Course Descriptions

View our 2024-2025 course descriptions here.

As they progress through Upper School, MPH students find that they are able to define a significant portion of their own education. Through independent studies in virtually all disciplines, an expansive choice of elective courses, abundant co-curricular opportunities, and the Senior Thesis Project, MPH empowers students to participate in shaping their own learning.

Students benefit from the flexibility and creativity that uniquely distinguish independent school curricula. A faculty member at MPH is able to adapt the course curriculum, perhaps to take advantage of a pertinent guest lecture at Syracuse University or to incorporate newly updated information – or to respond to students’ desires to more deeply investigate a portion of the material.  The majority of teachers have written their own course curriculum. The teacher-created curriculum of a geology course, for example, takes advantage of opportunities for field visits to drumlins and other geologic formations in Central New York.

As graduation from MPH approaches, Twelfth Graders undertake a culminating project that lies at the intersection of character education and rigorous academic research. Senior Thesis Projects allow students to personalize their education while, at the same time, immersing themselves in intensive writing, research, and personal growth. The projects are wide ranging. One Senior with an interest in medicine organized an American Red Cross blood drive at MPH and succeeded by more than 40% her projected goal for donations from the MPH community.  She hopes her effort, which coincided with an emergency call by the local Red Cross chapter for blood donations, will be replicated in the future by students interested in public health.

The Upper School experience is, by design, challenging and invigorating. The demanding curriculum asks students to engage in evaluative, higher-level thought. Seemingly limitless opportunities for learning beyond the classroom lead them on a discovery of their own interests, talents, and abilities.  Students are expected to balance the increasing independence they are afforded with a heightened sense of responsibility. And as they further define who they are as individuals and identify their personal goals, they are asked to act also as part of a wider community, to think beyond themselves.

The Malone Schools Online Network (MSON)

The Malone Schools Online Network (MSON) is a consortium of independent schools across the United States that offers real-time (synchronous) online courses to students at other member schools. Utilizing a high-tech videoconferencing platform hosted by Stanford Online High School, students participate in interactive seminar-style classes in subjects that are advanced beyond MPH offerings (i.e. Chinese V, Multivariable Calculus) or in fields that we do not offer. Students benefit from exposure to a broad range of exciting course offerings and passionate instructors from top independent schools, while taking ownership of their education in this flexible and independent environment.

For more information about the MSON program and current course offerings, please visit the MSON website.