Laurie Santos, professor of psychology at Yale, created the online course – called “The Science of Well Being” – in 2018. It was launched the same year as her personal version of the “Psychology and the Good Life” course, which attracted more than 1,200 undergraduate students, or about one in four students on campus, in the first semester, according to a statement which Yale announced.
Santos, who lived among students as principal of Yale’s Silliman College, said the idea for the course came to her after she saw firsthand the increasing levels of depression and anxiety her students were experiencing.
“This is a very challenging time, and it means students need to learn new strategies to protect their mental health,” Santos said in the release. “Our goal is to equip students with scientifically validated strategies to lead a more satisfying life, while at the same time creating opportunities for high-achieving low-income students and colored students to show readiness for university.”
The course – developed in partnership with the University of Connecticut and the National Education Equity Lab with support from the Arthur M. Blank Foundation – will provide students with scientifically validated strategies to lead a more fulfilling life and explore what psychological science is. shows how to be happier, how to feel less stressed and how to thrive more, “according to the university.
The first half of the course offers students insight from psychology and neuroscience on what drives happiness. The second half of the course involves behavioral change exercises designed to rewire the brain.
In March last year, Yale presented the online version, “The Science of Well Being,” to the public for free on Coursera. To date, more than 3 million people have signed up for the course.
Now Santos is bringing the program from February 2 to the classrooms of more than 40 schools from 17 cities.
The online course offered to high school students – for which Yale did not disclose a name – will be slightly modified from the original.
In addition to receiving full course access, students will also be supported by a local teacher at their high school and a Yale Teaching Fellow.
The news comes because many in the US are still struggling with their mental health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, one in six Americans started therapy for the first time and nearly 90% of people in the U.S. experienced one or more depressive symptoms, according to Vida Health and CNN.
If you are interested in bringing “Psychology and the Good Life” to your school, visit Santos’ website for more information.
CNN’s Ryan Prior contributed to this report.
