Wesleyan Intersessions: Summer and Winter Session

Wesleyan University offers undergraduate courses during two intersessions each year: Summer Session and Winter Session. Credits earned during these sessions may be applied toward graduation requirements.

Intersessions do not constitute an academic semester and do not count toward the University’s residency requirement. 

All students enrolled in intersession courses are subject to both Wesleyan’s academic and nonacademic policies, as well as any policies specific to intersessions. Courses taken in intersessions are governed by the same academic regulations as those offered during the regular academic year.

Students are encouraged to consult their class dean—or refer to the Deans’ Office website—to understand how intersession performance may impact their academic standing.

Tutorials

Individual tutorials allow students to earn academic credit for coursework proposed by the student and supervised by a faculty member. Tutorials are available only to sophomores, juniors, and seniors when no comparable course is offered in the same semester. 

• Approval is required from the relevant department chair.

• Tutorials must be added during drop/add. 

• Tutorials do not carry general education designations.  

Group tutorials are proposed and taught by a faculty member and must be submitted through the drop/add system.

Summer and winter term tutorials are handled through the office of Continuing Studies.  

Student Forums

Student forums are student-run group tutorials sponsored by a faculty member.

• Approval is required from the relevant department chair and divisional dean.

• Proposals must be submitted by the end of exams in the preceding semester.

• Student forums do not carry general education designations.  

Teaching Apprentice Program

The Teaching Apprentice (TA) program allows undergraduate students to earn academic credit while serving as a teaching apprentice in a non-tutorial academic course. Apprentices enroll in a 1.0 credit tutorial focused both on course subject matter and on the teaching activity itself. If a student serves as an apprentice in the same course more than once, the student may receive no more than a total of 1.0 credit for serving as a TA in that course. Teaching apprentice credits do not carry general education designations.   

Independent Study

Independent study is academic credit for pre-approved non-Wesleyan activities a student undertakes during the summer, while on an authorized leave of absence, or during an academic term. Examples include independent reading, supervised special projects, or educational travel. Students may earn academic credit for independent study provided that:

1. Plans, including all requirements and evaluation methods, are approved in advance by the relevant Wesleyan department and the student’s class dean.

2. The student completes all requirements specified by the approving department (such as an examination, paper, or equivalent assignment).

No more than two credits of independent study may be earned in any single semester or summer.

Students pursuing an independent study while enrolled full-time in a fall or spring semester can count the credit towards their full-semester credit load. 

Students pursuing independent study during the summer or while on an authorized leave of absence during the academic year are not eligible for financial aid; instead, a special tuition rate applies. In no case will financial aid to a student in this category exceed the amount of aid the student would have received as a regular full-time student at the University.  

Note: Senior theses or senior projects may be pursued only as designated senior thesis tutorials or senior projects — not as independent study.

Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS)

Wesleyan undergraduates — normally rising juniors and seniors — may enroll in masters-level courses offered through the Graduate Liberal Studies program, with the following approvals required in advance:

• The course instructor

• The student’s class dean

• The student’s faculty advisor or major department chair

• The GLS director

Participation in GLS courses will not count toward the University’s semester-in-residence requirement unless officially approved in advance. Undergraduates enrolled in GLS are subject to the program’s academic rules and regulations. All GLS grades and coursework attempted will be recorded on the student’s undergraduate transcript.