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 up to 6 college credits during College Prep.
Please Note: Any requests to take a class that is not on this list must be submitted 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.
About College Prep Courses
College Prep offers a range of credit courses taken alongside current undergraduate students in various subjects such as:
This course surveys the major achievements in western pictorial art, sculpture and architecture from the early Renaissance to the twentieth century. Students will develop skills in analyzing and interpreting original works of art. Fall and Spring.
The various disciplines, techniques, and theories of drawing will be studied as the student learns to train his or her hand, eye and imagination in the assigned practical problems of drawing. Students enrolled in Studio courses must devote a minimum of 4 - 6 hours per week outside of class to develop and complete assignments. These times are flexible and can be rearranged with the instructor. No prerequisite. Fall and Spring.
Photography I: Digital is a basic digital photography studio art course designed to develop the hands-on skills necessary to produce and identify the elements of a good photograph and to acquire a thorough working knowledge of digital equipment. Students will gain an understanding of the aesthetic and technical areas of photography as a fine art. Class lectures, discussions and digital lab assignments will deal with photographic composition, criticism and history, camera and paper types, and printer systems. Fundamental knowledge of computer programs such as Photoshop will be introduced in the semester to develop photographic imagery. Students enrolled in Studio courses must devote a minimum of 4 - 6 hours per week outside of class to develop and complete assignments. These times are flexible and can be rearranged with the instructor.
Fall and Spring.
No prerequisite.
Photography I: Digital is a basic digital photography studio art course designed to develop the hands-on skills necessary to produce and identify the elements of a good photograph and to acquire a thorough working knowledge of digital equipment. Students will gain an understanding of the aesthetic and technical areas of photography as a fine art. Class lectures, discussions and digital lab assignments will deal with photographic composition, criticism and history, camera and paper types, and printer systems. Fundamental knowledge of computer programs such as Photoshop will be introduced in the semester to develop photographic imagery. Students enrolled in Studio courses must devote a minimum of 4 - 6 hours per week outside of class to develop and complete assignments. These times are flexible and can be rearranged with the instructor.
Fall and Spring.
No prerequisite.
This course is for non-majors seeking an introduction to the principles and practices of information technology and computer science. These concepts are introduced in the context of current and future computing technologies such as computer graphics, Web programming, and artificial intelligence. As well, the course introduces some of the economic, legal, ethical, and social issues related to the capabilities and limitations of network and computing technology. The course first presents the basics of computing machinery: information and its representations, elements of computer organization, and low-level machine hardware. Next, the course covers the basics of computing software: algorithms and computer programming in machine, assembly, and high-level programming languages. Using the theories of computability and complexity, a discussion of the general capabilities and limitations of computing and networks follows. Finally, a survey of some computer and network applications provides a setting in which to apply the basic analytic concepts and technological tools previously introduced. Classes meet once per week for lectures and once per week for lab sessions. Course work includes weekly written and programming assignments, and midterm and final exams. This course may be used to fulfill the math/computer science portion of the Gen Ed Math/Science requirement. The course does not train students to use application programs such as word processors and Internet browsers.
In this course we will explore the haunted houses and woods 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 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?
This course will investigate the highly stylized world of popular fiction, including the literary genres of the western, the adventure story, hard-boiled detective fiction, true crime, the historical romance, the suspense thriller, sci-fi and fantasy. We will observe the beginnings of pulp fiction from the dime novels and the penny dreadfuls in the 19th century to the literary boom of pulp fiction in the 1920s and 1930s. We will be connecting major themes in popular fiction to the growth of old time radio programs and to the study of manga, media, television and film and will be watching a series of documentaries and analyzing pulp magazine jackets. Pulp fiction writers may include Edgar Rice Burroughs, Zane Grey, Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Ted Chiang, Koushun Takami, Truman Capote, Laura Esquivel and J. K. Rowling.
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..
