Make the most of summer by registering for one of these 10 interesting courses at CWRU

There’s something special about summer in Cleveland—the breeze off the lake on a warm summer evening, the hype of festivals across the city’s diverse neighborhoods and the lush canopy of trees casting shadows on some of the best outdoor study spots on campus. Case Western Reserve University students should consider experiencing at least one summer in CLE—whether they’re knocking out a core class, gaining practical skills during an internship or making discoveries in the lab.

Even if you can’t stay in the city over the summer, you can learn from wherever you are with a wide array of  online courses, both synchronous and asynchronous. 

Sessions of varying lengths will be offered throughout the summer with start dates in May, June and July available; review the session schedule. Registration begins March 30 and is open through the drop/add deadline for that session.

“Summer courses are a great way to catch up, get ahead, focus your learning, better balance completing your requirements, or—best of all—just explore a subject of interest,” said Peter Shulman, associate provost for curriculum and associate professor of history. “If you are able to remain on campus for in-person courses, you'll experience Cleveland's very best season for weather and cultural activities. If you will be living elsewhere, you'll still be able to take advantage of most of our summer course offerings while working—or even vacationing.”

Consider registering for one of these unique summer courses at CWRU. 

View the Summer Session website for a full list of offerings and tips for making the most of extra time in the city.

ARTS 220: “Black & White Darkroom Photography I”

May 11–29

In-person

Instructor: Jerry Birchfield

This course will cover the fundamentals of film single lens reflex (SLR) cameras and black and white darkroom processes. Lectures, demonstrations and assignments will address camera operation, optics, exposure, black and white film processing, basic darkroom printing techniques, principles of image composition, and concepts related to critically analyzing photographs. Students will complete multiple assignments in addition to developing a final portfolio over the course of the semester. Student work will be constructively critiqued in a group setting. Examples of historical and contemporary photographic works will be viewed and discussed. 

A 35mm film SLR camera with manual exposure controls, built-in light meter, and a 50mm lens is required.

ECHE 330/430: “Design and Production of Fermented Beverages”

May 11–29

In-person

Instructor: Chris Wirth

Fermented and distilled beverages (including beer, wine and whiskey) have recently gained new interest as craft products, with significant growth in the craft brewing, wine, and distilling industry. 

This course will provide a technical overview of the design and manufacture of these products, with a particular emphasis on brewing. Specific topics detailed will include the molecular basis of fermentation, the chemistry of various flavors and styles (alt, kolsch, porter, bock, mead, ale, etc.), the biochemistry of yeast fermentation and hops, as well as mashing, lautering, boiling, conditioning, filtering, and packaging. 

In addition, the manufacturing process, including the technical features of quality control, statistical analysis, water quality, and hardware choice in the brewing industry will be covered.

There is no lab component to this course, but there will be several tours of manufacturing and lab facilities. The course will feature invited speakers from the local brewing and wine making industry. Each student will be expected to have basic background knowledge of chemistry, physics, and biology, but there are no prerequisites for this class. 

This course is offered as CHEM 348, CHEM 448, ECHE 330 and ECHE 430.

ENGR 399: “Impact of Engineering on Society”

June 1–July 28

Online

Instructor: Dan Lacks

Engineers design and implement technical solutions with the goal of improving people's lives, locally and globally. However, the technical solutions can have disparate impacts, in that they are beneficial to some people but less beneficial—or even detrimental—to others. This course will explore engineers’ ethical and professional responsibilities to understand, consider, and address the disparate impacts of their work on the affected local and/or global populations. 

This course counts for the Human Diversity and Commonality, Moral and Ethical Reasoning, or Understanding Global Perspectives options in the Unified General Education Requirements.

CSDS 225: “Current Issues in Artificial Intelligence, For Better or Worse”

June 1–July 7

Online

Instructor: Ronald Loui

Ideal for both technical and non-technical students alike, this exploratory seminar focuses on autonomous systems and automatic decision-making software. Prompt engineering will be examined, as well as systems and policies that detect, mitigate or combat AI. 

This course emphasizes technology and policy. Within assistive, generative, and proxy decision deployments, students will consider recurring technical problems such as non-determinism, robustness, risk, bias, stale and erroneous data, small worlds and insufficiently expressive features, overfitting, polysemy, explanation, and verification. Perspectives include engineering problem-solving, law, policy, and management. National concerns of labor, defense technology, and education also kept in focus. The class is open to all majors, but students should have a strong background in engineering, science or computer technology.

