From a year’s worth of Italian credit to a weekend of environmental awareness in the mountains, the onset of summer session gives students a wide range of opportunities for both personal enrichment and career development.
The session, which began last Monday and ends Sept. 1, offers courses of varying lengths: eight-week courses, four-week courses, one- to two-week intensive workshops and seminars, and numerous weekend workshops.
Summer session offers students many benefits not available during the rest of the year, including smaller class sizes, condensed course lengths and the opportunity to catch up or get ahead for graduation, according to the Admissions Office. In addition to classes offered during the rest of the year, students can take advantage of special summer-only innovative courses, often numbered 410/510 or 610, seminars, numbered 407/507 or 607, or workshops, numbered 408/508 or 608.
“Eugene is fun in the summer,” admissions officer Joann Zumbrunnen said. “Teachers come to class in Birkenstocks and shorts.”
Students’ reasons for taking summer courses vary. Many see the session as a way to ease their future course loads. Junior Noushin Shakiba is taking physics this summer to satisfy a requirement that she won’t have time to fulfill in the fall. “It shouldn’t be too hard since I’m only taking one class this summer,” Shakiba said.
About 6,000 students are currently enrolled for this summer, and the admissions office expects that number to increase to at least 6,500 by the end of the session. Summer session students pay for each course separately, unlike the rest of the year when tuition is fixed. Resident students pay $249 to enroll in the first course and $77 for each additional class. The initial course costs non-residents $286, and $114 for subsequent classes.
On-campus housing is available to students on a week-to-week payment schedule. The cost varies by date. Students can choose between Carson, Morton and McClure residence halls, and the University Inn is also available.
In between classes, students have access to most facilities. The EMU is open during the summer from 8 a.m. to early evening, Monday through Friday, unless noted otherwise. The University bookstore’s summer hours are 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Though summer session has advantages for many students, Zumbrunnen noted that it can have downsides.
“Course selection is not as great, and the condensed classes can be challenging,” she said.
The counseling center advises students who are having trouble with classes to drop in Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.