This course covers the basic principles of public speaking. Students learn how to handle nerves, organize and deliver a formal presentation, and use verbal and non-verbal communication to connect with their audience. During the course, students learn to use their own communication style while adapting their message for a variety of audiences. Students present several speeches in a safe and comfortable environment. Throughout the semester lectures focus on use of language, narratives, vocal variation, basic techniques for public speaking, and effective methods to overcome the fear of speaking in front of a large audience or small group of people.

This course examines the science and practice of decision-making through the lens of psychology, behavioral economics, and management. Students explore the cognitive biases, heuristics, and emotional influences that shape decisions and learn how to create value by designing effective decision-making strategies. Anchored in Ellen Langer's principle the psychology of possibility and enriched by key frameworks like prospect theory, the broaden-and-build theory, and growth mindset, the course connects theory with practice. Students tackle real-world scenarios, participate in negotiation simulations, and analyze decision-making through cultural and organizational perspectives. By the end of the course, students have developed the critical thinking skills and practical tools to address complex problems, lead with confidence, and enhance decision-making processes in their organizations and industries.

Recent research in the cognitive sciences—especially psychology, economics, and neuroscience—has begun to examine the factors that promote personal well-being and happiness. One surprising, but consistent, observation has been that many of the things that are widely believed to be crucial for our happiness—wealth, material possessions, not missing out, and even good grades—not only fail to make many people happy but can actively undermine the sense of well-being. The course begins by introducing some misconceptions that many people might have about what makes for a satisfying life. We examine the psychological biases and other mental quirks of our minds that make it hard for us to identify what actually makes us happy and then discuss what recent research reveals about factors that promote happiness. Importantly, throughout the course, students are invited to apply these strategies in everyday life. In other words, we both discuss what new results in cognitive science suggest to anyone interested in better understanding the factors that promote happiness and also actively put these scientific findings into practice. Along the way, we review historical and cross-cultural views on the meaning of happiness, discuss the limitations of scientific approaches to the topic, and identify aspects of modern life that make it difficult to develop habits that support happiness. Students may only take one of the following courses for degree or certificate credit: the Harvard Summer School course PSYC S-1022, PSYC E-1022 (offered previously), or PSYC E-1680.

This course examines the science and practice of decision-making through the lens of psychology, behavioral economics, and management. Students explore the cognitive biases, heuristics, and emotional influences that shape decisions and learn how to create value by designing effective decision-making strategies. Anchored in Ellen Langer's principle the psychology of possibility and enriched by key frameworks like prospect theory, the broaden-and-build theory, and growth mindset, the course connects theory with practice. Students tackle real-world scenarios, participate in negotiation simulations, and analyze decision-making through cultural and organizational perspectives. By the end of the course, students have developed the critical thinking skills and practical tools to address complex problems, lead with confidence, and enhance decision-making processes in their organizations and industries.

The course translates findings from academic research, particularly in positive psychology and behavior change, into attitudes, behaviors, and practices that students can adopt to have happy, fulfilling, and meaningful lives. We explore the foundation of happiness and what makes us happy, set goals, and chart a path for achieving a greater sense of happiness. The course goes beyond knowledge acquisition and requires hands-on student engagement with weekly reflections and practices for behavior change. We also survey the growing range of happiness technology—tools and technologies that support individuals in their quest for a more fulfilling life—and explore entrepreneurial ideation for creating new happiness technology ventures.

The course examines the science of happiness and well-being through lenses of positive psychology, neuroscience, and organizational behavior. We translate findings from academic research on human flourishing into attitudes, behaviors, and practices that students can apply across careers and work settings to thrive in the workplace and beyond. We explore the various definitions of happiness and the theoretical foundations of well-being science, then glean evidence-based practices to chart a path for achieving a greater sense of well-being. We look at coaching as a modality to improve positive well-being that translates into performance. The course integrates life design (how happiness science can support the intentional development of meaning and fulfillment) with job design (how organizations can foster engagement, resilience, and purpose). We apply the science to positive organizational behavior, examining the return on investment (ROI) of happiness as it directly impacts productivity, innovation, and the business case. The course goes beyond knowledge acquisition and requires hands-on student engagement with skill-building practices, first tested on the self and then discussed for application in leadership and management. Through readings, experiential activities, and applied projects, students explore how cultivating happiness benefits both individuals and organizations.

