Courses
Vassar Pre-College offers a focused, college-level academic experience built around small, immersive courses. Classes are capped at 12–18 students to support discussion, close faculty guidance, and meaningful collaboration.
Our pre-college program is built to feel genuinely Vassar. Every course—while non-credit—is taught by Vassar professors and program directors who choose to teach in the program because they love introducing new students to the big questions that animate their fields.
Classes are small, inclusive, and driven by discussion, collaboration, and hands-on exploration. It’s liberal arts learning, Vassar-style—personal, challenging, and deeply human.
Students enroll in one course at a time. Students attending for one week enroll in a single course during either Session I or Session II. Students attending for two weeks enroll in one course per week. For the two-week program, we recommend pairing College Foundations & Leadership with any academic course, though students may also indicate a preference to enroll in two different academic courses, one in each week.
While courses do not carry college credit, they provide a focused, immersive introduction to college-level subjects and a rigorous academic experience that emphasizes inquiry, independence, collaboration, and intellectual exploration.
You’ll learn directly from Vassar faculty and program directors—the same people who teach, conduct research, and shape Vassar’s academic and experiential programs during the academic year. They bring not only deep expertise, but a commitment to teaching that treats students as emerging scholars and collaborators.
You’ll also connect with industry specialists and expert practitioners, whether through field trips to Hudson Valley sites or guest speakers who bring real-world perspectives straight into the classroom.
Each course is also supported by a Pre-College Academic Fellow—a current Vassar student or recent graduate with advanced research experience in the subject area. Fellows help guide project work, lead collaborative labs and studio sessions, and offer honest insight into the rhythms, challenges, and excitement of college-level learning.
Beyond the classroom, we’ve partnered with the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) to offer a full range of residential life experiences and co-curricular activities, including their internationally recognized leadership programming.
Workshops and sessions on college readiness and holistic college success complement the academic experience, helping students navigate the transition to college while building academic, personal, and community-centered foundations for long-term success.
What makes it Vassar?
Our pre-college program is built to feel genuinely Vassar. Every course—while non-credit—is taught by Vassar professors and program directors who choose to teach in the program because they love introducing new students to the big questions that animate their fields.
Classes are small, inclusive, and driven by discussion, collaboration, and hands-on exploration. It’s liberal arts learning, Vassar-style—personal, challenging, and deeply human.
Academics
Students enroll in one course at a time. Students attending for one week enroll in a single course during either Session I or Session II. Students attending for two weeks enroll in one course per week. For the two-week program, we recommend pairing College Foundations & Leadership with any academic course, though students may also indicate a preference to enroll in two different academic courses, one in each week.
While courses do not carry college credit, they provide a focused, immersive introduction to college-level subjects and a rigorous academic experience that emphasizes inquiry, independence, collaboration, and intellectual exploration.
Instructors
You’ll learn directly from Vassar faculty and program directors—the same people who teach, conduct research, and shape Vassar’s academic and experiential programs during the academic year. They bring not only deep expertise, but a commitment to teaching that treats students as emerging scholars and collaborators.
You’ll also connect with industry specialists and expert practitioners, whether through field trips to Hudson Valley sites or guest speakers who bring real-world perspectives straight into the classroom.
Fellows
Each course is also supported by a Pre-College Academic Fellow—a current Vassar student or recent graduate with advanced research experience in the subject area. Fellows help guide project work, lead collaborative labs and studio sessions, and offer honest insight into the rhythms, challenges, and excitement of college-level learning.
Co-Curricular
Beyond the classroom, we’ve partnered with the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) to offer a full range of residential life experiences and co-curricular activities, including their internationally recognized leadership programming.
Workshops and sessions on college readiness and holistic college success complement the academic experience, helping students navigate the transition to college while building academic, personal, and community-centered foundations for long-term success.
Summer 2026 Courses
College Success
College Foundations & Leadership (CFL)
Build your own college path. At Vassar, we understand that college success is about more than academic skill—it grows from a sense of belonging, strong advising, supportive structure, and confidence. Each day focuses on a different foundation—curiosity, connection, grounding, engagement, and future pathways. Through workshops and reflection, you’ll create a portfolio and a personal college plan that will help you step onto any campus with clarity, intention, and purpose.
Instructional Team
College Foundations & Leadership is designed as a collaborative, cohort-based course rather than a single-instructor seminar. The course is facilitated by a team of educators and Pre-College Fellows, drawing on expertise in college readiness, leadership development, and liberal arts learning.
