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First-year students at Utica University can take an online Summer course free of charge. It's a great way to get a head start on your university experience while enjoying significant savings on your tuition costs:
In addition to saving money and earning credits, your free online course will give you the opportunity to engage with Utica University faculty and student success coaches, meet fellow students, explore new interests, and discover many of the benefits of a Utica education. It’s a great deal all-around!
Here's how to sign up for your free online Summer course:
Pay Deposit Contact Success Coach
Choose from the following online courses:
This engaging class provides an overview of anthropology, highlighting diversity and global scope of human experience, past and present. Biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistic and cultural anthropology.
Dr. Helen Blouet didn’t plan on majoring in anthropology from the start. After her freshman year, she enrolled in an archaeology field school at Jamestown, Virginia, where she learned about excavation at the site of the early British colony. Helen enjoyed the potential for exploration in the social and natural sciences that this experience offered, and she continued to study anthropology into graduate school. Her dissertation research examined the ways in which people in 18th and 19th century Caribbean communities utilized burial practices and commemorated the dead, and she is most interested in how, given identities and categories of race, class, and religion, people created commemorative similarities and differences through their access to funerary resources.
This course explores natural processes, ecological principles, and contemporary environmental changes that are significant to science, nature, and human society. Students will study the natural world through hands-on and field-based activities.
Professor Sara Scanga earned her B.A. in Biology from Drew University and her Ph.D. in Ecology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She has written many scientific papers on a variety of topics especially plant ecology and conservation biology. She loves to get outside, and is a beekeeper at Irish Ridge Honey and an organic vegetable gardener.
Macroeconomics is the study of the national economy. The three primary measures of the macroeconomy are the rate of economic growth, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. This course explains how we measure each, what factors determine their level and what government policies might affect each.
Dr. Zhaodan Huang is the Harold T. Clark, Jr., Endowed Professor of Finance. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from West Virginia University and also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2012. Dr. Huang’s research interests are in the areas of investments, asset pricing, and emerging financial markets.
Students will explore a particular topic, interest, or activity through its representation in literature. Possible topics: Sports Literature, Religion and Literature, Crime in Literature, etc.
Professor Ane Ribeiro-Costa earned her B.A. and M.A in English and Literature from UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) and her Ph.D. in 20th and 21st century American Literature from Purdue University. She has published on gender and race in American Literature. She loves to write fiction and is an avid reader of fantasy and dystopia.
This course focuses on the relationship of society to the earth, including examination of natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, landslides, flooding, and volcanic activity and how they affect mankind; analysis of past and present occurrences as a means of predicting future disasters; and study of the technology, sociology, and politics of pollution, energy and resources.
Dr. Sharon Kanfoush , distinguished professor of geology, is a native of central New York and received her B.S. in marine science and geology from Southampton College, an M.S. from Buffalo State College, and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Sharon has taught at Buffalo State, the University of Florida and nearby Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Her research has taken her to several Adirondack lakes and on a 2-month long research cruise from Cape Town, South Africa to Punta Arenas, Chile. Her hobbies are yoga, fitness, kayaking, and fishing.
Orientation to health care professions, including history and philosophy, ethics, development of health care terms, professionalism, and professional organizations, communication, patient rights, practice arenas, and wellness concepts.
Professor Kyrra Marchese, M.S., OTR/L, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Studies and Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Utica University, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. Marchese’s research interests include pediatric development, disability awareness, and advocacy. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and running in her free time.
For non-mathematics majors. Probability theory topics, binomial distribution, normal distribution, descriptive statistics, frequency distribution, measures of central tendency, hypothesis testing. Confidence intervals, correlation, and prediction.
Professor Shandeepa Wickramasinghe earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Clarkson University. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Mathematics from Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, and a B.S. in Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science from IADC, Bangalore, India. Dr. Shandeepa holds a US patent, and her research interests and publications are in the areas of graph theory, algorithms, data analysis, complex networks, modeling, and machine learning. She has extensive experience as an educator working with diverse student populations and is interested in helping her students succeed. She also enjoys traveling and reading.
Introductory study covering a variety of types of music, including works by major composers from various historic periods. Emphasis on development of structured listening based on the elements of music.
Instructor to be announced - please check back.
The study of political phenomena and discussion of the nature and meaning of democracy with an emphasis on American national government.
Luke Perry, Ph.D., is Professor of Political Science and Director of Utica University's Masters of Public Administration Program and Public Affairs & Election Research Center. Dr. Perry loves teaching and sharing insights from his research, journalism, and public service as an elected official.
Psychology 101 is a survey of the various fields of psychology including human development, learning and memory, sensation and perception, psychopathology and psychotherapy, physiology and behavior, social psychology, psychological testing, motivation and emotion.
Dr. Jennifer Yanowitz has been a professor at Utica University since 2006. Although she is interested in all types of romantic relationships, her research primarily focuses on what is often considered the “dark side” of relationships. Specifically, Dr. Yanowitz is interested in perceptions of stalking and the use of manipulation in the pursuit of romantic relationships. Additionally, she has recently begun looking at identity and perceptions of alternative lifestyles.
Each course will be delivered fully online through Utica’s learning management system, Engage.
There will be no out-of-pocket costs for tuition or registration for these online courses; however, you will be responsible for the purchase of books and supplies. More information about required course materials will be provided when you enroll.
Except for BIO 111 and GOL 105, which are 4-credit courses with a lab, each course earns you 3 Utica University credits. All of the free online Summer courses are either:
The grade earned in your free online course will count toward your Utica University GPA and will be based on established standards for academic achievement and federal and state financial aid policies.
Should you decide to drop or withdraw from the course while it's in progress, be sure to notify the Registrar’s Office by completing this online course withdrawal form.
Note: A withdrawal results in a WD grade on the Utica transcript. A WD grade does not have any impact on academic GPA, but it does impact Federal Aid PACE and would result in students who withdraw being placed on federal aid warning for the fall semester.
For a general list of frequently used logins, you can also visit our logins page.