Summer Session
Get ahead on your degree, catch up on credits, and/or lighten your fall semester course load. Earn a maximum of 12 credits over eight weeks!
Whether you are a currently enrolled Purchase College student, a newly admitted student, or a visiting student, you can choose from a variety of courses ranging from core requirements to electives in multiple areas of study.
Summer Session 2025 Dates
Session I: Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 27, 2025 (4 weeks)
Session II: Monday, June 2 – Monday, July 28, 2025 (8 weeks), no class on July 4.
Session III: Monday, July 7 – Friday, August 1, 2025 (4 weeks)
Registration will open on March 3, 2025
Current Student Registration Visiting Student Registration
Payment Information
- Courses fill quickly. Check your Purchase College email for the bill payment deadline to avoid being dropped from a course.
- Don’t forget to check the summer semester federal and state financial aid chart to determine eligibility and to obtain information.
Course Information
- Students looking to fulfill a SUNY General Education requirement may find courses in the course search using the 2023 Gen Ed/Core/General Education category. Courses satisfying a General Education 2023 requirement apply to students who matriculated at Purchase or another SUNY school on or after Fall 2023. Courses marked as fulfilling Core or General Education requirements apply to students who matriculated prior to Fall 2023.
- Days and times are not posted for courses taught asynchronously. Asynchronous online learning means no scheduled class time, so you can schedule around your summer vacation or job plans.
- Read more about Instructional Methods.
Need a syllabus? Please email us at summer@purchase.edu.
Last year’s (Summer 2024) Courses
American Sign Language
A comprehensive introduction to American Sign Language (ASL), beginning with a focus on the linguistic aspects of ASL, including syntax, facial expression, vocabulary, and the manual alphabet. Students progress to conversational signing and finger spelling and develop an ability to communicate on a beginning level.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Monday, July 29
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Synchronous
Credits: 4
Arts Management
This introductory survey provides an overview of creative industries and management theory and principles common in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors, preparing students for upper-level courses in the arts management program. Topics include history of arts management, arts and creativity, leadership and management, business structures, programming, marketing, funding, finance and budgeting, arts advocacy, activism and social justice.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Astor, Janis
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Social media is integral to effective business communication and marketing. Students develop and analyze social media strategies, content and campaigns while gaining a better understanding of how to build individual and organizational brands utilizing social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Other topics include influencer campaigns, budgeting, analytics, and split testing.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Davies, Annette
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Biology
Introduction to the organ systems of the human body, including the neuromuscular, skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and digestive systems. The physiological mechanisms of adaptation to exercise are also considered.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Carmona, Naydu
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Students learn about both form and function of the human body. Content includes cells and tissues; gross and microscopic anatomy; integumentary, skeletal, and muscular systems; and kinesiology. Lab exercises use microscope slides, models, and dissection for a hands-on approach and a practical knowledge of anatomy.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times: Mon Wed Fri @ 09:00 AM-12:10 PM in Natural Sciences 0032
Instructor: Carmona, Naydu
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 1.5
Chemistry
The principles and applications of chemistry. Topics include the development of an atomic/molecular model, stoichiometry, interaction of light with matter, and the physical behavior of solids, liquids, and gases.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times: Mon Tue Wed Thu @ 09:00 AM-12:10 PM in Social Sciences 1039
Instructor: Sabatini, Joshua
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 4
Emphasizes basic techniques in synthetic and analytical chemistry.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times: Mon Wed @ 01:00 PM-04:10 PM in Natural Sciences 3028
Instructor: Sabatini, Joshua
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 1
Emphasizes basic techniques in synthetic and analytical chemistry.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times: Tue Thu @ 01:00 PM-04:10 PM in Natural Sciences 3028
Instructor: Sabatini, Joshua
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 1
A continuation of CHE 1550. Topics include chemical kinetics and equilibrium, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, acids and bases, and the chemistry of representative elements..
