Exploration Courses

Experience WashU from home this summer

Our Exploration Courses provide students the opportunity to experience WashU from home over the summer. Through these online, noncredit courses, students explore a topic or subject through a series of interactive activities, lectures and discussions with pre-college peers from around the world. This program is ideal for students who are looking for the flexibility of an online summer experience and want to build college readiness skills.

In addition to course work, students in Exploration Courses participate in specialized college readiness, community building, and academic support activities.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an Exploration Course students should:

Be a current freshman, sophomore, or junior in high school (graduating in 2024, 2023, or 2022).
Have an academic average of B+ (3.3/4.0) or better.
As an international student, have a TOEFL score of at least 90, IELTS score of at least 6.5 or Duolingo score of at least 115.

2021 Courses and Schedule

Courses are taught by WashU instructors from across disciplines and research fields. Offerings rotate every summer.

Learn More

Program Fees

The program fee per Exploration Course is $985. Students may enroll in more than one course. Need-based scholarship assistance is available.

Learn more about fees and scholarships

Pre-College Community Course

Students participating in our Exploration Courses are also enrolled in our Pre-College Community Course through Canvas. This noncredit course is designed to introduce students to college life and support students as they make the transition to undergraduate course work. The course includes activities that help build college readiness skills for success both inside and outside of the classroom. Students complete a series of required activities as part of the course, and can engage in additional optional activities.

Through this course students also have the opportunity to earn a series of Learning Badges and a College Readiness Certificate. These optional enrichment activities are a great way for students to build their resume over the summer.

Learn More about Our Programs

Academic Success

learn about how we support students

College Readiness

develop skills for college success

Community

learn about our pre-college community

How to Apply

In order to apply to an Exploration Course, students must complete an online application, including short essays, and submit the following supplemental information:

$40 nonrefundable application fee
Transcript
Teacher recommendation
International applicants must send a TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo score report.

The deadline to submit an application and all supplemental information is April 1, 2021 at 11:59pm.

Questions about applying? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions web page.

Start Your application

Student in front of WashU library — The biggest takeaway from this program has definitely been time management skills. I have taken AP classes in school, but this program has taken my learning and skills to a different level.
―Ellenrising junior from Memphis, TN