These challenging courses are designed for students who want to experience university-level academics while building up their resume for college applications. You can take one, 3- or 4-credit course* during College Prep.
Please Note: Any requests to take a class that is not on this list must be submitted to our Program Director via email to highschool@georgetown.edu for review. See the FAQ page for more details. Please do not contact class instructors directly to request permission to enroll.
*To satisfy visa requirements, international students receiving visa assistance from Georgetown will be enrolled in a second credit course. Please refer to the how to apply page for additional details.
About College Prep Courses
College Prep offers a range of credit courses taken with current undergraduate students in various subjects such as:
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course is intended for non-majors seeking an introduction to computer science and Python programming. The course covers the following topics: basic data types in Python, variables and constants, input and output, Python reserved words and built-in functions, operators, conditional control structures, repetition control structures, basic file operations, user-defined functions, value parameters, lists, scope rules, importing packages, elementary data processing and visualization, and elementary software engineering principles. This course may be used to fulfill the math/computer science portion of the Gen Ed Math/Science requirement.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course explores the impact of "connecteness'" of modern society. Social, technological and natural interactions can be represented using links in a network formed by people and other entities. This network impacts many phenomenon, including the manner in which opinions and epidemics spread through society. This course will explore topics such as spread of opinions, the small-world phenomenon, robustness and fragility of financial markets, and the structure of the Web. This course may be used to fulfill the math/computer science portion of the Gen Ed Math/Science requirement.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Online,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course first develops simple graphical and mathematical models of decision-making by individual economic agents: consumers, workers, and businesses. We analyze interactions between these agents in product and factor markets using concepts of market demand, supply, and equilibrium. Finally, we demonstrate the efficiency of perfectly competitive markets, describe the conditions under which that efficiency arises, and examine market failures that occur when those conditions are not met.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. Some seats in this class are reserved.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Online,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course provides an introduction to macroeconomics. The first part of the course explores how GDP, inflation, unemployment, and other macroeconomic aggregates are measured in practice. The second part develops analytical models of macroeconomic performance and growth in the long run. The third part focuses on short-run (business-cycle) fluctuations and fiscal and monetary policies.
Fall and Spring.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. Some seats in this class are reserved.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
In this course we will explore the haunted houses, woods, and cities of the American imagination. Through our study of mid-19th-Century American Gothic writers, we will engage the persistent question of why a country that values clarity, freedom, religious purity, inclusion, and progress, produces literature so often characterized by darkness, claustrophobia, madness, monstrosity, and haunting. Specifically, we will look at dialogues between the American dream and madness, between “normal” communities and maniacal individuals, between “The City on the Hill” and the “wilderness” beneath. Then, as we move into the late 19th Century and 20th Century, we will focus on specific contexts of Gothic fiction—namely, the female Gothic, African-American Gothic, Southern Gothic, urban Gothic—and we will consider what these novels and short stories reveal about alternative narratives (especially narratives of otherness) that confront the dominant story of a “self-evident” culture. Among many questions we will address: What is the relationship between the distinctly interior notion of America as an idea (a dream) and the psychological nightmares expressed in many of these texts? What are the distinct forms of dominant culture paranoia that issue from nature spaces and urban spaces? Why might the American South be a repository for the Gothic and the grotesque? Major works to be discussed may include: Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Other Tales, Poe’s Great Tales and Poems, Bloch's Psycho, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Wright’s Native Son, O’Connor’s Selected Short Stories, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and Selby Jr’s Requiem for a Dream.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. In this course we will explore the haunted houses, woods, and cities of the American imagination. Through our study of mid-19th-Century American Gothic writers, we will engage the persistent question of why a country that values clarity, freedom, religious purity, inclusion, and progress, produces literature so often characterized by darkness, claustrophobia, madness, monstrosity, and haunting. Specifically, we will look at dialogues between the American dream and madness, between “normal” communities and maniacal individuals, between “The City on the Hill” and the “wilderness” beneath. Then, as we move into the late 19th Century and 20th Century, we will focus on specific contexts of Gothic fiction—namely, the female Gothic, African-American Gothic, Southern Gothic, urban Gothic—and we will consider what these novels and short stories reveal about alternative narratives (especially narratives of otherness) that confront the dominant story of a “self-evident” culture. Among many questions we will address: What is the relationship between the distinctly interior notion of America as an idea (a dream) and the psychological nightmares expressed in many of these texts? What are the distinct forms of dominant culture paranoia that issue from nature spaces and urban spaces? Why might the American South be a repository for the Gothic and the grotesque? Major works to be discussed may include: Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and Other Tales, Poe’s Great Tales and Poems, Bloch's Psycho, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Wright’s Native Son, O’Connor’s Selected Short Stories, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and Selby Jr’s Requiem for a Dream.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
How are war and terrorism reimagined and imbricated into popular culture? What are the affects of aestheticizing violence? This course will examine the proliferation of artistic forms, which seek to address the issue of war and the attendant concern about terrorism in America by looking at contemporary conflicts and their impact on texts including literature, film, television, video song lyrics and poetry..