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times: Mon Tue Wed Thu @ 09:00 AM-12:10 PM in Social Sciences 1039
Instructor: Sabatini, Joshua
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 4
Emphasizes basic techniques in synthetic and analytical chemistry.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times: Tue Thu @ 01:00 PM-04:10 PM in Natural Sciences 3028
Instructor: Sabatini, Joshua
Type of Instruction: Traditional
Credits: 1
Communication, Media, Cinema & Television
The most successful films function as both art and entertainment; students explore why this balance is a rare achievement. Topics include the business origins and aspects of cinema, films that concern and depict artistic process, and a critical/historical evaluation of films as works of art. Film aesthetics are examined from several perspectives, including grammar, genres and forms, and auteur theory.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Paccione, Brian
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Investigates celebrity culture through the lens of advertising and public relations. Particular attention is paid to how celebrity culture is created and shaped by various forms of media, ranging from print to social media platforms. Students consider the ways celebrities create change and consider their impact on public and private lives.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Davies, Annette
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
Throughout the history of cinema, the comedy film has been one of the most financially profitable genres, producing some of the biggest movie stars. Topics include various comedy film styles and performers, and the role of the comedy film genre within the context of world history, especially during darker periods like the Depression and World War II.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Marine, Samantha
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Examines the elements and messages in sports films that make people cheer for the underdog and care about teams, players, and sports. Using both big-budget Hollywood films and documentaries with a small scope, this course explores the ideas of team, sport, and athletics and investigates the grip that sports have on American culture.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Paccione, Brian
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
An interdisciplinary (social science and humanities) course that emphasizes critical thinking in understanding the social and historical effects of mass media in the U.S. and throughout the world. This course begins in 19th-century America, when print media shaped and defined the national culture, and concludes in the current century with the mass-media convergence of print, electronic, and digital multimedia that is shaping and defining our global culture.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Zechowski, Sharon
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Negotiation is approached from a communication perspective in this course. Students explore the cooperative decision-making process in which individuals and groups work together to attempt to achieve goals that may initially seem divergent. By examining the way language is used to frame arguments and barriers, students practice planning, reframing, and bargaining to maintain roles and relationships.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Maston, Brian
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
How do brands communicate during times of crisis? Students will analyze case-studies, leverage best practices and develop their own campaigns to demonstrate how to successfully steer a brand through their most troubling hour. We will touch on key concepts including reputation management, spokesperson training and press conferences, rich and social media, and more in this public relations course.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
Television is much more than a passive, incessant means of diversion—it is a powerful environment of ideas, emotions, and values that influences people’s thoughts, actions, and relationships. Students become acquainted with current issues concerning television in society and explore the impact of television on society. Aspects examined include the 1950s and mass culture, viewer response, serial/episodic structure, and the rise of cable.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Resnick, Adam
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
In 1991, The Real World pioneered a genre of “unscripted” television that reshaped national media culture, culminating in the reality of the 2016 election. Students study theories of Hall, Habermas and Gramsci to explore how the genre reflects and shapes attitudes of U.S. audiences to surveillance, class conflict, and the performance of truths. Examples include Jersey Shore and American Idol.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Creative Writing
Courses not offered this term.Environmental Studies
Explore the nature of life, examine the history of life on Earth, look for life among the rocky planets and icy moons of our solar system, hunt for extrasolar planets, and join in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Are we alone in the universe?
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Monday, July 29
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Landa, Keith
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
History
A study of texts and events that have shaped Western society and culture since 1500.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Examines how war changed gender relations in 20th-century Europe. For instance, how did mobilization reinforce or undermine masculine and feminine norms? How did total wars that blurred the line between fighting front and home front challenge notions of chivalry and turn noncombatants into warriors of sorts? Did new job opportunities outweigh the trauma and grief suffered by women during wartime?