FMST 181-20: This course explores introductory film production techniques and strategies. Students will learn video and audio recording, scriptwriting and non-linear editing using Adobe Premiere Pro software. Visual storytelling concepts and creative post-production editing will be emphasized. In-class exercises and short film projects will allow students to become comfortable working in various film production roles. Additionally, critiques and screenings of student and professional film work will provide students with an understanding of the narrative film genre.
Government 020 provides students with a broad understanding of the political system in the United States. It is one of the four introductory courses in the Department of Government.
The goal of the class is to train students both as citizens and as scholars. As citizens, students will learn the shared history of U.S. politics and be able to think critically about how the system has succeeded and failed. As scholars, students will be introduced to the theoretical and analytical tools of political science as applied to American government.
By the end of the semester students will
1) Be politically literate, knowing core historical and contemporary facts about the U.S. political system
2) Understand important theories about U.S. politics, including theories about the importance and functioning of political institutions, the roots of popular political preferences, and the functioning and consequences of elections.
The principal aim of this course is to provide an introduction to the field of political philosophy. The texts to be read are among the most important works in the field covering a period of twenty-four hundred years. In order to give a comprehensive overview of the history of political thought, we will be studying works written by Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Locke, the authors of the Federalist Essays, and Marx. Each of these thinkers presents a different perspective concerning the best manner in which politics ought to be practiced. It is hoped that a thorough reading and comprehension of these works will (1) familiarize the student with the general concerns of political thought, (2) demonstrate that political thought is an ongoing dialogue among thinkers from various times and historical circumstances, and (3) suggest that some of the concerns that confronted philosophers centuries ago are still relevant to the problems of today.
This course has been renumbered, effective Fall 2014. A student who earned credit for GOVT 117 Elements of Political Theory in a prior term should not enroll and cannot earn credit in this class.
HIST 008 Intro Late History: Europe II or World II
For College students, all sections of HIST 007 or HIST 008 fulfill the core requirement in History for a broad introductory survey; these students complete the requirement by taking HIST 099.
Please note that if you receive AP/IB placement or credit, you cannot take HIST 007 (or 008 or 099) for credit.
The various sections of HIST 008 have different focuses, for which see below; moreover, each instructor may develop or stress particular themes within her/his focus. Students are urged to consult syllabi available on line or at the History Department.
The World II sections consider human history since about 1500 AD, focusing on the dynamics of global interaction. The class seeks to familiarize students with, and help them contextualize, historical processes and phenomena such as colonialism and imperialism, industrialization, modern population growth, nationalism and the rise of the nation-state, great power politics, and the emergence of modern science. Its goal is to explain how the world got to be the way it is, with a particular focus on how social and ethno-cultural identities have been shaped--and have in turn shaped--political, economic, and physical environments.
The Europe II sections offer an analysis of the significant political, social, economic, diplomatic, religious, intellectual, and scientific developments in European Civilization since the eruption of the French Revolution. Special attention is also paid to issues of class, gender, marginality, and the relationship of Europe to non-Western cultures.
The core requirement in History for COLLEGE students is as follows: 1 HIST Focus course: HIST 099, any section. 1 introductory History survey: 007, 008, 106, 107, 111, 112, 128, 129, 158, 159, 160, or 161. Note that students who receive AP or IB credit for History CANNOT take HIST 007, 008, or 099 for credit. Please note that HIST 099 must be taken at GU and cannot be transferred.
HIST 099 is one of the required core classes in History. All sections of HIST 099 fulfill the same role, though each instructor will develop a specific topic. Students are urged to consult syllabi available on line or at the History Department.
Please note that if you receive AP/IB placement or credit, you cannot take HIST 099 (or 007 or 008) for credit.
Please note that HIST 099 must be taken at GU and cannot be transferred.
The general aim of HIST 099 is to introduce students to various elements of historical work and thinking, within the context of looking at a particular historical period, event, or theme in some depth. Though lectures and discussion will focus on particular topics, there will also be class exercises, assignments, and readings that will allow instructors and students to explore how historians identify, define, and employ primary sources of all types, how historians analyze those sources, how they formulate questions, how they engage with the work of prior historians, and how they aim to reconstruct various elements of the human experience in particular times and places.
