Academics and courses
Pre-College students will join ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ College students in class and can choose from the following foundational liberal arts options. All of our courses are small – ranging from 5 to 20 students – and enrollment includes the benefit of numerous college support resources on campus, such as our writing center, library, and more.
- Residential students must enroll in two courses
- Commuting students may enroll in either one or two courses
2025 Course Descriptions
Course # • Course Title • Credits • Instructor • Lab Fee (if any)
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (AN 101)
Professor Joowon Park
M/T/W/TH 9:30 AM – 11:50 AM
3 Credits
An overview of concepts, theories, and methods of cultural anthropology. Students learn about central anthropological topics, such as kinship, gender, class, race, environment, ritual and religion, ethnicity, economy, and politics, and gain understanding and appreciation for cultural differences.
Note(s): Fulfills Social Sciences requirement; fulfills Humanistic Inquiry requirement.
EC 104 • Introduction to Microeconomics (EC 104)
Professor Rodrigo Schneider
M/T/W/TH 9:00 AM – 12:05 PM
4 Credits
Prerequisites: Placement in this course requires a score of at least 650 on the SAT Mathematics (MSAT I) examination, a score of at least 570 on any Mathematics SAT II subject examination (MSAT II), or a score of at least 28 on the Mathematics ACT examination, emailed to lroutled@skidmore. If scores are unavailable, ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ will determine eligibility through a review of the student's high school transcript.
An introduction to the study of markets. Students will develop the basic economic model of supply and demand to illustrate how choices regarding the production and distribution of goods and services are made by firms and households in a market economy. Students will also examine the possibility of market failure and the appropriate government response. Policy topics may include poverty and homelessness, health care, the environment, antitrust, discrimination, international trade, unions, and minimum wage laws.
The History of Earth, Life, and Global Change (GE 102)
Professor Suraj Bajgain
M/T/W/TH 9:00 AM – 11:40 AM
4 Credits
Introduction to the deep time history of biospheric responses to changes in Earth's climatologic and geologic systems. The course draws upon geologic principles and theories to explore the planet's origin and the processes that perpetually modify the global environment. Topics also include the origin of life, the causes and consequences of major environmental crises in Earth's history, and the role of humanity as an agent of global change.
Note(s): Three hours of lecture, two hours of lab per week. Fulfills Natural Sciences requirement; fulfills Scientific Inquiry requirement.
Human Genetics (BI 170) • Lab fee $100
Professor Bernie Possidente
M/T/W/TH/F 1:30 PM – 4:40 PM
4 Credits
An introduction to the principles of genetics and their application to human biology. Topics include the history of genetics; the structure, function, and inheritance of genes; medical genetics; and genetic engineering.
Note(s): Summer: Nine hours of lecture, six hours of lab per week. (Fulfills natural sciences and QR2 requirements.)
Writing Seminar II: Under the Influence (EN 105)
Professor Thaddeus Niles
M/T/W/TH 1:15 PM – 3:35 PM
4 Credits
"Under the Influence - Argument and Persuasion in our Lives"
Argument seems inescapable. Its rituals have shaped the Western academic tradition, which is perhaps reason enough to study it more closely. But argument is also a central feature of our lives as citizens and consumers. In this writing course, students will consider the nature of persuasion, various methods of thinking critically, and approaches to translating these methods to academic texts. Class projects include essays examining the language and logic of persuasive appeals, as well as a final collaborative project.
Introduction to Media Studies (MF 101)
Professor Maura Jasper
M/T/W/TH/F 1:15 PM – 3:40 PM
4 Credits
An introduction to multiple forms of modern and contemporary mass media. The course examines film and at least two other forms of mass media (such as television, radio/audio, digital media, print mass media). Students will learn how to analyze media images, texts, and systems and understand how media both informs and is informed by social structures and forces.
*Courses subject to change. All course placements are subject to approval by the Pre-College Program director.
Faculty
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Suraj Bajgain
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I am visiting assistant professor of geology at ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ College. I love doing science and teaching. Some of my research interests are the formation and evolution of planets including Earth, deep volatile cycling of life essential elements, magma mobility, volatiles, and volcanic eruption. I employ atomistic simulations to study material properties at high pressure and temperature conditions of deep planetary interior to mimic the deep interior of present-day Earth as well as during the early stages of planet formation, i.e., magma ocean. I received my Ph.D. in 2016 from the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Louisiana State University. For my dissertation, I studied the magma with basaltic composition to understand (a) the effect of dissolved volatiles on the mobility and stability of magma at depth, (b) the effect of Fe and H2O in the atomic structure and density of melt, and (c) transport properties such as viscosity, diffusion, and electrical conductivity of silicate liquids. After my PhD, I joined the department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida
State University as a Postdoctoral Researcher. During my postdoc, I explored the properties
of metallic melts with composition of iron/nickel and iron-light elements. This study
provided an insight into the planet scale budget of life essential elements such as
caron and nitrogen. This is important to understand the habitability of terrestrial
planets, role of light element to assist the chemical convection and sustenance of
geodynamo. |
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Maura Jasper
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Maura Jasper is a visual artist and filmmaker whose work explores the intersections of history, pop culture and mass media, and often functions as a bridge between art and non-art experiences. Much of her work is inspired by the lives of regular people, and she uses the trappings of forms not usually considered art – karaoke, aerobics instruction, weather reports – to reveal individual stories. Jasper received her MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art in 2008 in Interrelated Media. Her work has been exhibited and screened at venues such as Artist's Space, Vox Populi, and the Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston. She is the Artistic Director of That One Film Festival and a co-founder of the experimental media collective Death Factory. |
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Thad Niles
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Professor Niles has been an ESL specialist at ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ since 2010, teaching composition and coordinating the college's first intensive English program. Thad’s professional interests include the learning experiences of international students, academic literacies/English for Academic Purposes, Structural-Functional Linguistics/Genre Pedagogy, and new teaching grammars. |
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Joowon Park
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Dr. Joowon Park researches and teaches on the everyday experiences of violence, migration and refugee resettlement, transnationalism, and militarized landscapes. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and others. His book, , was published by University of California Press in 2023, and his peer-reviewed articles have appeared in Anthropology & Humanism, Asian Ethnicity, and Asian Journal of Peacebuilding. Dr. Park earned his PhD from American University in Washington, DC. |
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Bernie Possidente
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Dr. Possidente's general research area is genetic analysis of behavioral mechanisms. His research focuses on the function of biological clocks in controlling circadian (daily-endogenous) rhythms using mice and fruitflies as model systems: manipulation of rhythms in mice and fruitflies with genetic, pharmacological, and photoperiod treatments in order to identify functional properties of circadian system components and their physiological mechanisms. |
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Rodrigo Schneider
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I received my Bachelor’s degree in economics from Insper in 2010; my Master’s degree in economics from the University of BrasÃlia in 2012; and my Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018 and I have taught undergraduate courses in economics for more than 10 years. Teaching is my passion, and I'm particularly interested in teaching introductory courses and being able to relate economics with classic works of literature and philosophy. My current research is focused on public finance, policy analysis, Latin American studies, and voting behavior and I have published in peer-reviewed journals related to my field, such as Economic Policy, Economics & Politics, Public Choice, Fiscal Studies, EconomÃa LACEA Journal, Latin American Research Review and Latin American Politics and Society. |
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