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Bailey, John
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Law and Justice Studies
Courses not offered this term.Literature
An introduction to the principles and practice of close reading and literary criticism. Readings include a variety of literary modes, including fiction, poetry, and drama.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
An examination of the “middle genre,” encompassing the novella and the short novel. Readings provide ample opportunity to sample works embodying the intensity of short fiction and some of the expanded characterization and plot development of the novel. Readings include works by several significant 19th- and 20th-century authors from many countries.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Espaillat, Shinelle
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Mathematics
Students learn basic concepts in quantitative reasoning (number systems, data manipulation, basic statistics), with emphasis on problem solving using computational methods. This course uses a textbook and focuses on applications related to consumer issues to develop computational and problem-solving skills. Students learn to transform data into information and apply quantitative methods to evaluate information and solve real-world problems.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: McMullen, Barbara
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Prepares students with limited backgrounds in high school mathematics for calculus. Topics include absolute values and inequalities, the properties of functions, graphs, logarithms, fractional exponents, and trigonometry.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Roberts, Nicholas
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
The basic concepts of the differential and integral calculus. Focus is on the applicability of these topics to an array of problems. The first course in a three-semester series.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Monday, July 29
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Anderson, Alan
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
A continuation of MAT 1500. Topics include differentiation and integration of logarithmic, exponential, and inverse trigonometric functions; techniques of integration; arc length; infinite series; and improper integrals. Applications include work, growth, and decay problems and volumes of solids of revolution.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Monday, July 29
Meeting Times: Mon Wed @ 06:30 PM-08:10 PM in Social Sciences 1006
Instructor: Roberts, Nicholas
Type of Instruction: Online - Combined
Credits: 4
Photography
An introduction to the techniques, current practices, and history surrounding digital photography. Editing techniques are covered, with attention to image manipulation using Adobe Photoshop and RAW files. Composition, lighting, point of view, and use of narrative are explored. A digital camera is required; cameras may be borrowed, as available, from Campus Technology Services. Students may not earn credit for both PHO 1100 (offered by the School of Art+Design) and PHO 1101.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Mesa-Pelly, Deborah
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
Students explore the effect of landscapes and surroundings in Pisciotta, Italy, and develop their personal vision by observing and leveraging those landscapes and translating their experiences into powerful images. Working with digital cameras (a simple one is fine), students create a personal photographic essay, depicting what they see through the lens of their surroundings.
Dates: Monday, June 24 - Tuesday, July 30
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Kim, Yong
Type of Instruction: Overseas Purchase
Credits: 4
Political Science
An introduction to the institutional and ideological components of the American political system, with an emphasis on the broad spectrum of values and sources of power that, when taken together, support and challenge the foundations of American pluralism. Films, field trips, and guest lectures complement the standard classwork.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
An exploration of various perspectives on human rights. Students examine some modern nation states in relation to geographies of identity and human rights. Global literature is read in colonial and postcolonial contexts that describe state control through the infringement of citizenship and rights of speech, thus violating basic human rights.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Cunningham, Carissa
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Printmaking
Woodcutting is the oldest printmaking technique and considered the most direct of the printmaking processes. Using wood and linoleum, students learn the varied techniques of relief printmaking. They explore a variety of carving methods, print by hand and on press, and register multiple-layer prints. Reduction, multiblock techniques, color, and digital techniques are covered. Experimentation and combining approaches are encouraged.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Hybrid
Credits: 3
Screen printing, also known as serigraphy, is valued for its versatility, ease of working on a large scale, quality of color, and ability to integrate hand-drawn, photographic, and digital imagery. In this course, students learn a variety of techniques for creating layered images on paper, fabric, and other surfaces. They are challenged to create expressive works in new ways, bringing complexity, depth, and refinement to their imagery.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times: Tue @ 09:00 AM-04:30 PM in Visual Arts 1009
Instructor: Hooper, Cassandra
Type of Instruction: Hybrid
Credits: 3
Woodcutting is the oldest printmaking technique and considered the most direct of the printmaking processes. Using wood and linoleum, students learn the varied techniques of relief printmaking. They explore a variety of carving methods, print by hand and on press, and register multiple-layer prints. Reduction, multiblock techniques, color, and digital techniques are covered. Experimentation and combining approaches are encouraged.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Hybrid
Credits: 3
Screen printing, also known as serigraphy, is valued for its versatility, ease of working on a large scale, quality of color, and ability to integrate hand-drawn, photographic, and digital imagery. In this course, students learn a variety of techniques for creating layered images on paper, fabric, and other surfaces. They are challenged to create expressive works in new ways, bringing complexity, depth, and refinement to their imagery.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times: Tue @ 09:00 AM-04:30 PM in Visual Arts 1009
