About us

Step 2 the U is an early college high school program created to introduce students to higher education courses in a small learning community cohort setting. These courses are designed and organized into a schedule thematically built around self-exploration and education advancement. This integrated learning model is inventive and cutting edge for education. Through collaboration between the University of Utah Undergraduate Studies and Canyons School District, Step 2 the U is offered to Alta and Jordan High School juniors interested in perusing their higher education at the University of Utah.

With Step 2 the U, you will:

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.

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.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and a Fine Art (FF) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

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.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and a Humanities (HF) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

Political, economic, and social development of American institutions and ideas.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and satisfy the American Institutions (AI) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

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.

An introduction to the basic nature of society and the relationship between society and the individual. This course focuses on how society functions and is organized, and how society impacts and influences individual motivation, understanding, action, and well-being. Basic sociological ideas regarding social relations, social interaction, social structure, and social change are examined. Students are introduced to key issues addressed by contemporary sociologists; class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, globalization, education, health care, crime, the media, and the environment. The knowledge gained in these course will aid students in future studies within a variety of fields and careers, and encourage the development of critical thinking about important issues. Satisifies the Social/Behavioral Science Exploration requirement.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and a Social/Behavioral Science (BF) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

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.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and a Lower Division Writing (WR2) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

Scientists 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.

Upon completion of this course, students will earn 3 credit hours and a Physical/Life Science (SF) credit towards University of Utah General Education requirements. For more information about University of Utah General Education requirements, visit https://us.utah.edu/general-education/requirements/.

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