YALE HAS A CLASS ON HAPPINESS AND YOU CAN TAKE IT (FOR FREE)

Yale Has a Class on Happiness and You Can Take It (for Free)

When we were in college, we took such thrilling classes as microeconomics, geology and entry-level Italian. (Emozionante...we think?) 

Lucky for them, today’s students have a lot more options, as proven by Yale University’s super-popular class “The Science of Well-Being” or, in layman’s terms, the science of happiness. 

Cool, right? Yes, and best of all, it’s not only open to lucky 18-year-olds. Anyone can now take the course for free on Coursera. 

The creator, Dr. Laurie Santos speculated that Yale students are interested in the class because, in high school, they had to deprioritize their happiness to gain admission to the school, adopting harmful life habits that have led to what she called “the mental health crises we’re seeing at places like Yale.” A 2013 report by the Yale College Council found that more than half of undergraduates sought mental health care from the university during their time there.

So what exactly will you learn? According to its description, the class—taught by professor Laurie Santos—overviews what psychological science says about happiness: “The purpose of the course is to not only learn what psychological research says about what makes us happy but also to put those strategies into practice.”

We’re personally thrilled because, in addition to, you know, making us smarter and happier, this course finally gives us the opportunity to live out our Elle Woods Ivy League fantasy.

Via NewYork Times & PureWow