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Senior University Visits University of California, Berkeley

By Christine Hall

It’s time to go back to school and this week we are checking out the offerings at Berkeley. As in previous weeks, this is just a smattering of options that are available to you online for FREE! Be sure to explore all of UC, Berkeley’s online classes.

The Science of Happiness

Students will engage with some of the most provocative and practical lessons from this science, discovering how cutting-edge research can be applied to their own lives. Created by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, the course will zero in on a fundamental finding from positive psychology: that happiness is inextricably linked to having strong social connections and contributing to something bigger than yourself–the greater good. Students will learn about the cross-disciplinary research supporting this view, spanning the fields of psychology, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and beyond. https://www.edx.org/course/the-science-of-happiness-3

*Just a note on this one – I’ve taken this class and it is really fun. Prepare to do some work and feel the happiness rewards.

Writing for Social Justice

Learn to harness the power of writing to bring about about personal, social, and political changes that matter. In Writing for Social Justice, you will learn the importance of word choices in writing for different genres in order to reach your audience. There will be short example readings included in the course, which will serve as models of different persuasive genres. You will also share your writing with other students in the course, getting and offering feedback on assignments. https://www.edx.org/course/writing-for-social-justice

How to Save Money: Making Smart Financial Decisions

You will learn the basics of personal finance: how to balance spending and saving, which debts to pay first, what insurance you need and don’t need, how to invest for retirement and other long-term goals. In addition to watching online lectures, you will be shown how to do practical “homework” assignments, including looking up the fees on mutual funds and requesting a free credit report. https://www.edx.org/course/how-to-save-money-making-smart-financial-decisions