Summer Online Courses
Academic Credit From Your Home
Berkeley Summer Sessions offers several online courses. Our learning environment allows you flexibility with your study schedule while you experience the quality and excellence of UC Berkeley courses from the convenience of your own home. Even if you can't physically come to Berkeley, you can still experience the best that UC Berkeley has to offer. Regular Summer Sessions fees are applicable to online courses. Information on regular fees can be found here.
Online Orientation
We provide the support you need to be successful. After you enroll, your Program Coordinator, Tracie Littlejohn, will contact you to ensure that you have the tools you need to access the courses and participate fully in the interactive online learning environment. Full 24/7 technical support is available to you throughout your course.
2013 Summer Online Courses
Berkeley Summer Sessions is excited to offer the following online courses for Summer 2013:
Summer courses offered by UC Online:
All following course schedules, syllabi, and orientation documents are subject to change.
African American Studies W111 - Race, Class, and Gender
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The goal of this course is to describe, interpret and explain the circumstances of African Americans, with regard to race, class and gender stratification in the contemporary USA. We begin with consideration of key concepts, including racialization, racism and ethnicity; Black nationalism, leadership and identity; wealth, income and inequality; sex, gender and the gender division of labor; feminism and Black feminism; and globalization and international migration. We briefly explore the historical background to contemporary stratification by considering theories of 'the declining significance of race' (as argued by William Julius Wilson) and the move from plantation to ghetto, and then from ghetto to penitentiary as controlling institutions used against African Americans (as argued by Loic Wacquant). We also consider how Black women and girls have been left out of the larger debates on these issues (as argued by Nikki Jones), and how consideration of them complicates the analysis. We move on to consider the role of economics, politics, demography, class relations, and racist ideologies in the prevalent patterns of stratification; and the role of black leadership and cultural strategies in reducing inequality. We also consider the principles underlying federal policies for alleviating racial inequality and promoting equal opportunities. Throughout the analysis we consider the impact of gender ideologies on these experiences, and we distinguish the experiences of men and women. We then examine the changing relationship of racist images and racialized structures in the age of Obama and the 'post-racial' society; and assess how globalization impacts African Americans. As the course unfolds we will also consider the unique experiences of African Americans in California, as compared with African Americans across the USA in general, to assess what are the common and what are the distinctive patterns. Most of the time we will focus on African Americans; but we will also consider how their experiences compare with those of other Blacks, especially West Indians and Africans born abroad, but whose children are born/raised in the USA. CCN: 10170
• Please note: The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final Exam to be held 8/15/2013 from 5-8 p.m. (Final exam date is tentative; subject to change by professor.)
African American Studies W124 - Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr
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The life of Martin Luther King, Jr., provides a rare opportunity to understand the crucial issues of an era that shaped a good deal of contemporary America. King's life helps us focus history and humanize it. King epitomizes the interdependence of academic excellence and social responsibility. By critically reviewing his political philosophy we gain appreciation of its depth and relevance today. CCN: 10180
• Please note: Final Exam to be held 8/16/13 at 1pm-4pm.
Astronomy W12 - The Planets Cross-listed with Earth and Planetary Science W12 CCN 30905
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Orientation Document
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A tour of the mysteries and inner workings of our solar system. What are planets made of? Why do they orbit the sun the way they do? How do planets form, and what are they made of? Why do some bizarre moons have oceans, volcanoes, and ice floes? What makes the Earth hospitable for life? Is the Earth a common type of planet or some cosmic quirk? This course will introduce basic physics, chemistry, and math to understand planets, moons, rings, comets, asteroids, atmospheres, and oceans. Understanding other worlds will help us save our own planet and help us understand our place in the universe. CCN: 16335
Professors talk about this summer online course
• Please note: Final exam will be held 8/14/13 at 6pm-8pm
Chemistry W1A - General Chemistry
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Orientation Document
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Stoichiometry of chemical reactions, quantum mechanical description of atoms, the elements and periodic table, chemical bonding, real and ideal gases, thermochemistry, introduction to thermodynamics and equilibrium, acid-base and solubility equilibria, introduction to oxidation-reduction reactions, introduction chemical kinetics. This course is web-based. CCN: 21060
• Please note: The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final exam will be held 8/16/2013 at 9 a.m. to noon.
