Psych 101: General Psychology
The cornerstone of the academic experience at Semester Off is a highly cross-disciplinary course (Psych 101: General Psychology) taught by our Founder, Ilan P. Goldberg, MD, which examines the mind and the brain from various fields of study: psychology, philosophy, molecular neuroscience, neuroanatomy, sociology, veterinary science, and computer science.
Assessment and Evaluation
Students are assigned weekly reading assignments from a diverse array of sources including psychology textbooks, the New England Journal of Medicine, philosophical articles (historical and contemporary), The New York Times, and radio interviews with leading intellectuals.
Students take an exam on neurobiology about midway through the semester and write a series of short papers in the latter half of the semester to solidify both their learning on these topics and their academic skills around exam preparation (including time management) and paper writing.
Students may co-register for this course at Framingham State University and obtain four (4) college credits for its completion.
Note that this course takes place at our facility in Wellesley and is only open to Semester Off students, not to the general student body at Framingham State.
Students may decide to take further coursework at Framingham State after their semester at Semester Off has concluded, and they may even decide to complete a degree at Framingham State.
If they decide not to complete their studies at Framingham State, then these course credits can be used towards any degree program where Framingham State credits for an introductory psychology class are accepted, provided the student has not already earned these credits.
Students are encouraged to speak with the Registrar’s Office at Framingham State and/or with the Registrar’s Office at their home university if they have questions regarding whether or not these credits will be accepted at their home university.