Instructor: Hooper, Cassandra
Type of Instruction: Hybrid
Credits: 3
Psychology
Empirical and theoretical approaches to the basic physiological, cognitive, and social mechanisms underlying behavior. Topics include learning and conditioning; sensation and perception; memory, thinking, and language; psychological development; social processes; and personality and psychopathology.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Harburger, Lauren
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Students study classic experiments and contemporary research in the areas of conformity, obedience, helping behavior, attributions, aggression, persuasion, close relationships and attraction, attitudes and social influence, ethics, and prejudice. This material is applied to both current and historical examples in social research.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Carnevale, Jessica
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
An examination of the biological processes by which the sensory systems pick up information from the environment and the psychological processes by which that information is coded, transformed, and integrated to form perceptions. Emphasis is on the visual systems and visual perception. Aspects of perception in the visual arts and music are also discussed.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Clarke, Jason
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
In this course, the intra- and extra-personal causes of stress are identified, and a variety of assessment instruments are demonstrated and used. The consequences of stress are examined from several physiological and cognitive perspectives. A catalog of effective, direct, and palliative coping strategies is offered so that students can develop personalized stress-management programs.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Monday, July 29
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Williams, Christopher
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
Students hone critical thinking and evaluative skills in examining data, evidence, and assumptions underlying the judicial process and the application of psychological principles. The research and clinical practice of forensic psychology in both civil and criminal law-enforcement settings are studied. The training, roles, and responsibilities of forensic psychologists along with methods of interrogation, criminal profiling, and investigation are also examined.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Williams, Christopher
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
A consideration of human behavior within an ecocultural perspective, beginning with historical and methodological issues. Perceptual, cognitive, and developmental processes, personality, and psychopathology are also studied. Distinct cultures serve as case studies.
Dates: Wednesday, June 26 - Friday, August 9
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Perkins, Krystal
Type of Instruction: Overseas Purchase
Credits: 4
The interventions suggested by the biopsychosocial model and mind-body paradigm are examined. Topics include health behavior, social learning theory, attribution theory, and attitude formation as they apply to problems like health promotion, disease prevention, reactions to illness, management of chronic and terminal illnesses, and adherence to treatment regimens. Methods of evaluation of clinical services are addressed.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Carnevale, Jessica
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Playwriting & Screenwriting
Students will examine songs, scenes, and the stories behind musicals from Vaudeville, "Golden Age," megamusicals, "contemporary musical theatre," all the way into the ever-expanding, excitingly diverse peripherals and new perspectives of what musical theatre in the now, fostering inspiration and creating room for what the American Musical Theatre has yet to become.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Cooper, Sara
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
Students are introduced to the history of Northern Ireland and the legacy of The Troubles. Through lectures, workshops, and experiential field work, students explore the power of the arts to promote healing, understanding, and transformation within a conflict/post-conflict society. Working in partnership with local artists in Belfast, students create socially engaged art during a residency with our core partner, The MAC.
Dates: Monday, July 1 - Saturday, August 10
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Stafford, Peggy
Type of Instruction: Overseas Purchase
Credits: 6
Sociology
An introduction to sociological thinking and to key concepts in sociology. Attention is given to social life, inequality, movements, action, change, institutions, and contemporary social issues.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor:
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
An examination of the state of race relations in the United States and other industrialized nations. Topics include racial and ethnic stratification, systems of oppression, mechanisms for integration, pluralism, assimilation, and racial politics.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Ward, Sophia
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 3
Investigates the meanings, production, distribution, and consumption of food by human beings. Special attention is paid to social solidarity—the racial, ethnic, and gender relations of food preparation and celebration. Social stratification is examined to understand social inequality in relation to food, particularly in terms of labor and hunger.
Dates: Wednesday, June 26 - Friday, August 9
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Moore, Lisa Jean
Type of Instruction: Overseas Purchase
Credits: 4
Spanish
For students who have had little or no previous exposure to the language. Presents the essential structures of spoken and written Spanish by involving the student in situations that concretely represent the concepts of the language.
Dates: Monday, June 3 - Friday, June 28
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Gondra, Ager
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4
A continuation of SPA 1010. Increased time is devoted to reading and writing. Development of oral skills remains the primary objective of the course.
Dates: Monday, July 8 - Friday, August 2
Meeting Times:
Instructor: Gondra, Ager
Type of Instruction: Online - Asynchronous
Credits: 4