The core requirement in History for COLLEGE students is as follows: 1 HIST Focus course: HIST 099, any section. 1 introductory History survey: 007, 008, 106, 107, 111, 112, 128, 129, 158, 159, 160, or 161. Note that students who receive AP or IB credit for History CANNOT take HIST 007, 008, or 099 for credit. Please note that HIST 099 must be taken at GU and cannot be transferred.
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 introduce students to the basic concepts, logic, and issues involved in statistical reasoning, as well as basic statistical methods used to analyze data and evaluate studies.
The major topics to be covered include methods for exploratory data analysis, an introduction to sampling and experimental design, elementary probability theory and random variables, and methods for statistical inference including simple linear regression.
The objectives of this course are to help students develop a critical approach to the evaluation of study designs, data and results, and to develop skills in the application of basic statistical methods in empirical research. An important feature of the course will be the use of statistical software to facilitate the understanding of important statistical ideas and for the implementation of data analysis. The course has two lectures and one lab section.
Cannot be taken for credit if the student has already taken ECON 121, Gov 201, OPIM 173, IPOL 320 or MATH 140.
College Economics and Political Economy majors should enroll in ECON 121, rather than MATH 040.
This course does NOT satisfy the Mathematics minor or majors requirement for a Statistics class--these students should enroll in MATH 140.
Seniors and Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical students must get special permission to enroll in this course.
An introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy through the writings of both traditional and contemporary authors. Questions addressed may include the relationship between mind and matter; between causation and free will; meaning, truth, and reality; knowledge, perception, belief, and thought. Topics and readings vary from semester to semester and instructor to instructor, as do the course requirements and expectations. Please consult the syllabi of the individual instructors for more detail.
A performance course designed to introduce basic principles of communication and the classical roots from which they were derived. Students will prepare and present speeches in both formal platform settings and informal group discussions. While attention will be given to extemporaneous delivery, the emphasis of the course is on work behind-the-scenes: organizing ideas, structuring messages, and adapting messages for specific audiences. Attention will also be given to methods for evaluating oral discourse. Students who experience anxiety in public speaking situations are encouraged to enroll. Fall and Spring..
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.
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.
Spirit/Justice/Peace:T.Merton (Theo 116) Monastic prayer and spirituality, social justice and peace activism, poetry and photography, and interreligious dialogue (Buddhism and Christianity) all intersect in the life of Trappist monk Thomas Merton. He is generally considered to be one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable and widely read American Catholic writers, but interest in his work is by no means confined to the Catholic community. This exploration of Merton’s spiritual journey, his public contributions, and the unpredictable paths of his influence will culminate in the production of a website with an embedded podcast that can be used as a self-guided tour of the outer and inner landscape of his life, centered around Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. This course at Georgetown will intersect electronically (sometimes in real time) with a parallel course on Thomas Merton being conducted at Bellarmine University (site of the Thomas Merton Center) in Louisville, Kentucky. After initial common readings, students will be clustered according to research interests for cooperative learning and teaching in the four dimensions of Merton’s contribution identified above, with each cluster making a distinctive contribution to the production of knowledge for the podcast and website. Students with an academic interest in social justice, contemplative spirituality or dialogue across religious boundaries—as well as students who have or want to develop skills in visual and auditory communication—may find this course a compelling journey. Prof. Yeager is seeking university funds for an experiential component of the course, which would be entirely optional and would take place during spring break, either through a retreat at a Trappist monastery or through research conducted at one of the libraries offering Thomas Merton archives. As funding for such an experience is not confirmed, students should assume that participating in an optional spring break experience related to the course would be at their own expense.
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.
Theater Lab Fee: $50
Must attend first and second class or lose your seat in the class
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.
Section Description: 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.
Want to learn more?
Request information to find out the latest on the Summer Programs for High School Students.