This course builds on CSCI E-101, giving students a solid foundation for advanced data modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI). The course focuses on the methods of modern computational statistics underpinning advanced data science. In the twenty-first century, these powerful, computationally intensive algorithms are both practical and widely used. These algorithms enable us to explore and model the large, complex datasets commonly encountered in the real world today. The focus of this course is on methods to address the exploration, inference, and modeling challenges arising from the analysis of increasingly complex datasets. Approaches to large-scale computational statistical inference are discussed, include maximum likelihood, modern resampling methods, and Bayesian models. The properties and behavior of the rich family of linear models and Bayesian models, foundational to many statistical, machine learning, and AI algorithms are surveyed. Additionally, time series models are explored. The course employs a combination of theory and hands-on experience using Python programming tools. The focus is on foundational computational statistical algorithms, statistical inference methods, and effective visualization methods. The hands-on component of the course uses the Python packages, NumPy, Pandas, Seaborn, Statsmodels, and PyMC3, along with selected other open-source packages.

The course examines the science of happiness and well-being through lenses of positive psychology, neuroscience, and organizational behavior. We translate findings from academic research on human flourishing into attitudes, behaviors, and practices that students can apply across careers and work settings to thrive in the workplace and beyond. We explore the various definitions of happiness and the theoretical foundations of well-being science, then glean evidence-based practices to chart a path for achieving a greater sense of well-being. We look at coaching as a modality to improve positive well-being that translates into performance. The course integrates life design (how happiness science can support the intentional development of meaning and fulfillment) with job design (how organizations can foster engagement, resilience, and purpose). We apply the science to positive organizational behavior, examining the return on investment (ROI) of happiness as it directly impacts productivity, innovation, and the business case. The course goes beyond knowledge acquisition and requires hands-on student engagement with skill-building practices, first tested on the self and then discussed for application in leadership and management. Through readings, experiential activities, and applied projects, students explore how cultivating happiness benefits both individuals and organizations.

This course examines the science and practice of decision-making through the lens of psychology, behavioral economics, and management. Students explore the cognitive biases, heuristics, and emotional influences that shape decisions and learn how to create value by designing effective decision-making strategies. Anchored in Ellen Langer's principle the psychology of possibility and enriched by key frameworks like prospect theory, the broaden-and-build theory, and growth mindset, the course connects theory with practice. Students tackle real-world scenarios, participate in negotiation simulations, and analyze decision-making through cultural and organizational perspectives. By the end of the course, students have developed the critical thinking skills and practical tools to address complex problems, lead with confidence, and enhance decision-making processes in their organizations and industries.

Recent research in the cognitive sciences—especially psychology, economics, and neuroscience—has begun to examine the factors that promote personal well-being and happiness. One surprising, but consistent, observation has been that many of the things that are widely believed to be crucial for our happiness—wealth, material possessions, not missing out, and even good grades—not only fail to make many people happy but can actively undermine the sense of well-being. The course begins by introducing some misconceptions that many people might have about what makes for a satisfying life. We examine the psychological biases and other mental quirks of our minds that make it hard for us to identify what actually makes us happy and then discuss what recent research reveals about factors that promote happiness. Importantly, throughout the course, students are invited to apply these strategies in everyday life. In other words, we both discuss what new results in cognitive science suggest to anyone interested in better understanding the factors that promote happiness and also actively put these scientific findings into practice. Along the way, we review historical and cross-cultural views on the meaning of happiness, discuss the limitations of scientific approaches to the topic, and identify aspects of modern life that make it difficult to develop habits that support happiness. Students may only take one of the following courses for degree or certificate credit: the Harvard Summer School course PSYC S-1022, PSYC E-1022 (offered previously), or PSYC E-1680.