Through workshops, guided discussions, and applied activities, students work closely with instructors and mentors who support both academic growth and the transition to college-level learning. This team-based model allows for small-group engagement, individualized feedback, and a learning environment grounded in reflection, connection, and shared inquiry.
College Success
College Foundations & Leadership (CFL)
Build your own college-you. At Vassar, we understand that college success is about more than academic skill—it grows from a sense of belonging, strong advising, supportive structure, and confidence. Each day focuses on a different foundation—curiosity, connection, grounding, engagement, and future pathways. Through workshops and reflection, you’ll create a portfolio and a personal college plan that will help you step onto any campus with clarity, intention, and purpose.
Instructional Team
College Foundations & Leadership is designed as a collaborative, cohort-based course rather than a single-instructor seminar. The course is facilitated by a team of educators and Pre-College Fellows, drawing on expertise in college readiness, leadership development, and liberal arts learning.
Through workshops, guided discussions, and applied activities, students work closely with instructors and mentors who support both academic growth and the transition to college-level learning. This team-based model allows for small-group engagement, individualized feedback, and a learning environment grounded in reflection, connection, and shared inquiry.
Cognitive Science
Exploring AI: From Code to Robot
Learn how machines learn—starting with patterns and algorithms, then building into sensing, movement, and responsive design. In a mix of coding sessions, robotics labs, and thoughtful experimentation, you’ll create a series of working models that let you try out new ways of building, questioning, and imagining technological possibilities.
Lead Instructor
Joshua de Leeuw
Associate Professor of Cognitive Science
Joshua de Leeuw is an associate professor of cognitive science at Vassar College whose work focuses on understanding learning, reasoning, and adaptive behavior in both humans and computational systems. He combines empirical research with hands-on work in robotics and programming to explore how patterns, feedback, and interaction shape intelligent systems. His research has received support from the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Open Science, and he has been instrumental in initiatives that bring technology, data, and creativity together in student-facing experiences.
At Vassar, Josh is known for connecting coding and computational thinking with tangible projects and collaborative problem-solving. He has helped lead campus robotics initiatives that bring students together to design and build working systems, encouraging experimentation and iterative design in a way that mirrors how many contemporary researchers and engineers think and work.
Cognitive Science
Exploring AI: From Code to Robot
Learn how machines learn—starting with patterns and algorithms, then building into sensing, movement, and responsive design. In a mix of coding sessions, robotics labs, and thoughtful experimentation, you’ll create a series of working models that let you try out new ways of building, questioning, and imagining technological possibilities.
Lead Instructor
Joshua de Leeuw
Associate Professor of Cognitive Science
Joshua de Leeuw is an associate professor of cognitive science at Vassar College whose work focuses on understanding learning, reasoning, and adaptive behavior in both humans and computational systems. He combines empirical research with hands-on work in robotics and programming to explore how patterns, feedback, and interaction shape intelligent systems. His research has received support from the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Open Science, and he has been instrumental in initiatives that bring technology, data, and creativity together in student-facing experiences.
At Vassar, Josh is known for connecting coding and computational thinking with tangible projects and collaborative problem-solving. He has helped lead campus robotics initiatives that bring students together to design and build working systems, encouraging experimentation and iterative design in a way that mirrors how many contemporary researchers and engineers think and work.
The Loeb Art Center
Art, Museums, and Social Impact
Explore how art shapes communities and how museums tell stories about who we are. Through studio making, gallery sessions, and behind-the-scenes access to the Loeb, you’ll analyze, create, and curate your own ideas about art’s power to move people, build understanding, and push conversations forward.
Lead Instructor
Amanda Potter
Putnam Assistant Director for Learning and Community Engagement, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Amanda Potter is a museum educator and learning leader whose work focuses on connecting art, audiences, and communities in ways that expand access, interpretation, and shared meaning. At the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, she serves as Putnam Assistant Director for Learning and Community Engagement, where she leads efforts to develop inclusive programs, collaborate with student guides, and deepen ties between the museum’s collections and diverse publics both on campus and in the wider Hudson Valley.
Before coming to Vassar, Amanda spent six years as Curator of Education and Interpretation at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, where she worked to broaden access through school partnerships, family programs, and innovative public initiatives that invited new audiences into art museums. She also held education roles at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Kidspace at MASS MoCA, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Hood Museum of Art, building a foundation in creative interpretation and community-centered learning.
