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SoCo 2024 Courses

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SoCo seminars provide an intensive and immersive learning experience, including field trips and activities outside class to engage in experiential learning, when faculty may choose to use evenings and weekends. Classes have 10-14 students.

SoCo runs from Sept 2 to Sept 20. Check out the SoCo Calendar to see how SoCo fits into your summer, and apply by April 16.

Student in labcoat and gear making art materials
Curt Frank & Sara Loesch-Frank

An Exploration of Art Materials: The Intersection of Art and Science

Learn how egg yolks turn into paint you can use, from an artist and an engineer together.

L.A.'s Families Belong Together March. Luke Harold, Flickr, public domain.
Ashish Goel & Alice Siu

Artificial Intelligence and Deliberative Democracy

Can AI support and enhance the democratic process? Collaborate with Stanford's Crowdsourced Democracy Team and the Deliberative Democracy Lab to examine the possibilities and challenges. 

palace of fine arts in san francisco reflecting in the lake
Grant Parker

Classical California

How many ways do ancient Greece and Rome still show up in our lives today?

Waves crashing against coastal cliff.
Bruce Cain

Coastal Resilience: Problems and Solutions to Extreme Weather Challenges on the West Coast

How do coastal communities up and down the West Coast prepare for and respond to extreme weather? What facilities, agencies, and infrastructure are needed to meet the challenge of climate change?

William Gilly & Chris Francis

Discover Monterey Bay through Oceanography, Ecology, and Literature

Study spawning squid and feeding whales while spending some time aboard the newly renovated research ship—Steinbeck's the Western Flyer!

Student holds up arduino
John Pauly & Steve Clark

Dream It, Build It!

The world is filled with electronic devices! Wouldn’t it be cool to hack and build stuff? Bend electronics to your will? Cloud connect your own stuff?

A set in the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Stage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Wikimedia Commons.
Rush Rehm & Linda Paulson

Learning Theater: From Audience to Critic at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

From the audience seats to backstage, immerse yourself in theater right at the heart of it.

San Francisco City Hall decorated with rainbow pride flags.
Adrian Daub

LGBT History and Culture in the Bay Area

Study the evolution of queer culture in one of its most important birthplaces.

Erik Sperling

Mining and the Green Economy

Delve into the issues, problems, and possibilities associated with sustainably obtaining the metals needed for the green revolution.  

Researcher in biodesign lab.
Kunj Sheth, Lyn Denend, & Ross Venook

Needs Finding in Healthcare

What does a patient in the healthcare system really need to make the experience better?

Shepard with cattle in the Ngorongoro Crater
William Durham & Susan Charnley

Parks and Peoples: The Challenges of Protected Area Conservation in East Africa

What are the pros and cons of parks and protected areas and how do they affect both wildlife and human inhabitants? Consider these questions and more as you travel through the world-famous landscapes of East Africa, including Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Rift Valley lakes of Tanzania.

Beatriz Magaloni & Alberto Diaz-Cayeros

Policing, Migration, and Violence in Latin America

Why is it so difficult for countries to build a police force that is professional, effective, and respects human rights?

Close up of hands using a mixing board
Adam Banks

Remix | Writing and Reading the DJ

Learn why sampling and remixing is today's unique artform—and learn to remix on a turntable.

Ali Miano & Lisa Surwillo

Spanish Immersion

Learn to dream in Spanish while exploring the Spanish-speaking community in the Bay Area.

Haiyan Lee

The Cult of Happiness: Pursuing the Good Life in America and China

What does it mean to YOU to be happy?

Painting depicting battle of Gettysburg.
Scott Sagan & Allen Weiner

The Face of Battle

Travel to DC and Montana to walk the fields of Gettysburg and Little Bighorn, and recapture what it was like to be there.

Units and Grading Basis?

See all SoCo courses in ExploreCourses.