Summer provides an opportunity for current WashU students to stay on track (or get ahead) with their degree requirements; to focus intimately on rigorous coursework without the pressure from other academic or social demands; and/or to explore a new disciplinary area. Current WashU students must have completed at least one full semester of coursework at WashU prior to taking A&S summer courses.

We welcome students from other colleges and universities to take classes at WashU during the summer. Visiting students who enroll during A&S Summer Session must be at least 18 years of age by the start of the course and meet one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Be a matriculated undergraduate student at another US college or university.
• Be a matriculated international undergraduate student attending a US college or university.

Visiting students must be in good academic standing and will be required to complete an enrollment request form prior to receiving authorization to register for classes.

Since 1984, we have welcomed rising high school seniors to enroll in course work through our Arts & Sciences Pre-College Programs. These academically motivated students come from across the country and around the world to experience WashU over the summer. Students apply and are admitted to their respective program and receive academic support from our Pre-College Office. In addition to noncredit Exploration Courses, and applicable A&S Summer Online Pilot courses, pre-college students can choose from a selection of introductory credit-bearing courses that meet in person from 9:00-10:45am, 11:00am-12:45pm, or 1:00-2:45pm during Summer 2. 

All members of the WashU community, including students, faculty, and staff, are expected to be positive role models in their interactions with minors by behaving in a caring, honest, respectful, and responsible manner. WashU has adopted the Youth Protection Policy which outlines expectations for the safety and well-being of minors on campus. Summer Session instructors with pre-college students enrolled in their courses will be expected to abide by this policy and its corresponding procedures, which will include a background check and training program.

• Summer 1: May 24 – June 11
• Summer 2: June 14 – July 16
• Summer 3: June 14 – August 6
• Summer 4: July 19 – August 19
• Summer 2027: May 24 - August 19
• Summer Intersession: variable, between May 24 and August 19

Additional SU27 registration and refund deadlines can be found here.

Arts & Sciences Summer Course Tuition

• Undergraduate: $1250/unit ($3750/3-unit course)

Below are standard class session days, times, and durations to keep in mind as you plan your offerings:

Session I (3 weeks)

• 3-unit courses typically meet M-F daily for 3 hours from 9am-noon or 1-4pm

Sessions II and IV (5 weeks each)

• 3-unit courses typically meet M-F daily for 1.75 hours beginning at 9am, 11am, 1pm, and/or 3pm
• 4-unit courses typically meet M-Th daily for 2.5 hours 

Session III (8 weeks)

• 3-unit courses typically meet M-Th daily for 1.5 hours beginning at 9am, 11am, 1pm, and/or 3pm 

Summer Intersession (varies)

• Please contact your department/program summer course contact  for assistance with scheduling

Those requesting to offer a course section during non-standard days/times should follow the same procedure as is expected during the fall/spring semesters. Please visit the Office of the University Registrar site to submit the appropriate petition.

For additional guidance regarding contact hour requirements, please refer to the appendix of the Credit Unit Definitions document.

Instructors should post final grades for Summer Session course sections in Workday approximately one week after the corresponding session ends. All Summer 2027 final grades must be posted by noon on August 23.

With the exception of course sections selected for the A&S Summer Online Pilot, Summer 2027 course sections will be held in person, maintaining the same modality as course sections offered during the FL26 and SP27 semesters.

The minimum enrollment for Summer 2027 course sections is 5 students. We understand that canceling course sections negatively impacts students and instructors, so the decision to do so is not made lightly. Our office regularly monitors course section enrollments leading up to the start of each session. We may allow a course section to run underenrolled in some instances where the course section is still pedagogically viable, meets student need, and the instructor has agreed to a reduction in pay. Cancellation decisions are finalized at least 15 days prior to the session start date.

If you plan to offer a course that has never been listed (neither during the academic year nor summer), we encourage you to contact us at summersession@wustl.edu to discuss your idea. We want to partner with you to ensure our credit-bearing course offerings help meet student need. As a reminder, all new courses will have to be approved through the standard A&S new course approval process.

Exploration Courses provide high school students the opportunity to experience WashU from home. Students explore a topic or subject through a series of interactive activities, lectures, and discussions with pre-college peers from around the world. These noncredit, online courses offer students the opportunity to immerse themselves in an innovative and collaborative learning experience. We are currently accepting course proposals for the 2027 summer semester through December 1, 2026. Additional details about Exploration Courses and how to submit a course proposal are available here.

Summer 2027 course sections will be managed in Workday. Please work with your Course Section Manager to enter approved A&S course sections for Summer 2027 by Friday, December 4. Your course section manager will receive a message from the OUR and/or Arts & Sciences Academic Administration and Student Records Team with further instructions for updating summer course sections in Workday.