NURS 342: “Medical Microbiology, Immunity and Infectious Disease”

June 1–26

Online

Instructor: Julie Denker

This course will provide the foundation of general microbiology necessary for students enrolled in nursing. This course will introduce the core concepts and basic principles in microbiology, examining microorganisms and how they interact with humans and the environment. Information regarding classification of microorganisms, characteristics of different cell types and processes critical for cell survival will be presented. Topics such as bacterial metabolism, microbial nutrition, genetics, anti-microbial approaches and interaction of pathogenic bacteria with humans will be discussed. The course will include a laboratory component designed to complement lecture topics.

CHEM 102: “The Chemistry of Art: Science, Creation, and Preservation”

June 1–July 7

Online

Instructor: Stephanie Kramer

This course explores the dynamic intersection of chemistry and art, investigating how chemical principles influence the creation, preservation and analysis of artworks. Students will engage with both scientific concepts and artistic practices, exploring how materials, techniques, and chemical reactions contribute to the world of art. Topics will include the chemistry of pigments and dyes, the process of creating and restoring paintings and sculptures, the chemistry behind color theory, and the role of chemical reactions in the aging and degradation of art.

THTR 207: “Superheroes and Popular Culture”

May 11–29

Online

Instructor: Jeffrey Ullom

Since the beginning of cinema, audiences have flocked to see larger-than-life superheroes conquer the unconquerable while also teaching us about ourselves and confirming (or challenging) our world view. Beginning with cinematic serials in the 1920s and continuing to the recent Marvel production machine, these films not only depict a hero's efforts to save the world from disaster again and again, but also trace the development of our popular culture. Issues of violence, nationalism, the presentation and treatment of women, racial stereotypes, and spectacle among other topics can be discussed after viewing each film, providing an opportunity to explore the changing expectations of American audiences and the developing form of contemporary cinema. 

This counts as a Disciplinary Communication course.

PSCL 343/443: “Music Cognition”

June 15–July 28

Online

Instructor: Benjamin Helton

Why do you like the music you like? How does one learn music without direct instruction? How are music and language processing both similar and different? What about music's predictability makes it euphoric? Music operates as a tangled web of biological, cognitive, behavioral, and sociocultural processes that have captivated philosophers, scientists, and artists for centuries. 

This interdisciplinary course will present a survey and critical review of scholarly literature and methodologies related to the multiple ways of "knowing" music. Specific topics will include: neuroanatomical reactions related to music perception, cognitive organization and processing of music, psychological measures in music research, and enculturated effects on musical interactions. 

Students will become familiar with multiple bodies of literature in order to explore their own interests in musical processing and produce theories to help solve musical problems based on those interests and develop potential research strategies for future inquiries. 

This counts as a Disciplinary Communication course and Human Diversity and Commonality course.

This course is offered as COGS 343 and COGS 443,  MUED 343 and MUED 443, and PSCL 343 and PSCL 443. 

MGMT 299: “Industry Project Experience: Global Career Accelerator”

June 2–Aug. 8

Online

The Global Career Accelerator is a for-credit, virtual, experiential learning program that enables undergraduate students from all backgrounds to gain authentic work experience and in-demand global skills. This project-based opportunity provides real-world experience where students collaborate with peers and work individually on projects for various organizations. 

The experience includes video lessons, live online classes and completing skill-building portfolio projects for iconic organizations, such as Intel, L'Oreal, The Grammys, and charity: water.

Students will complete AI-powered projects, co-designed with brand partners and OpenAI. These projects will leverage AI technologies in the context of professional-level work. Successful students will earn the “AI Skills” digital credential for LinkedIn. The course offers multiple tracks, including Data Analytics, Coding for Data, Digital Marketing, and Career Discover, for which  students will select one track per course. The course may be repeated for each track.

PSCL 353: “Psychology of Learning”

July 8–Aug. 4

Online

Instructor: Robert Greene

This course will explore the basic methods in the study of learning, the major theories proposed to account for the learning process, and the development of the fundamental concepts and principles governing the learning process in both humans and lower animals. 

It is recommended that students have taken PSCL 101 in preparation for this course.