Check to see if you are eligible for UVU Excelerate! Check Your Eligibility
When you take a FREE UVU Excelerate class, it counts towards your graduation requirements, alleviating the stress and financial burden of one class from your schedule! Choose from the classes provided below, and please keep in mind:
To ensure you make the most of your UVU Excelerate experience, we encourage you to dedicate your summer block schedule to your Excelerate class. Avoid or minimize signing up for additional classes during this time to stay focused and fully engage in your course.
As part of the Excelerate scholarship, you'll have the opportunity to participate in weekly Career Connection events! These events offer insights into campus resources, potential career paths, networking opportunities with professionals in your field, and essential skills for your future career.
The Career Connections events are held each week of the program. Attendance is required to at least 5 of the sessions offered during the program block.
Be sure to plan your summer schedule to include both your UVU Excelerate class and the enriching Career Connections events. We can't wait to see you succeed in college!
Instructor: Ben Wright
Dates: Block 1: 7 May 2025 - 25 Jun 2025
Times: Tues./Thurs. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Emphasizes academic inquiry and research. Explores issues from multiple perspectives. Teaches careful reasoning, argumentation, and rhetorical awareness of purpose, audience, and genre. Focuses on critically evaluating, effectively integrating, and properly documenting sources.
Project Description:
Instructor: Micah Cozzen
Dates: Block 1: 7 May 2025 - 25 Jun 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Teaches rhetorical knowledge and skills, focusing on critical reading, writing, and thinking. Meets English Composition graduation requirements (CC).
Project Description:
Instructor: Omel Contreras
Dates: Block 1: 7 May 2025 - 25 Jun 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Prerequisite(s): One of the following: MAT 1020 (preferred), or MAT1015 or MAT 1010 with a grade of C– or higher; or appropriate placement by a placement exam.
Teaches how to communicate, interpret, and analyze quantitative information found
in the media and in everyday life to make sound personal, professional, and civic
decisions.
Project Description:
Create and improve on easy access resources to help local families apply fiscally responsible understanding of how to make strong decisions.
Instructor: Heidi Vick
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Wed./Thurs./ 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Introduces concepts and techniques to teach children art in the home, community, or schools based on state and national art teaching and learning standards. Includes community-based and multicultural engagement, materials management, and content appropriate for young learners. Assists students to become independent, creative, and productive learners as they acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience to teach children ages 5–12.
Project Description:
Collaborate to create educational materials and activities for young children to explore expressing themselves through art.
Instructor: Omel Contreras
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Thurs. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Prerequisite(s): One of the following (within department time limits): MAT 1020 (preferred), or MAT1015 or MAT 1010 with a grade of C– or higher; or appropriate placement by a placement exam.
Teaches how to communicate, interpret, and analyze quantitative information found
in the media and in everyday life to make sound personal, professional, and civic
decisions.
Project Description: Create and improve on easy access resources to help local families apply fiscally responsible understanding of how to make strong decisions.
Instructor: Rob Line
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Thur. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Studies and compares social groups and institutions and their inter-relationships. Includes culture, socialization, deviance, stratification, race, ethnicity, social change, and collective behavior.
Project Description:
Help plan and facilitate an interactive tour at the Roots of Knowledge display for hundreds of visitors who come to this world-class exhibit at UVU. Students will learn and be part of a process that takes the theoretical knowledge of the classroom and combines it with a real-life service to the community in this engaging and thought-provoking project.
Instructor: Vancce Gough
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Includes topics such as the customer/problem/solution framework, design thinking, prototyping, intellectual property, creative idea development, lead user research methodology, peer feedback, new venture financing, and the lean start-up. Meets Social Science graduation requirements (SS).
Project Description:
Help create high impact, feasible solutions focuses on enhancing safety and security for Orem City.
Instructor: Thew Curtis
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Teaches rhetorical knowledge and skills, focusing on critical reading, writing, and thinking. Meets English Composition graduation requirements (CC).
Project Description: Help create showcase materials for the public library highlighting genres of content. Create activities and displays to encourage community members to find new books to enjoy.
Instructor: Zach Largey
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Wed./Thurs. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Emphasizes academic inquiry and research. Explores issues from multiple perspectives. Teaches careful reasoning, argumentation, and rhetorical awareness of purpose, audience, and genre. Focuses on critically evaluating, effectively integrating, and properly documenting sources.
Project Description:
Conduct research, generate, and assemble a collection of instructional materials aimed at guiding local families and individuals through the decision-making process, specifically addressing inquiries concerning available legal resources for clients.
Instructor: Todd Spencer
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Thurs. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Guides students in building a lasting intimate relationship of their own and in understanding and teaching relationship maintenance and improvement strategies based on large-scale scientifically derived marriage and relationship principles. Utilizes cutting edge research on factors and issues related to relationship success and outcome including whom and when to marry and how to build stable and happy relationships over time. Stresses increased understanding of desirable relationship outcomes and how to achieve them.
Project Description:
Help local families navigate the stresses related to Cancer by crafting resource materials and activities to address the diverse needs of families fighting cancer.
Instructor: Tiana Prestwich
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Examines the challenges to individual and community health, and encourages students to become actively engaged in preserving, protecting, and promoting health at all levels. Meets core graduation requirements (TE).
Project Description:
Help local residents elevate their well-being with an upcoming Health Fair. Craft compelling presentations and engaging activities to address the diverse health needs of our families. They will actively reach out to local community resources, inviting experts to share valuable insights during the event.
Instructor: Stephen Campbell
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Wed./Thurs. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Studies planet earth: its materials, structure, dynamics, and surface features. Taken alone it is designed for non-science students who want a broad introduction to earth science and a greater appreciation of their physical surroundings. (PP.)
Project Description:
Craft an engaging and informative geological outdoor exploration field guide that not only showcases but passionately promotes and shares the awe-inspiring geological wonders nestled within the heart of Utah County.
Instructor: Carl Canlas
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Online
Course Description: Covers the principal technologies that are important and prevalent today and their associated science principles. Meets Physical Science graduation requirements (PP).
Project Description: Work with the local city to develop social media strategy workshops for the groups of businesses within Eagle Mountain.
Instructor: Ben Johnson
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Thurs. 2:00PM - 3:50PM
Course Description: Analyze developing political, economic, and social institutions and their interrelationships with, and impact upon, the geographical features of the land. Meets American Institutions graduation requirements (AS).
Project Description:
Interview long time residents and create educational materials to preserve the history of the growing city of Vineyard.
Instructor:
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Mon./Wed. 10:00AM - 11:50AM
Course Description: Introduces major themes and concepts of biology including cell and molecular biology, genetics, diversity, evolution, and ecology. Provides students with necessary information and skills to critically evaluate what they hear, read, and see in the living world; communicate clearly; and apply methods to interpret data for making informed decisions concerning the role of biology in a world of which they are a part.
Project Description: Work to create reference materials and infographics to discuss common misconceptions in biological topics.
Instructor: Chris Weigel
Dates: Block 2: 26 Jun 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Times: Tues./Wed./Thurs. 12:00PM - 1:50PM
Course Description: Challenges students to explore and clarify their values; critically read works of philosophy, literature, religion, and history toward understanding the basis of their ethical views; and read, study, research, discuss, and write about difficult ethical issues. Focuses on issues of good vs. evil, justice vs. injustice, equality vs. inequality, and the necessity of defining and examining happiness and values. Engages students in serious reflection on issues of ethics and values as they relate to the students' own lives.
Project Description: Working as a team, create reflective learning lessons about ethical issues as a key component of gaining that healing and hope for patients and families. Design, implement, and assess a curriculum of ethical dilemmas.
