All programs

11th-12th graders |  Full Day  |  July 7 – 27, 2024

Pathology allows you to explore the human body from the inside out! From diagnosing cancer and learning about autopsies, to running tests in the lab, join the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and work side by side with residents and attending physicians. In this program, you will gain hands on experience with laboratory processes, organ dissection sessions, independent coursework, and receive mentoring by a department physician.

Enrollment is limited to 10 students; selection to the program is competitive.

11th-12th graders |  Full Day  |  July 7 – 27, 2024

This unique and selective program is open to students interested in pursuing careers in medicine. Through rigorous academic immersion, you will gain firsthand experience with practical hands-on intervention, research, public health, and service learning.

Enrollment is limited to 12 students; selection for this program is competitive.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. OR 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

What is it like to be a physician? What does it take to become a doctor? Meet with practicing
physicians, medical students, and other experts. Learn about the human body, explore hands-on medical procedures and medical equipment, simulate patient encounters, examine pathological specimens and anatomical organ models, and discuss the role of the physician
through unique specialty-themed days. Engage with other interested students through team centered and problem-based activities. Learn what it takes academically to prepare for medical school, and how to decide if medicine is the right path for you.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

New ideas are at the core of every business’s health. Within a highly experiential curriculum, students will learn and test-out business tools that generate, screen, prioritize, and improve raw concepts into feasible business cases. Such leadership skills are critical in any setting; from social improvements and not-for-profit endeavors to classic garage start-ups, struggling small companies and behemoth corporations.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Bring your ideas to life with XR (the umbrella term for augmented, mixed, and virtual reality)! Students will start with XR basics, including their history and application. They will use design thinking, storytelling, world building, and low-fidelity prototyping to brainstorm and design a virtual reality mini-game or digital story. They will then learn the basics of XR tools, such as Blender, a 3D modeling tool, and Unity, a real-time creation platform, through hands-on workshops to develop their own unique virtual reality experience. Students will also engage in critical discussion of XR, including topics on privacy, accessibility, and empathy. All learning levels welcome. No experience necessary.
Just bring your creativity and big ideas!

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Students will have a hands-on opportunity to experience the growing field of data science. After a brief introduction and appreciation on why data science is the most sought-after profession in the 21st century, the students will immerse in analyzing and visualizing a large data set to discover insights using state-of-the-art data science tools.

By means of a series of interactive examples in various domain/subject areas, they will gain experience in data science techniques such as data preparation and exploration, data visualization, and an introduction to predictive modeling. The hands-on working sessions will be complemented by tours of university research laboratories engaged in the exciting area of data science.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Through stimulating lectures, interactive labs, and informative field trips, this class introduces you to the many disciplines of engineering. You will get an overview of the necessary tools for analysis and problem solving and will use your creativity, energy, and interpersonal skills while participating in several in-class design projects. Additionally, you will learn the importance of mathematics, science, and technology in everyday engineering situations.

By the end of the course, you will have a better-defined idea of engineering, its requirements, and your options for a future within this field.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Learning about bones, muscles, joints, and movement has never been more fun! Through movement, poetry, and numerous hands-on activities, you will identify and explore the function of muscles and bones in your body. No dry memorization here; you will plunge into the subject of anatomy by putting those bones and muscles into action. Specially designed kinesthetic activities will embody these lessons. This class is perfect for you if you’re interested in health sciences, biology, kinesiology, physical therapy, dance, or massage therapy.

What was it like to be queer in New York in the 1970s and 80s? Queer New York will make use of Rochester’s extensive collection of archives, books, magazines, oral history interviews, digital media, and more in hopes of answering this question. The first week of the course will introduce students to key topics relating to gender, sexuality, and the history of the LGBTQ+ community in New York State (with a special emphasis on the city of Rochester); the second week will give students a chance to explore the University’s Libraries and build research skills through a guided exploration of a course-related topic of their choosing.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

What matters in life? What values should guide how we live? Pleasure, friendship, happiness, achievement, knowledge, justice, or something else? And how are these values reflected in popular culture—in movies, TV, social media, music, and even in the food we eat? This course investigates how philosophical reflection and argumentation can inform, and change, how we live. Should we reject the values of the culture we live in? Or embrace them? The aim of this class is to help students develop their own thoughtful answers.

 9-12th graders | Session A | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

This course will introduce students to the fields of visual and media studies. We will examine a variety of media including painting, photography, film, television, video, and social media. We will define and compare these media to one another, asking how each has impacted ways of visually perceiving, understanding, and relating to the world across the 20^th and early 21^st century. Example of questions we will address are: why do photographs look and feel more real to us than paintings? What does it mean for television to present us news updates in real time? Is social media good or bad, and how has it shaped contemporary society? Students will practice critically applying course readings to the study of visual objects, through writing prompts as well as group discussions. The course will include a fieldtrip to the George Eastman Museum.