The Loeb Art Center
Art, Museums, & Social Impact
Explore how art shapes communities and how museums tell stories about who we are. Through studio making, gallery sessions, and behind-the-scenes access to the Loeb, you’ll analyze, create, and curate your own ideas about art’s power to move people, build understanding, and push conversations forward.
Lead Instructor
Amanda Potter
Putnam Assistant Director of Learning and Community Engagement, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Amanda Potter is a museum educator and learning leader whose work focuses on connecting art, audiences, and communities in ways that expand access, interpretation, and shared meaning. At the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, she serves as Putnam Assistant Director of Learning and Community Engagement, where she leads efforts to develop inclusive programs, collaborate with student guides, and deepen ties between the museum’s collections and diverse publics both on campus and in the wider Hudson Valley.
Before coming to Vassar, Amanda spent six years as Curator of Education and Interpretation at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, where she worked to broaden access through school partnerships, family programs, and innovative public initiatives that invited new audiences into art museums. She also held education roles at the Wexner Center for the Arts, Kidspace at MASS MoCA, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Hood Museum of Art, building a foundation in creative interpretation and community-centered learning.
Sustainability
Designing Sustainable Futures
Sustainability isn’t just a policy goal or a single technology—it’s a way of understanding how energy, ecosystems, and human communities are deeply connected. In this course, you’ll explore the transition to clean, renewable energy through hands-on projects, field experiences, and design-challenges spanning solar, wind, geothermal, and emerging technologies. Drawing on scientific insight, engineering design, and community-centered thinking, you’ll examine the promise and complexity of sustainable energy systems and collaboratively imagine and prototype ideas for a more resilient future.
Lead Instructor
Kenneth Foster
Director of Sustainability
Kenneth Foster is Director of Sustainability at Vassar College, where he leads efforts to decarbonize campus operations and advance environmentally responsible practices across facilities, energy systems, and institutional planning. His work connects the technical challenges of renewable energy and infrastructure with broader questions of resilience, governance, and community engagement.
Before joining Vassar, Ken spent nearly two decades as a professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Concordia College, where he also chaired the President’s Sustainability Council and served as Director of Community Engagement. His experience spans campus-scale renewable energy initiatives, community resilience planning, and public-sector environmental policy, including service as a gubernatorial appointee to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and leadership of the Moorhead Community Resilience Project.
Sustainability
Designing Sustainable Futures
Sustainability isn’t just a policy goal or a single technology—it’s a way of understanding how energy, ecosystems, and human communities are deeply connected. In this course, you’ll explore the transition to clean, renewable energy through hands-on projects, field experiences, and design-challenges spanning solar, wind, geothermal, and emerging technologies. Drawing on scientific insight, engineering design, and community-centered thinking, you’ll examine the promise and complexity of sustainable energy systems and collaboratively imagine and prototype ideas for a more resilient future.
Lead Instructor
Kenneth Foster
Director of Sustainability
Kenneth Foster is Director of Sustainability at Vassar College, where he leads efforts to decarbonize campus operations and advance environmentally responsible practices across facilities, energy systems, and institutional planning. His work connects the technical challenges of renewable energy and infrastructure with broader questions of resilience, governance, and community engagement.
Before joining Vassar, Ken spent nearly two decades as a professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Concordia College, where he also chaired the President’s Sustainability Council and served as Director of Community Engagement. His experience spans campus-scale renewable energy initiatives, community resilience planning, and public-sector environmental policy, including service as a gubernatorial appointee to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and leadership of the Moorhead Community Resilience Project.
Civics
Law, Justice,
& Civic Life
How do legal systems shape everyday life, and how do communities, movements, and individuals engage with law to pursue justice, inclusion, and social change? Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies, the course examines how law operates within broader social, cultural, and educational contexts, and how power, identity, and participation influence civic life. Students will analyze legal ideas alongside lived experience, exploring questions of rights, responsibility, and democratic engagement in a complex, pluralistic society.
Lead Instructor
Kimberly Williams Brown
Associate Professor of Education; Director of Engaged Pluralism
Kimberly Williams Brown is an associate professor of Education at Vassar College whose teaching and scholarship examine how law, education, and social movements shape civic life, democratic participation, and struggles for justice. Her work brings together critical perspectives from education studies, race and gender studies, and migration studies to explore how power, identity, and historical context influence rights, belonging, and public life.