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. How are war and terrorism reimagined and imbricated into popular culture? What are the affects of aestheticizing violence? This course will examine the proliferation of artistic forms, which seek to address the issue of war and the attendant concern about terrorism in America by looking at contemporary conflicts and their impact on texts including literature, film, television, video song lyrics and poetry.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course provides an introduction to key theories, concepts, historical events, and contemporary issues in the study of international relations (IR). The course has six learning objectives: Students will come to understand (1) the fundamental concepts unique to the field of international relations; (2) the major theories of international conflict and cooperation, particularly realist, liberal, and constructivist theories; and (3) several watershed conflicts in the last century, including World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Students will then apply this theoretical and empirical knowledge to make sense of salient contemporary issues in (4) international security (including nuclear weapons and proliferation, ethnic conflict, civil war, and terrorism), (5) political economy (including trade, finance, and globalization), and (6) global governance (including international law, human rights, humanitarian intervention, and the environment). In short, the course is meant to provide students with the tools to analyze contemporary international affairs and debates in a rigorous and sophisticated manner.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. This course has been renumbered, effective Fall 2014. A student who earned credit in GOVT 006 International Relations in a prior term should not enroll and cannot earn credit in this class. Some seats in this class are reserved.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This course is designed to assist students whose high school mathematics background is insufficient for the standard first-year mathematics courses. It is primarily intended as a preparation for MATH-035. Topics include: algebraic operations, factoring, exponents and logarithms, polynomials, rational functions, trigonometric functions, and the logarithmic and exponential functions. Graphing and word problems will be stressed. This course is not intended to complete the math/science requirement in the College. Fall.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
This is the first part of the four semester calculus sequence (Math-035-036 and 137-150) for mathematics and science majors. Students do not need to have any familiarity with calculus, but do need good algebra/precalculus preparation.
Topics include limits, derivatives, techniques of differentiation, applications of the derivative, the Riemann integral, the trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, and the logarithmic and exponential functions. Fall and Spring.
A student who hasn't taken MATH 029 prior to MATH 035 will need to take the Calculus Readiness test and be able to show their MATH 035 professor their results at the start of the semester.
Remote students have the option to attend this in-person class via Zoom integrated into the classroom. Need to take the Calculus Readiness Test and earn a minimum score of 18.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
Philosophy 010 is a general introduction to philosophical ethics. Questions addressed include: What is the nature of morality? How do we know what is right and what is wrong? What sorts of moral obligations do we stand under? What are our duties to others and to ourselves? What is the nature of virtue and vice? How do we assess moral character? Readings are generally drawn from both traditional and contemporary philosophical authors. Reading lists and specific topics addressed vary from semester to semester and from instructor to instructor, as do required work and expectations. Please consult the syllabi posted online by individual instructors for more detail.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. It is a morally significant fact that you will inevitably harm others and experience harm yourself. Our practice of apologizing reflects that it is crucial that these harms are addressed. What does it mean to be responsible for harming another person? What exactly do apologies do? Is apology always sufficient for remedying harms? Some harms are not the result of personal wrongdoing. What do we do about harms that no individual person is responsible for? In this course we will answer these practical questions. First, we must examine pertinent abstract questions: What is morality? How do we have moral knowledge? Isn’t it all just subjective anyway? This course places an emphasis on reckoning with responsibility and wrongdoing in our lives by grappling with complex ethical questions about the nature of our agency, personhood, and potential for moral repair.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
This introductory course surveys the field and acquaints the student with the major areas of Psychology, including perception, memory, cognition, neuroscience, learning, motivation, emotion, personality, social behavior, development, and psychopathology.