9-12th graders  |  Session A  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

This course examines how advertisers use language to sell products and how it affects our perception of the products and ourselves. This course will appeal to those who are curious about the central role language plays in the art of persuasion. The course touches upon the structure of language only insofar as it is relevant for understanding advertising as a form of social action. The acquired linguistic tools will help us to understand how commercial messages achieve their effect in business, culture, or even grass roots movements.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Have you ever wondered how humans have the propensity to behave in ways that are astonishing, confusing, violent, or outside of the norm? How are humans capable of performing egregious acts toward others? Is déjà vu real? How do humans sense when someone they’re close to is in danger? If you’ve ever wondered about these things, then this might be the right class for you. Contemporary psychology includes the study of yet-unsolved mysteries of the mind and human behavior. Some of these mysteries include historic examples of mass hysteria – such as whole towns that took to dancing in the streets for days until they passed out or died. Other human mysteries include the experience of phantom limbs, déjà vu, and ‘twin-tuition.’ Despite the research efforts in fields of study including neuroscience, forensic psychology, and developmental, abnormal, and social psychology, researchers and society as a whole still grapples with understanding those things we categorize as ‘deviance’ from normal. The human mind is, and perhaps always will be, a mystery in many ways.

We will use a combination of discussion, in-class social experiments, games, videos, guest speakers, and direct teaching. Your curiosity has no limit in this class – discussion and questions are welcomed. We’ll start the day with ‘Fun Facts’ you Googled about a topic from the previous day (that’s your only homework!). Be open to surprises from your instructor that may include a social experiment used on you and your classmates.

9-12th graders  |  Session B |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

This class introduces the many disciplines of finance, what to expect during academic training at a university level, and potential career paths.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an investment banker, a financial advisor, or a private equity, hedge fund, or real estate investor? Examine the pros and cons of various career paths within the world of finance. Learn about different types of investments, build your own hypothetical investment portfolio, speak with professionals in the industry, and more.

This class will also introduce several aspects of personal finance (things we wish we thought about when entering college).

9-12th graders  |  Session B |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Thinking of majoring in business? A business degree can be beneficial in nearly every industry and open the door to many different career paths. This course will examine different business principles like accounting, analytics, finance, entrepreneurship, information systems, and marketing.

9-12th graders  |  Session B | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Nursing is the largest workforce in the health care setting. The roles that nurses fulfill in the hospital, public health, research, and advanced practice are vital to the success of a patient’s health.

This course will show you what it takes to be a nurse. With engaging discussions and interactive exercises, you will learn about the profession’s foundations and specialties, the history and future of nursing, and potential careers that might interest you.

Whether you are interested in clinical research or patient care, come explore if nursing is for you.

9-12th graders  |  Session B |  8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. OR 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

This course teaches you the underlying physiology of crucial human organ systems and the process of recording the biological signals that dictate how they perform. You will learn about vital signs like blood pressure, heart rate, and electrical signals produced by the muscles and heart. You will also learn to interpret and integrate these signals with biological processes and diseases.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

What is it like to be a dentist or a dental specialist such as an orthodontist, pediatric dentist, prosthodontist, periodontist, or oral surgeon? This course will explore hands-on dental procedures, examine the latest equipment, and take a close look at the skills and educational requirements necessary to become an oral health professional. Students will learn firsthand how to conduct an oral examination and to make diagnostic plaster models of teeth for use in treatment planning. Students will meet with dentists who are pursuing careers as faculty in educational programs and with researchers working in the basic sciences or translational arenas. Dental specialists working in diverse and emerging areas of treatment, including dental implants and cosmetic dentistry, will interact with the students. There will be site visits taken to the ambulatory care dental unit and the Center for Oral Biology at the University’s Medical Center. The course will focus on the changing field of oral health and the high demands for dentists to meet the oral health care needs of local, national, and international patient populations.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Will Chat GPT take our jobs? If so, how can we ethically address the impact on employment and labor rights? Who is responsible when autonomous cars make an accident, and how can we ensure accountability in the age of automation? How does AI impact children’s security? This class will discuss through engaging discussions and real-world case studies; in this course, students will explore the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and fundamental human rights.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Explore the dynamic relationship between our environment and health in this engaging one-week workshop. From the basics of epidemiology and toxicology to pressing issues like water quality, air pollution, and climate change, we’ll delve into the critical factors shaping our well-being. Through lectures, interactive discussions, and hands-on activities, you’ll gain insights into how these elements intertwine, and develop innovative approaches to safeguarding our planet and ourselves. Join us on this transformative journey towards a healthier, more sustainable future!

9-12 graders  |  Session B  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Gender Minorities in Mathematics is modeled after the GirlsGetMath program at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM)

The program is open to all high school students who mind math useful and exciting! GeMs at Rochester occurs in an encouraging environment that builds students’ confidence in math and science. This course expands participants’ understanding and knowledge of mathematics through computations and experimentations and seeks to motivate young students to consider careers in mathematics, computation, and quantitative fields.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.

AI & Business covers the application of generative AI technologies to a wide variety of business uses. The course will provide hands-on experience in designing, building, and deploying generative AI tools to create value for businesses. It will cover what is here today and what is possible in the near future. As well, the course will ask you to think through the big questions concerning Generative AI, to debate the moral, philosophical, and ethical challenges inherent in this system.

9-12th graders  |  Session B  |  1:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.

This course explores the history of nature in the United States. Drawing on contemporary historical scholarship, we will explore the many ways in which humans have thought about and treated the natural world. We will look at iconic natural spaces likes Central Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. We will discuss the concepts of conservation vs. preservation as well as changes in nature not caused by human interaction.