Trained in cultural foundations of education, Kimberly’s research focuses on Black feminist and decolonial theories, transnational migration, and the lived experiences of Afro-Caribbean communities. Her scholarship and teaching emphasize how legal ideas and civic institutions are experienced differently across communities—and how individuals and movements engage law as a tool for resistance, reform, and social change. She is also co-founder of the Intergroup Dialogue Collective and has worked extensively in both higher education and community settings to facilitate conversations around race, gender, migration, and justice.
Civics
Law, Justice, & Civic Life
How do legal systems shape everyday life, and how do communities, movements, and individuals engage with law to pursue justice, inclusion, and social change? Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies, the course examines how law operates within broader social, cultural, and educational contexts, and how power, identity, and participation influence civic life. Students will analyze legal ideas alongside lived experience, exploring questions of rights, responsibility, and democratic engagement in a complex, pluralistic society.
Lead Instructor
Kimberly Williams Brown
Associate Professor of Education; Director of Engaged Pluralism
Kimberly Williams Brown is an associate professor of Education at Vassar College whose teaching and scholarship examine how law, education, and social movements shape civic life, democratic participation, and struggles for justice. Her work brings together critical perspectives from education studies, race and gender studies, and migration studies to explore how power, identity, and historical context influence rights, belonging, and public life.
Trained in cultural foundations of education, Kimberly’s research focuses on Black feminist and decolonial theories, transnational migration, and the lived experiences of Afro-Caribbean communities. Her scholarship and teaching emphasize how legal ideas and civic institutions are experienced differently across communities—and how individuals and movements engage law as a tool for resistance, reform, and social change. She is also co-founder of the Intergroup Dialogue Collective and has worked extensively in both higher education and community settings to facilitate conversations around race, gender, migration, and justice.
Earth Science and Geography
Hudson Valley Ecology & Environmental Leadership
The Hudson Valley is an ecological classroom alive with questions. Guided by faculty and local practitioners, you’ll explore the region’s landscapes and habitats through field study, environmental data work, and collaborative inquiry. You’ll look at ecology not only as a science, but as a way of understanding how communities, resources, and ecosystems shape one another. By the end, you’ll build a project that connects ecological insight with thoughtful environmental leadership.
Lead Instructor
Neil Curri
Instructor & GIS Lab Manager, Department of Earth Science & Geography
Neil Curri is a GIS consultant and instructor at Vassar, where he teaches geographic information systems and supports environmental research across disciplines including Earth Science, Biology, Anthropology, and Urban Studies. His work focuses on using geospatial data, field-based research, and environmental analysis to understand how ecological systems interact with patterns of human settlement, infrastructure, and land use in the Hudson Valley.
As Chair of the Town of Lloyd Environmental Conservation Council, Neil works at the intersection of science, policy, and community decision-making. He collaborates with students, faculty, and local leaders on applied climate initiatives such as greenhouse gas inventories, transportation and land-use analysis, and clean energy planning—projects that translate environmental data into actionable strategies for municipalities and community partners.
Earth Science and Geography
Hudson Valley Ecology & Environmental Leadership
The Hudson Valley is an ecological classroom alive with questions. Guided by faculty and local practitioners, you’ll explore the region’s landscapes and habitats through field study, environmental data work, and collaborative inquiry. You’ll look at ecology not only as a science, but as a way of understanding how communities, resources, and ecosystems shape one another. By the end, you’ll build a project that connects ecological insight with thoughtful environmental leadership.
Lead Instructor
Neil Curri
Instructor & GIS Lab Manager, Department of Earth Science & Geography
Neil Curri is a GIS consultant and instructor at Vassar, where he teaches geographic information systems and supports environmental research across disciplines including Earth Science, Biology, Anthropology, and Urban Studies. His work focuses on using geospatial data, field-based research, and environmental analysis to understand how ecological systems interact with patterns of human settlement, infrastructure, and land use in the Hudson Valley.
As Chair of the Town of Lloyd Environmental Conservation Council, Neil works at the intersection of science, policy, and community decision-making. He collaborates with students, faculty, and local leaders on applied climate initiatives such as greenhouse gas inventories, transportation and land-use analysis, and clean energy planning—projects that translate environmental data into actionable strategies for municipalities and community partners.
Science, Technology, and Society
Health Access, Community Practice, & Care
Explore the interconnected forces that shape health around the world—and in your own community. Through case studies and hands-on activities, you’ll examine how public health, social systems, culture, and policy work together to influence well-being. You’ll look at global challenges alongside local Hudson Valley initiatives, speak with practitioners working on community health, and design a project that links scientific insight with meaningful, people-centered impact.