Chemistry N3AL - Organic Chemistry Laboratory
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Introduction to the theory and practice of methods used in the organic chemistry laboratory. An emphasis is placed on the separation and purification of organic compounds. Techniques covered will include extraction, distillation, sublimation, recrystallization, and chromatography. Detailed discussions and applications of infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy will be included. (All introductory lectures, lab safety and equipment instruction will happen online. Lab sessions will be scheduled during evening hours on campus.) CCN: 21105
• Please note: All lecture material is presented entirely over the Internet. Lab sections take place in regular lab rooms. Because there is an online component to this course, the deadline to register/add is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final lab will be held 8/13/2013 from 8-9 p.m.
Molecular and Cell Biology W61 - Brain, Mind, and Behavior
Syllabus (subject to change by professor)
Course Schedule (subject to change by professor)
Orientation Document
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This course deals with the structure and function of the human nervous system, with an emphasis on how brain physiology and chemistry are related to human behavior. This is a comprehensive introduction to the exciting field of contemporary neuroscience for students of all backgrounds and interests. CCN: 67250
• Please note: The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Final exam to be held tentatively 7/2/2013 from 6-9 p.m. (Final exam date is subject to change by professor)
Political Science W145A - Understanding Political Developments in India
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This class, which focuses mostly on the 'domestic' politics of India, has multiple aims. In addition to providing an overview of political developments in India since Independence, this online course assesses the nature of democratic participation and representation in contemporary India – the world's largest democracy. While the assigned readings for this course have India as their sole focus, class participants are encouraged to think comparatively not only across the cases discussed but also look at other nations so that we can better understand representation in political life in India. CCN: 76025
• Please note:The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final exam to be held 8/14/13, 9am-12pm.
Psychology W1 - General Psychology
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Introduction to the principal areas, problems, and concepts of psychology. The content of this course is identical with that of the offering of this course during the regular academic year. However, because there are no formal discussion sections, approximately 50% more lectures have been added, permitting the professor to cover the various topics in greater depth and breadth. CCN: 78215
• Please note: The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final exam 8/16/2013 from 9-noon.
Statistics W21 - Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business
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Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business Descriptive statistics, probability models and related concepts, sample surveys, estimates, confidence intervals, tests of significance, controlled experiments vs. observational studies, correlation, and regression. CCN: 85265
• Please note: The deadline to register/add this course is midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Final exam will be held 8/16/2013 from 8-11 a.m.
Summer Courses Offered by UC Online:
UC Online offers a chance to take classes developed by some of the university’s most outstanding faculty and to earn transferable credit that can be applied at any UC campus. Questions about UC Online courses should be directed to +1 (855) 826-2255 or support@uconline.edu.
Practice of Art W23AC - American Cybercultures: Principles of Internet Citizenship
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Syllabus
This online course establishes internet citizenship as the process of forming online communities through participation. The course itself seeks to establish a community of learners, innovators, and explorers who engage with 23 principles of internet culture through missions. The missions include topics aggregation, networking, identity, amplification, and subversion. Students work in small grouplets with about five members and complete learning missions through research and creative assignments using photography, writing, video, and user interaction design. By commenting on each other's creative online works, students earn course points which add up to achievement badges. This badge system validates innovation, media literacy, uniqueness, whimsy, and play, but moves toward mature forms of democratic community development, linked to the concepts of internet and community citizenship, and creativity in art and technology. CCN: 14035
Engineering W7 - Introduction to Computer Programming for Scientists and Engineers
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Elements of procedural and object-oriented programming. Induction, iteration, and recursion. Real functions and floating-point computations for engineering analysis. Introduction to data structures. Representative examples are drawn from mathematics, science, and engineering. The course uses the MATLAB programming language. CCN: 36833
• Please note: The final exam will take place in person on Friday, August 16, from 12-3pm. Location TBA.
