"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."

Course Catalogue

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Online Electives

We offer an online program consisting of four online elective courses through the Constellation Learning (CL), a partnership of Independent Schools around the country and world. Students interested in enrolling in an online course will be expected to join the teacher and other students in an online ‘meeting’ approximately two times per week. Other course elements such as assignments and online discussions are done independently.  
 
The following guidelines apply:
 
1. Online course are available on a limited basis for students in grades 11 and 12 and to students in grade 10 under special circumstances and with permission from the Head of Upper School.
 
2. Only one online course can be taken at any given time.
 
3. Credit for online courses counts towards the required credits for graduation and towards the minimum of five academic courses required each semester.  However, online courses do not count towards department specific graduation credit requirements.
 
4.  Teachers of online courses will assign letter grades that will appear on student’s transcript.
 
5. The start and end dates for online courses may not correspond with the beginning and end of the Friends Seminary semesters. Students should verify that they are capable of participating in the entire course prior to requesting a course. Students may not add an online course after the first week of the online course ("Week Zero" for CL courses). Students wishing to drop an online course from their schedule must do so at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the online course (NOTE: for Fall and Full Year courses, this deadline occurs in August). Students may also drop the course until the end of the Friends Seminary add/drop period, but will be responsible for paying the non-refundable course fee (currently $500/semester).  Students that withdraw from an online course after the Friends Seminary add/drop period will receive a 'WP' on their transcript and also be responsible for the course fee. Students should verify the start and end dates for CL courses on the CL website, found at https://www.constellation-learning.org.

  • Advanced Macroeconomics

    This course is the equivalent of a college-level introductory Macroeconomics course. We examine the fundamentals of economics, starting with the concept of scarcity of resources and the problem of satisfying unlimited human wants. The course extensively uses the concepts of demand and supply, opportunity cost, and decision-making based on marginal analyses. These concepts are used to examine the behavior and performance of the economy as a whole. Aggregate changes in the economy such as unemployment, growth rate, gross domestic product, and inflation is the focus of this course.

    One semester course (Spring) - 2 credits

  • Advanced Microeconomics

    This course is the equivalent of a college-level introductory Microeconomics course. We examine the basics of economics, starting with the concept of scarcity of resources and the problem  of satisfying unlimited human wants. The course extensively uses the concepts of demand and supply, opportunity cost, and decision-making based on marginal analyses. These concepts are used to examine different types of market structures and their deficiencies. Additionally the course also examines the factor markets and the role of government intervention in providing public goods.

    One semester course (Fall) - 2 credits

  • American Sign Language

    In this course, students will be introduced to the basics of American Sign Language (ASL), as well as the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture. Students are not required to have any previous knowledge of ASL but multiple levels are available for students with prior experience. In level 1, students will develop both expressive and receptive ASL skills centering around the manual alphabet, numeral skills, colors, days of the week, expressions, animals, basic food items, daily greetings, daily routines, and careers. Student discussions will revolve around topics such as hearing loss, hearing aids, lipreading, grammar rules, and fingerspelling skills involving double letter usage.

    Full year course - 4 credits

  • American Sign Language 2

    In this course, students will build on the foundational skills they learned in American Sign Language 1 to develop greater fluency, breadth, and flexibility in their American Sign Language (ASL) skills. Students will significantly expand their working vocabularies to allow for conversation on a wider range of subject matters. Additionally, they will increase their understanding of ASL sentence structure, facial grammar, and conversational protocols. An expanded focus on the context of Deaf Culture will prepare students for more varied interactions in ASL. Students will develop increased expressive and receptive fingerspelling skills. Topics covered include descriptions of people, possessive pronouns, giving directions, cardinal and ordinal numbers, advanced money concepts, patterns and designs, role shifting, and rankings by age.

    Full year course - 4 credits

  • Psychology

    Students will explore theories, key concepts, and studies behind our understanding of human behavior and mental processes. Topics covered will include the biological bases of behavior, sensation and perception, learning and cognition, motivation, developmental psychology, testing and individual differences, treatments of psychological disorders, and social psychology.  

    One semester course (Fall or Spring) - 2 credits
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
FRIENDS SEMINARY
222 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
P: 212-979-5030
F: 212.979.5034
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.