Lead Instructor
Christie VanHorne
Instructor in Science, Technology, and Society (STS); Founder and President of CVH Consulting
Christie VanHorne is a public health practitioner and consultant whose work bridges community health practice and the complex systems that shape well-being. At Vassar College, she teaches sociology and public health-related coursework that centers on how culture, policy, and social systems influence access to care and health outcomes. She has also participated in Vassar’s Global Collaborative for the Liberal Arts, joining a faculty-led program at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda that immerse students in interdisciplinary approaches to global health.
In her consultancy work, she partners with nonprofit organizations and health systems to design and evaluate programs that improve community health, addressing social determinants of health and expanding access to care. Her work spans maternal and child health, health equity initiatives, and training that equips community members and professionals alike to navigate and shape health systems.
Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
Health Access, Community Practice, & Care
Explore the interconnected forces that shape health around the world—and in your own community. Through case studies and hands-on activities, you’ll examine how public health, social systems, culture, and policy work together to influence well-being. You’ll look at global challenges alongside local Hudson Valley initiatives, speak with practitioners working on community health, and design a project that links scientific insight with meaningful, people-centered impact.
Lead Instructor
Christie VanHorne
Instructor in Science, Technology, and Society (STS); Founder and President of CVH Consulting
Christie VanHorne is a public health practitioner and consultant whose work bridges community health practice and the complex systems that shape well-being. At Vassar College, she teaches sociology and public health-related coursework that centers on how culture, policy, and social systems influence access to care and health outcomes. She has also participated in Vassar’s Global Collaborative for the Liberal Arts, joining a faculty-led program at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda that immerse students in interdisciplinary approaches to global health.
In her consultancy work, she partners with nonprofit organizations and health systems to design and evaluate programs that improve community health, addressing social determinants of health and expanding access to care. Her work spans maternal and child health, health equity initiatives, and training that equips community members and professionals alike to navigate and shape health systems.
Vassar Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VIE)
Entrepreneurship & Innovation for Changemakers
How do new ideas become real-world solutions? Through hands-on design challenges, rapid prototyping, and case studies of social innovators, you’ll learn how entrepreneurs identify problems, test possibilities, and build projects that matter. You’ll experiment with creative tools used in startups and nonprofits, meet leaders working on real-world ventures, and develop a concept of your own—something rooted in curiosity, creativity, and meaningful impact.
Lead Instructor
KP Tacconi
Senior Innovation Manager, FuturePractice Lab, NYU Langone Health
KP Tacconi is a healthcare innovation strategist who leads the FuturePractice innovation lab at NYU Langone Health, where she works with interdisciplinary teams to turn new ideas into tested, real-world solutions. Her work focuses on human-centered design, rapid experimentation, and collaborative problem-solving—approaches used to explore how emerging concepts can move from early insight to practical impact within complex organizations and communities.
At NYU, KP guides design sprints, prototyping efforts, and applied research projects that bring together clinicians, researchers, technologists, and community stakeholders. Drawing on experience across healthcare, technology, and nonprofit settings, she helps teams identify meaningful problems, test assumptions, and iterate on solutions that respond to real needs rather than abstract ideals.
Vassar Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VIE)
Entrepreneurship & Innovation for Changemakers
How do new ideas become real-world solutions? Through hands-on design challenges, rapid prototyping, and case studies of social innovators, you’ll learn how entrepreneurs identify problems, test possibilities, and build projects that matter. You’ll experiment with creative tools used in startups and nonprofits, meet leaders working on real-world ventures, and develop a concept of your own—something rooted in curiosity, creativity, and meaningful impact.
Lead Instructor
KP Tacconi
Senior Innovation Manager, FuturePractice Lab, NYU Langone Health
KP Tacconi is a healthcare innovation strategist who leads the FuturePractice innovation lab at NYU Langone Health, where she works with interdisciplinary teams to turn new ideas into tested, real-world solutions. Her work focuses on human-centered design, rapid experimentation, and collaborative problem-solving—approaches used to explore how emerging concepts can move from early insight to practical impact within complex organizations and communities.
At NYU, KP guides design sprints, prototyping efforts, and applied research projects that bring together clinicians, researchers, technologists, and community stakeholders. Drawing on experience across healthcare, technology, and nonprofit settings, she helps teams identify meaningful problems, test assumptions, and iterate on solutions that respond to real needs rather than abstract ideals.