A few items to note:

• Courses from Summer 2026 will automatically carry over in Workday. However, each course section you have been approved to offer in A&S Summer Session will still need to be reviewed in Workday for Summer 2027.
• Beginning in Summer 2027, Literacies for Life and Career will need to be associated with summer course offerings. Once an instructor is identified, please request that they select 1-3 literacies for their course section, and enter the selected literacies in the competencies field on the course section record in Workday when collecting and verifying other course section information.
• Section numbers for summer courses follow a standard convention based on which session the course section is being offered:
  • The first section of a course listed in each respective session is entered as follows: Summer 1 = Section “11”, Summer 2 = Section “21”, Summer 3 =  Section “31”, etc.
  • If there are multiple sections of a course in one session, then subsequent section numbers should be entered as follows: Summer 1 = Section “12”, Summer 2 = Section “22”, Summer 3 = Section “32”, etc.

Summer 2027 course sections will begin publishing on February 3, 2027, and registration is set to open on March 24, 2027.

Effective Summer 2027, A&S departments and programs are expected to align their processes for recording research and internship credit to meet the process update with implementation support from the College of Arts & Sciences and the A&S Academic Administration and Student Records Team. If an undergraduate student pursues a research or internship opportunity through your department/program in Summer 2027, you will enroll the student in the appropriate Summer 2027 course section in order to record the credit for that experience in the academic period when it is earned. Please note, summer research and internship courses must be:

• Listed with the same course number used during the standard academic year (i.e., A&S will no longer use summer-specific course numbers) and the appropriate instructional format (Independent Study, Research, or Internship);
• Applied for research, internship, and practical applications experiences that occur between May and August;
• Listed using "Summer Half B" as the academic period;
• Administratively enrolled.

Course changes needed

• End date all “Summer” internship and research courses with the word “Summer” in the title with a date of 12/21/2026.
• Update all applicable internship and research courses to include "Summer" as a "Typically Offered Period".

Course section changes needed

• Create course sections of regular internship and research courses for Summer 2027 using "Summer Half B" as the session.
  • Use a section capacity, projected enrollment, and waitlist of "0".
  • Use the Eligibility Rule "Admin Registration Req".
• Use the section number of 01, 02, etc., instead of the typically used 11, 21, 31, 41, and 51.
• This deadline will follow the usual summer course section entry deadline (Friday, December 4).

Credit and tuition management

• Students will be allowed up to six credits of summer internship or research credits at no cost over the duration of their undergraduate degree.
• They will be charged the regular per-credit summer tuition rate ($1250/credit) if they take more than six credits of summer internship or research.
• Other fees (such as summer housing, meal plans, parking, etc.) apply – even with there being no tuition charged for the first six credits of summer internship or research credit.

PLEASE NOTE: There are no new requirements to offer or promote summer opportunities; summer opportunities are not required, and the College Office and Arts & Sciences will not be promoting/advertising these details. It is up to the departments to determine how/if to promote this information to students.

The process for submitting course and additional section fees for summer session will mirror the academic year procedure. Starting in January, Jenny Givens (givens@wustl.edu) will email your summer session contact a spreadsheet listing the course sections for Summer 2027, along with submission instructions. Additional section fees must be entered into the system before March 24, 2027, when registration opens. If fees are uploaded by this date, they will be automatically applied to student accounts upon registration and refunded if the student drops or withdraws from the course section. 

You will need to provide the course section number and title, the type of fee or charge item (e.g., lab fee, inclusive access text fee, materials fee), and the cost center or fund where fees should be routed upon payment. Gathering this information promptly allows Jenny time to collaborate with the Workday Student Support Team to correctly attach fees to course sections in Workday.

Note that graduate student instructors must follow all Mentored Experience Requirements established by your department/program's plan and by the Office of the Provost. Graduate student instructors should be cleared for summer teaching and given an academic appointment before listing them in Workday, and they should also have adequate mentoring, including syllabus review. Graduate students who will be the instructor of record for the first time are required to complete the A&S Summer Course Institute (SCI) in preparation for teaching their Summer Session course section. This training will occur in late Spring 2027 and is provided in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning. Exact dates will be announced in the coming months.

More information about last year's institute can be found here: A&S Summer Course Institute 2026

For questions specifically related to instructor hiring, please contact Jennifer Kohl, Director of Finance and Operations, at jkohl@wustl.edu.

For questions related to course and additional section fees, as well as all questions related to student accounts/billing for Summer Session, please contact Jenny Givens, Manager of Administrative Operations, at givens@wustl.edu.

If you have questions about pre-college students, the Youth Protection Policy, or Exploration Courses, please reach out to Becki Baker, Director of Pre-College Programs, at precollege@wustl.edu.

If you need assistance with course design, in particular to plan for the (re)design of a course for an accelerated/short format, help is available through the Center for Teaching and Learning.

If you would like assistance integrating Literacies for Life and Career into your course planning, please see the resources for teaching with literacies in the faculty portal or contact the literacies team (literacies@wustl.edu).

For Canvas questions and support, please contact Tifffany Lang, Instructional Designer and Canvas Administrator, at tiffany.lang@wustl.edu, or our A&S Canvas Support Team at artscicanvas@wustl.edu.

Any issues related to Workday can be directed to the Workday Student Support team.

Registration and records matters can be directed to our Arts & Sciences Academic Administration and Student Records Team at artscirecords@wustl.edu.