies. Favorable strains of flies made and characterized by students will be used by researchers in Dr. Kim’s lab and made available to all scientists working on fruit flies. Engagement with primary research literature, bioinformatics databases and independent laboratory work is expected. To allow for the completion of college-level laboratory experiments, additional laboratory work outside of class time will be expected. 

Prerequisites: Previous or concurrent enrollment in Honors Biology and departmental approval.

This Advanced Feminist and Women’s History course challenges students to delve deeply into the powerful and often overlooked stories of women in United States history. Through close examination of a wide variety of primary sources and intersectional social theory, students will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and successes of women’s rights and activism throughout the years. This course is designed to challenge and inspire students to think critically about traditional historical narratives and highlight the centrality of women in American history. In this advanced course, students are expected to engage extensively with challenging source material, including primary sources and academic articles. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.

Prerequisite: departmental approval. 

Advanced Multivariable Calculus covers topics that are not currently included in a traditional high school calculus course but may be included in a college-level calculus course. Students explore topics including but not limited to partial derivatives, double and triple integrals, vector fields, and integration over curves and surfaces.

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, the Cliteracy Movement, 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.

Prerequisites: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Biology.

In addition to learning data modeling and statistical inferences, students will learn to code in the software environment R to run the statistical tests and generate the graphics, which they will then interpret and contextualize. R is a statistical software platform that is commonly used in the social sciences and follows a similar programming language to Python. It gives the user the ability to craft the output that they want and manipulate it accordingly, making it a very helpful and commonly used tool in the sciences. Throughout the course, students will collect and organize data and then use R to create graphics, build models, and run statistical tests.

Prerequisite: Algebra 2 and department approval. 

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.

Prerequisites: Current enrollment in or completion of Biology. 

Included in our Advanced offerings are several UConn Early College Experience (ECE) classes which award college credit for successful completion.

• ECE Advanced Contemporary Issues in Sports
  • This course examines issues, challenges, opportunities, and constraints within the domain of sport. The course will explore socio-cultural, economic, political, and other related issues in sport. Students will locate sport as a social institution, and as such, examine the impact of sport in American culture and how American culture impacts sport. The course will cover sport at the youth, intercollegiate, professional, and international level, considering how sport at these levels is differently experienced by individuals, communities, organizations, and broadly by society. Students will also engage in discussion of issues in sport relative to gender, race (ethnicity), differing physical and intellectual ability, sexual identity, and gender identity. Students will develop in-depth analysis of complex topics. Students will complete advanced level research and writing assessments. Students will also consistently demonstrate independence and preparedness with their work.
    • Prerequisite: departmental approval. 

• ECE Course – CAM 3102: Topics in Advanced Latin
  • Special topics in Advanced Latin: How Republics Fall: Cicero and Caesar (and Catullus!). In this class we will follow the events leading up to the collapse of the Roman Republic from the perspective of two of the most important and influential figures of that period, Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Tullius Cicero. We will read, annotate, and discuss excerpts from Caesar’s Commentarii on the Gallic and Civil Wars, along with selections from the political orations and personal letters of Cicero. From time to time we will check in on the perspective of the “Man on the Street” in the person of Gaius Valerius Catullus, a private citizen, distinguished poet, and acquaintance of both Cicero and Caesar.

• ECE Course – SPAN 3178: Intermediate Composition
  • This course provides a thorough review of grammar and methodical practice in composition leading to command of practical idioms and vocabulary. Additionally, students in this course will develop an understanding and awareness of the Spanish-speaking world’s diverse cultures through the study of journalistic and literary works and other works of art created by authors and artists from Spain and Latin America.  Students will continue the development of the four language skills: listening, writing, speaking, and reading.  Authentic materials are often used to practice these skills in the classroom.  Group discussions, songs, movies, magazines, newspapers, and the internet are all used to help students broaden their vocabulary, increase fluency and deepen their knowledge of Spanish grammar.
    • Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish 4. 

• ECE Course – FREN 3250: Global Culture in French I
  • In this course, students will hone their listening and speaking skills by engaging with the diverse cultures of the French-speaking world. Students will enrich their vocabulary and develop their ability to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate in French with greater accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Speaking practice will include class discussions, debates, and oral presentations. At the same time, students will learn about the richness and diversity of the French-speaking world through written texts (e.g., fiction, articles, poetry), oral texts (e.g., interviews, podcasts), radio and television segments, cinema, music, and art. The course will be conducted entirely in French.
    • Prerequisite: Completion of French 4.