On a warm June morning in Chapel Hill, sunlight filters through the oak trees lining Polk Place as students cross campus with coffee in hand and laptops tucked under their arms, headed into classrooms for engaging discussions. Across the country and around the globe, others are logging in to connect with peers and professors in carefully curated online courses. In these summer classrooms (both in Chapel Hill and online), students and professionals alike are stepping into new subjects and refining skills that will shape what comes next in their careers.
From data and technology to environmental policy, public health, and creative writing, summer courses at Carolina invite over 6,000 learners from myriad backgrounds to engage with ideas that shape today’s world.
Aniruddhan Ganesaraman is a faculty member who teaches a summer course called Introduction to Data Models and Inference, which focuses on statistics and analysis. He says the class is designed to prepare students to engage with data in any field.
“Statistics sits at the intersection of almost every field students care about, including medicine, economics, psychology, sports, politics, social justice,” Ganesaraman explains. “By the end of this course, you’ll be able to look at a news headline, a clinical trial result, or a business report and ask the questions that actually matter: How was this measured? Is this sample representative? Could this result be due to chance? That kind of critical literacy is rare, and it’s extremely valuable.”
Some summer courses focus on learning a new language or skill, while others focus on big-picture topics that shape industries, policy, and communities. Classes in areas such as public health, history, and literature, anthropology are designed for anyone interested in understanding how complex systems influence the world around them.
“I’m excited to teach this course because it gives students the chance to understand the modern Middle East in a deeper and more historical way, beyond stereotypes and current headlines,” says Burak Bulkan about his course Modern Middle East. “I also look forward to creating engaging discussions about how the region’s past continues to shape the present. I hope students come away with the understanding that the modern Middle East cannot be reduced to simple explanations, and that its history is deeply connected to global processes like empire, international law, and colonialism.”
Across disciplines, many summer faculty share a common goal: helping students leave the course with skills and insights that remain relevant in their careers beyond the classroom.
Dr. Fenaba Addo sees her Policy Innovation and Analysis course as an “opportunity to equip students with analytic tools they can use to engage meaningfully with real-world policy problems.” She shares, “I’m looking forward to helping students build data literacy and ethical research skills that will serve them not just in this course but across their careers and interdisciplinary interests.”
Ask students what UNC Summer School gave them, and the answers can be as varied as the courses themselves.
Regan Sumy, a student enrolled in a journalism course exploring the East Asia media market, returned from the experience with a clearer sense of professional direction. They reflected, “I really enjoyed going abroad and getting the chance to explore careers in the media and journalism field firsthand.”
For others, the value was in flexibility that summer online course options inherently provide. A student who took the Neuroscience course Learning in summer 2025 praised Summer School’s online and asynchronous options, which make learning possible without putting the rest of life on hold. Specifically, they said, “The self-guided structure of the course allowed me to have a full-time job and also complete my classwork when I had the time.”
For faculty and students alike, Carolina Summer School creates experiences that the regular academic calendar rarely can: smaller class sizes, condensed timelines, and flexible learning formats for every type of learner.
Jennifer Larson, Director of Summer School at UNC explains, “There’s something really special about summer classrooms. UNC faculty and current students gather with learners from so many places and paths–professionals, career-changers, and all manner of curious minds–to create focused and supportive learning communities. It’s inspiring, energizing, and transformative, which is magical.”Additional information about UNC Summer School courses and registration information can be found on their website.
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