PSYC-001. GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY IS A PREREQUISITE FOR ALL OTHER PSYCHOLOGY COURSES.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Some seats in this class are reserved.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
In this course you will learn in numerous ways that sociology is the systematic study of human society and social life. This course is designed to be an introduction to the development of sociology, and an examination of the range of concepts, principles, and methods that comprise modern sociology using a core text and academic journal articles. We will examine important issues and institutions of contemporary society, including culture, socialization, gender, race and ethnicity, education, family, inequality, and social change. A particular focus will be on the examination of intersectionality in formal organizations (i.e., workplaces). By the semester’s end it is anticipated that students will understand the sociological perspective and be able to discuss sociological issues using the language of the discipline.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. Sociology Required Course for Majors/Minors: In this course you will learn in numerous ways that sociology is the systematic study of human society and social life. This course is designed to be an introduction to the development of sociology, and an examination of the range of concepts, principles, and methods that comprise modern sociology using a core text and academic journal articles. We will examine important issues and institutions of contemporary society, including culture, socialization, gender, race and ethnicity, education, family, inequality, and social change. A particular focus will be on the examination of intersectionality in formal organizations (i.e., workplaces). By the semester’s end it is anticipated that students will understand the sociological perspective and be able to discuss sociological issues using the language of the discipline.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
The Problem of God introduces students to the study of religion and theology, broadly
understood. Our aim in the course is not only to introduce students to different religious
traditions and perspectives, but, as the title of the course suggests, to encourage critical
reflection on some of the most challenging questions relating to religious commitment. In
other words, the goal of the course is not only to help students learn about religious
traditions, but to reflect critically on what it means to be a religious person, what it means
to study religion and theology, and what the significance of religious belief is. It is one of
two courses (along with IBL) that fulfill the first Theology course requirement at
Georgetown, and the importance of promoting critical reflection on religious belief through
this requirement has taken on new meaning in a post-9/11 world, in which religious
literacy and understanding are more important than they have ever been. Mirroring the
diversity of our faculty, the course is taught in a diverse number of ways, including a
variety of different primary texts and focusing on a variety of significant questions relating
to religion and theology. Georgetown graduates consistently report that The Problem of
God was one of the most important courses that they took during their time at Georgetown.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the complex history of Jewish American and African American relations in the United States. Our inquiry will begin by exploring the historical roots of each group’s discreet experiences in this country. Then we will focus on how they have coalesced sometimes in friendship, sometimes in antagonism, in the past century. Some of the questions we seek to explore are: Do there exist similarities between Blacks and Jews that account for the gravitational pull they exert upon one another? Are there differences between them that explain the unique texture of their interaction? How are both related to mainstream White Anglo-Saxon culture in the United States? How do issues of gender and sexual orientation refract the nature of their interaction?
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Studio,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
Taught by experts in the field, Acting I provides an experiential introduction to the study of acting for the stage based in psychological and physical realism. Emphasis is placed on the critical and creative theories and techniques to cultivate imagination, focus, embodied creativity, self-awareness, vocal range, collaboration, and script analysis. Acting projects include scenes, monologues, and acting exercises. Students will fulfill readings (e.g. by Stanislavski and Uta Hagen), writing assignments, and performance projects. Suitable for students with considerable performance experience but without college coursework in acting, and for complete beginners.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021. Must attend first and second class or lose your seat in the course.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Format & Location:
Online,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies explores the broadly and critically defined “genealogies” of women’s and gender studies, investigating key concepts, theoretical debates, ideologies, and historical significance of the discipline of Women's and Gender Studies. Drawing from multidisciplinary perspectives and materials, we attempt to construct a theoretical framework that will be helpful and challenging to our pursuit of a just world in which both women and men can celebrate themselves and each other.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Jul 12 to Aug 13, 2021
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Format & Location:
Lecture,
Online
REMOTE
Credits:
3
An intensive seminar, enrolling no more than 15 students, focused on developing students’ ability to use writing as a tool for inquiry, to develop their writing through an iterative process, and to practice writing in different rhetorical situations. Students should take this course as early as possible and no later than the end of the sophomore year.
The Writing and Culture Seminar helps students develop their ability to:
• read critically in ways that are attentive to language, context, and form
• write in ways that are appropriate for different rhetorical situations, with awareness of genre, context, and technology
• deploy language’s many resources, including its figurative power as well as conventions of grammar, punctuation, syntax, and semantics, to shape and communicate meaning with clarity and fluency
• research, evaluate, and synthesize appropriate evidence in order to build and support effective analyses and arguments
On the surface, social media promises connection: a tool that lets us communicate across physical, cultural, and generational divides. In practice however, it's much more complicated. This semester, you’ll hone your critical reading and writing skills by diving into those complications. We’ll unpack what happens when a new form of communication springs up within the space of a single generation - with a specific focus on the challenges and problems social media has brought. We’ll think about how we navigate these social spaces, and how our behavior and identity differs across different digital spaces, as well as how it compares to how we present ourselves in the physical world. Just as importantly, I'll be challenging us to think about why those differences matter, and what they mean for us as citizens (and, for some of us) future designers and gatekeepers of the ever-expanding digital world.
This course will meet synchronously in a remote format on the scheduled meeting dates and times for summer 2021.
Section Title: Writing Complexity & the Becoming of the Citizen-Rhetor
This first-year writing course seeks to develop technologically-savvy writers who thrive within complexity, rather than fear it. Scholars such as Cathy N. Davidson argue that today’s complex global economy favors those who can "make connections, synthesize, collaborate, network, manage projects, solve problems, and respond to constantly changing technologies.”
For Davidson, then, rather than becoming an expert in a single subject, which quickly becomes outmoded, we must think holistically to connect our local, personal experience to an ever shifting complex global network.
This writing course, then, gives students opportunity to write in myriad genres for myriad audiences in myriad platforms in order to develop their rhetorical agility.
By course's end, students will not only have practiced the reading, writing, research, and editing skills necessary for academic success, but they will also have worked extensively in multimodal technologies to write themselves into a complex network as a citizen-rhetor. They will also have a fancy Wordpress site to show off to potential employers.
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