While school is out for most Northwestern students, some are just getting hold of their syllabi.
NU’s Summer Quarter classes start Monday, where at least 1399 undergraduates are registered to take at least one course, according to a University spokesperson.
This Summer, NU is offering more than 250 classes for undergraduate students, ranging in topics from archeology to human anatomy.
Aside from covering a wide range of topics, class length also varies. Some classes are condensed into only a few weeks, while others span the full 10 weeks of a typical quarter.
While some classes are shorter than others, most NU Summer courses are worth one credit — the same as most courses during the academic year — because the total work required for each class roughly equals that of an entire 10-week class, according to the spokesperson.
Given these condensed timelines, some professors have to figure out how to fit a quarter’s worth of content into only a few weeks. Legal Studies Prof. Nicolette Bruner said that for students, the workload from a single Summer class will be much higher than during a 10-week-long class.
“It’s twice as much work at any moment,” she said.
While the workload may be higher, Bruner said the Summer courses can offer a more individualized experience for students, since many of these classes are often large lectures.
This Summer, Bruner is teaching LEGAL_ST 206: Law and Society, an introductory Legal Studies course that typically has more than 100 students during other quarters. This summer, she said, her class has about 28 students enrolled.
“When I’m teaching in the Fall, I stand there twice a week in front of however many people and deliver the lecture. There isn’t a good opportunity for me to get to know the students in the class one-on-one,” she said. “Whereas with this class, I’m running discussion sections three times a week.”
Some students take Summer courses to create additional flexibility in their schedule. Rising Bienen and McCormick junior Jordan Boymel said Summer classes could help him finish his five-year dual degree program in only four years.
“I’m taking a lot of classes at every given point, and just taking two over the summer allows me to have a bit more flexibility with my degree program,” he said.
For other students, taking classes also felt like a substitute for an internship and allowed them to stay with their friends over the Summer.
Rising Weinberg senior Abby Miggiani is taking three courses this Summer. This year, Miggiani said she limited her internship search to Chicago because she wanted to stay near her friends. She said, given how challenging it is to find an internship, taking classes felt like a good alternative.
“Finding an internship has been very hard, so I was like taking classes was the next best thing,” she said. “I wanted to stay here for the Summer because after next year, probably most of my friends are going to be leaving. So I value the memories and experiences of spending time with friends more than any leg up I can get from a single (Summer).”
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