16 classes to explore this summer from ASU's The College

Do you want to get ahead in your degree? Are you debating graduate school? Maybe you’re an incoming first-year student who just can’t wait for fall. Or maybe you’re just tired of the same routine and want to mix it up this summer.

No matter your motivation, with Arizona State University’s 5,000-plus summer course offerings, there is a class for you. Many of ASU’s popular courses are being offered with flexible start dates and the university is offering awards for a variety of students as well as financial incentives to assist learners with their educational goals.

Check out some of the featured courses offered this summer from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Understand the past and present to impact your future

CEL 200 – Great Debates in American Politics and Economics: This course introduces fundamental ideas and debates about liberty and equality in American thought from the colonial era to the present, focusing on major political and economic figures and issues.

CEL 100 – Great Ideas of Politics and Ethics: This course surveys ancient, medieval and modern thinkers in the Greek, Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, tracing their influences on contemporary debates with focus on the great questions of human nature, social and political life and the relationship between religion and politics.

JUS 350 – Immigration and Justice: This course examines immigration policy, history of immigration, refugee issues, labor force participation, gender, family, children, social networks and transnationalism.

JUS 435 – Cinema and Justice: This course tracks the conceptualizations of justice that have been and are currently conveyed in film, including the relationship between crime and various notions of justice. Other depictions include social issues such as gender, race and economics.

WST 335 – Gender, Race and Sex in Science Fiction: This course explores such questions as: How have biological scientists explained human differences along axes of gender, race, class and sexuality? In what ways have these scientific discussions manifested themselves in science fiction?

Discover insights into human behavior

Whether you’re ready for a deep dive into psychology or just want an introduction to why humans behave the way they do, The College has a variety of courses to offer: 

COM 100 – Intro to Human Communication: Required by many majors, this course introduces basic theories, dimensions and concepts of human communicative interaction and behavior while fulfilling general education requirements.

PHI 310 – Environmental Ethics: This course examines a full range of philosophical positions pertaining to our moral relationship to the natural world; anthropocentrism, individualism and biocentrism.

PSY 366 – Abnormal Psychology: This course covers historical and current definitions, theory and research concerning abnormal behavior and major categories of psychopathology, including related treatment approaches.

PSY 394 – Introduction to Applied Behavioral Analysis: By developing a better understanding of why behavior occurs in the first place, this course will give you a taste of how we may accomplish behavior change to benefit the individual and society as a whole.

Explore your world from Earth to outer space

Do you find yourself looking around at your surroundings and asking “how?” The classes below will help you find answers to questions about the solar system, natural disasters, geologic history and more.

AST 111 – Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy: How did our Earth and solar system come to be? What are the patterns we observe in the sky? This course offers learners the opportunity to use astronomy and physics concepts to connect with our solar system and nearby stars, with an optional lab (AST 113).

GLG 102 – Introduction to Geology II (Historical): This course covers the basic principles of applied geology and the use of these principles in the interpretation of geologic history, with an optional lab (GLG 104).

GIS 598 – Special Topic: GIS Methods for Non-Majors: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are a valuable tool being used by professionals in a variety of industries. This four-credit, hands-on course is designed for students who are new to GIS and would like to learn how to use it as a tool and apply it to work in their particular field.

GLG 110 – Dangerous World: This course combines both the scientific and human perspective, with primary focus placed on physical processes, case studies and the interactions between humans and Earth, with an optional lab (GLG 111).

GLG 327 – Earth’s Critical Zone: This course offers a quantitative review of the form and function of the processes impacting Earth’s critical zone to build an understanding of the interactions of physical, chemical and biotic processes in shaping the surface and determining fluid, solute and sediment fluxes.

SES 106 – Habitable Worlds: Are We Alone?: This question was once addressed only in our imaginations. Now, it is at the cutting edge of science. In Habitable Worlds, learn how scientists search for other worlds and how they determine whether a planet is capable of harboring life.

SES 141 – Energy in Everyday Life: This transdisciplinary online survey course helps students understand concepts and develop skills that crosscut scientific disciplines, such as the ability to observe, think critically and gather data to make order-of-magnitude estimates.