Best Online Summer Courses 2020 for High School Students Interested in Biology

We’ve written about the benefit of enrolling in online courses in the past. We’ve always known that colleges care about how you spend your free time, and that is especially true in the age of Coronavirus. If you take a look at how you’re spending your days during this new normal, we’re willing to bet that you could allocate a few of those hours you spend learning Tik Tok dances to advancing your skillset. Start by thinking about what you enjoy learning about when no one is forcing you to do so. If the answer to that question is biology, this blog post is for you. Below you’ll find a few of our favorite biology courses that are being offered online right now, meaning that you can sign up today.

Disclaimer: needless to say, biology is a broad discipline. If your particular niche is not included below, we encourage you to do your own research. You’ll be surprised at how many free offerings you can find online! Also, you might notice that we do not include the name of the institution offering the course in our list. This is because that simply should not matter. Take the course you’ll genuinely enjoy, don’t take a course just because it’s taught by Stanford! Thank you for coming to our TED talk.

Cell Biology: Mitochondria:

Created to explore the fundamentals of cell biology, this course explains the process of cell metabolism.  

Introduction to Genetics and Evolution:

This course covers the basic biology needed to understand DNA, disease predisposition, and evolution. It also prepares students for more advanced coursework in the field of evolutionary genetics. 

Principles of Biochemistry:

This intermediate course requires an understanding of both biology and chemistry. If you’re primarily interested in biology but want to explore its connection to chemistry at a collegiate level, this course is a good place to start. 

Biology Meets Programming: Bioinformatics for Beginners:

A course for those interested in learning how to code in scientific settings. Taught in Python, you’ll use algorithms to solve biological problems.

Introduction to the Biology of Cancer:

Seeing as biology is a popular major for students who are interested in attending medical school, we tried to choose a few courses that align with that goal. This class explains how cancer is prevented, diagnosed, and treated. 

Introduction to Animal Behavior:

If biology and animal sciences is your thing, this course is worth considering. It covers the key concepts that allow us to better understand animal behavior, the complexity of their habits, and evolution and natural selection. 

Human Anatomy:

This course explains how the human body is structured and how the different body systems are interconnected. Human anatomy is fundamental in the medical field, and the course is taught by digging into several case studies. 

Biostatistics:

In this course, students identify different types of data and learn about various methods of collection. Biostatistics is a rapidly growing field, and the analytical skills you’ll hone in this course will have applications in most subfields within the discipline. 

Computational Neuroscience:

An introduction to the basic computational methods used to understand how the nervous system operates. Take this course if you want to learn more about how our brains process information.   

Essential Human Biology: Cells and Tissues:

This course dives into the complex nature of the human body and focuses on the relationship between normal structure and function in cells and tissues. It also covers the four main types of tissue in the body. 

Again, these are just a few classes that we thought might speak to the masses. If there’s something particular you’re looking for – Google away.

We’re experts in helping students find the programs that are best for them. If you’d like to work with someone one-on-one, contact us here.