Hi,
I am freshman going into my sophomore year.
I just got accepted to summer@brown. (I initally wanted to go to the leadership institue but it overlaps with my other plans but will apply next year)
I am interested in knowing what are some of the best courses?
I have an interset in IR, business or pshycology, I especially love interacting with others and communication.
Here are some courses on my to-choose list:
- Organzitional behavior
- Human genetics and behavior (maybe too science for me?)
- Community psychology
4.Social psychology
Any help would be greatly apprciated.
Hi, I attended Genetics and Human Behavior last summer and loved it! Dr. McGeary was great, and personally I was glad I picked a class that had an actual Brown professor as the teacher (since it is SO expensive). We also got to genotype ourselves for two different genes, which was awesome. The class is best described as a combination of psych, neuro, and genetics. I loved it, but it was primarily science, although we did talk about the application of what we were learning in terms of mental health care often.
@kitkat231 Thank you so much for your input, it is greatly appricated!
I do find genetics very interesting when we covered it in our science9 curriculum which is very strange and scary to me since I was always an arts and humanties person.
Would you say it requires a lot of scientific background and knowledge to get the best out of it or is grade nine science sufficent?
I am just terrified at the thought of not liking it (since I’ve never gravitated to STEM) but am also terrified at missing out on a chance to discover my potiential passion for science (you never know if you will like something until you try it, right?)
Can you maybe give me more details on the programs and thank you again for your effort and time.
Have a fabulous day :0
So I wouldn’t worry about having a really strong science background. I had taken regular bio in 8th grade, but I think you will be fine if you know the basics of genetics (the course doesn’t have a prereq, but “Prior knowledge of biology is desirable but not required.”)
In terms of what we did, we mainly looked at different mental disorders and some developmental disorders and talked about the genetics behind them. We also covered some things you wouldn’t normally think would be genetic, like the likelihood to believe in a higher power and political views. Each person did their own research project, for instance mine was about the genetics of bipolar disorder, and each person had to describe an experiment they’d like to do to learn more about the genetics of this disorder (I did something about testing the association b/w bipolar disorder and tobacco use). We spent one day a week in the lab prepping our DNA for PCR that we would then genotype. Each night I probably had 1-2 hours of reading. We also talked a little about treatment for different disorders, for instance after learning about the genetics (or lack thereof) for specific phobias, we talked about exposure therapy. If you have any specific questions I’d be happy to answer them 
@kitkat231 Now you’ve totally talked me into this course, how many people were in your class? do you think I would fit in as more of an lingusitic person??
@kitkat231 I’ve now enrolled in this course, thanks to your lovely contribution and pursausion. (now you have to give me all your info because you made to it, just kidding Was the professor approachable and funny? How was his teaching style, was it easy to understand (especially with a student who doesn’t have a scientific background?) ? Thank you SO MUCH!!!
There were maybe about 20(?) people in my class. Only three guys though haha. I definitely think you won’t have a problem fitting in as a linguistic person.Dr. McGeary goes over basic genetics before moving onto more complicated things. I remember that not everyone had taken bio, but there were also people who had taken AP bio, but it all worked out fine. Dr. McGeary was very nice, and was a very good teacher. He has taught this course for a while, and knows how to teach it well no matter what your science background.
@kitkat231 sounds great, I live in Canada where we have bio intergrated into science at grade 9 and our school doesn’t even offer AP bio, but that reassures a bit. Are you more interested in this area now or found it not the best for you? Thanks for the constant replies, much love.
I definitely think the course made me more interested in behavioral genetics, especially because I’m already interested in neuroscience and mental health. And I agree, it sounds like you’ve had at least an introduction to bio, which is enough. I hope you have a great time!