PGSS Curriculum

In the PGSS Program students take core lecture courses in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics.

In addition, we offer several electives each summer in the five subjects listed above. We encourage students to take 1-3 electives during the program.

Outside of the lecture hall, students are required to take a laboratory course in one of the five core subject areas. The labs provide hands-on learning opportunities and meet twice a week for 3-hour sessions. 

Students also participate in team research proejcts. Team Projects are a hallmark of the PGSS program in which students work in small teams with a faculty leader to form a hypothesis, design experiments, collect/analyze data, and present their findings at the annual PGSS Symposium held at the conclusion of the program. Students also write up their research to be published in the Journal of PGSS. 

On Wednesdays, we guest speakers share their insights about their career paths or exciting new developments in their fields. Often our speakers are PGSS alumni. 

A great feature of PGSS is that there are no grades. Students receive feedback on their assignments, but there is no formal assessment. 

Below you can learn more about the different parts of the PGSS curriculum.