Calculus Applied! | Harvard University

In this course, we go beyond the calculus textbook, working with practitioners in social, life, and physical sciences to understand how calculus and mathematical models play a role in their work.

Through a series of case studies, you’ll learn about a wide range of applications, from predator-prey models to how statisticians use functions to model data.

With real practitioners as your guide, you’ll get hands-on experience with data and graphs, equations, calculus computations, and educated guesses and predictions.

This course provides a unique supplement to a course in single-variable calculus. Key topics include the application of derivatives, integrals and differential equations, mathematical models and parameters.

This course is for anyone who has completed or is currently taking a single-variable calculus course (differential and integral), at the high school (AP or IB) or college/university level. You will need to be familiar with the basics of derivatives, integrals, and differential equations, as well as functions involving polynomials, exponentials, and logarithms.

This is a course to learn applications of calculus to other fields, and NOT a course to learn the basics of calculus. Whether you’re a student who has just finished an introductory calculus course or a teacher looking for more authentic examples for your classroom, there is something for you, and we hope you’ll join us!