• Take university-level classes from university professors and instructors
• Be part of a small learning community cohort setting 
• Earn 21 semester university credits
• Save money on your University of Utah education
• Complete your University of Utah degree faster

Step 2 the U prides itself on a thematically built schedule designed around self-exploration and education advancement. For two summer semesters starting the summer between their junior  and senior years, students register for a specific schedule. 

ART 1015 Creative Response to Materials

This is an introductory studio course where non-art major students will create visual art in both two- and three- dimensional media. Rather than being focused on a specific technique or artistic medium, this class introduces art techniques, concepts, and methods through a response to the physical materials used. This approach results in a wide-range exploration that includes traditional art materials and techniques such as ink, pencil, charcoal, paint, printmaking, paper, wood, and wire, as well as newer more contemporary genres related to installation and new media. It will also introduce the use of found materials such as books, natural objects, and discarded items that can be incorporated into mixed-media assemblages. The conceptual focus is on building the ability to communicate ideas, themes, and personal experiences using the language of visual art. 

COMM 1270 Analysis of Argument 

This is an introduction to the formal study of argumentation. It is designed to help student be more sensitive to the arguments that surround them in their everyday life, to develop greater skill in understanding and critically assessing those arguments, and to build competence in producing your own arguments. To achieve these goals, the course is structured to teach argumentation skills, experiences, and abilities by engaging in public arguments about pressing political, social and legal issues. 

HIST 1700 American History

Political, economic, and social development of American institutions and ideas. Satisfies the American Institutions requirement. 

BIOL 1010 Biology in the 21st Century

Understanding science is central to informing policies, driving innovations, and evaluating ethical considerations relevant to life on Earth. This course examines the interplay between science and society. The full spectrum of the human experience, from sex, gender, and health, to race, evolution, and environmental change will be explored. Case studies, short readings, and videos, relevant to life in the 21st century, will be referenced throughout the course.  

LEAP 1210 Social and Behavioral Sciences

This course focuses on the intersection of technology and the lived human experience. From digital surveillance of your Insta and Snapchat habits to how Google chooses to autocomplete your search inquiries, our lives are saturated with technology. This course explores how different social science disciplines study our individual and collective lived experiences in a tech-saturated society, and will provide you tools for understanding what is Real in our highly manipulated, artificially individualized, technology enhanced lived experience.

WRTG 2010 Intermediate Writing

This course is designed to provide students with the foundational practices and capabilities needed to read and write academic arguments proficiently. Though our focus is on setting you up to be a successful writer in your university courses, the writing practices and capabilities you learn in this class have application outside of the university. Students are introduced to strategies, tools, and resources necessary to become successful writers in a range of scholarly and professional contexts. They will practice analytic, persuasive, and narrative writing in a number of genres and explore how to do research papers. This class is meant to make students feel more comfortable with their own voice and better able to use that voice for the rest of their college career. Students will also spend time working on the structure of writing: ways to organize, how to build sentences, and how to write a polished academic paper. Learning how to write strong sentences, and well-organized paragraphs, learning how to collaborate, and learning how to write in and with new technologies, learning how to research a problem, learning how to contribute a view point to an ongoing conversation – all of these are behaviors and skills that are required to succeed in most workplaces.

GEO 1000 Earth Science in the Cinema

Study a wide range of provocative subjects with real-world implications for society, from evolution and extinction to natural disasters. Unsurprisingly, many of these subjects are also of interest to movie-makers in Hollywood and beyond, whose exciting thrillers sometimes do justice to the science and sometimes make a mess of it. This course explores current Earth science research themes in the context of film. Each week centers on a feature-length film and the science behind it, including presentation of the current state of the science, critique of the movie’s depiction of the science, and discussion of societal implications. 

For their first year participating, students must be a junior at Alta or Jordan High School who is ready for a challenge, hardworking, motivated, resilient, and dedicated to advancing in higher education. They must be interested in starting their college career, maximizing their academic experience, attending and graduating from the University of Utah. For their second year participating, students must have successfully completed Step 2 the U the year before.

Once a student has submitted their application to Step 2 the U, a committee of high school and Step 2 the U administration will meet to review all applications. Students that applied to the program will receive an email to the one they applied notifiing them of acceptance or not in March.

Students and their parents and families are required to attend an in-person orientation held at Alta or Jordan High School. During orientation, Step 2 the U administration will review program and academic requirements, policies and procedures and answer any questions. At orientation, parents and families will also receive important forms that need to be reviewed and signed before their student can register for classes. 

Each student will receive a custom class schedule curated by Step 2 the U administration. First year students will be automatically registered upon completion of orientation and notification of acceptance to the program by Step 2 the U administration and will pay their tuition fees to the Alta or Jordan High School office.

Second year students will receive a link to their customized class schedule after they have confirmed their intent to continue via a survey. Students will need to follow the prompts to complete registration and payment through the University of Utah.