For science majors, it can feel tough to fulfill liberal education requirements in a timely fashion. “We have enough classes as it is,” said chemistry major Eric Adams ’17. That’s why he says it was an easy decision to take a course at Goucher last summer.
With his online summer course, Adams said it was nice to do homework when he had time, and he also appreciated being able to interact academically with classmates through Skype. “I don’t like going the entire summer without some form of intellectual stimulation,” he said. “Otherwise it’s a hard transition back to fall semester.”
Students of all majors–undergrad and graduate– appreciate Goucher’s summer program because of the flexible, yet intensive, classes it provides both online and on campus.
Classes that are being offered this summer range from the online course “Confronting Inequality: Women, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary American Society” to a special actor-training residency with the Maryland Shakespeare Festival. Other classes, such as “Topics in Contemporary Mathematics” and “Elements of Spanish I,” can help students knock out required courses so they can focus on courses for their major during the regular semesters.
Stephanie Budrock ’17 took Spanish last summer to lessen her course load the next year. “Even though the class periods were longer and the class moved at a faster pace, it was only a four-week course, so before I knew it, it was already over,” she said.
Goucher’s summer courses vary in length, but all will be offered between Monday, June 1, and Friday, July 10. Registration began March 30 and is ongoing. Tuition for summer courses is $450 a credit hour—a significant discount to fall and spring classes.
Goucher Registrar Andrew Westfall said the college has been offering summer undergraduate courses for a number of years, with some year’s participation being more robust than others. The courses are offered in addition to study abroad, internships, and independent work that some other students tackle in the summer months.
Emily Horton ’17 said she was finding it tough to stick to a four-year plan with her education major, but a women’s studies class last summer helped. “In the end, it is a great timesaver,” she said. “And taking it online saves money between the cost of the course being discounted and not having to pay to stay on campus.”
She said she appreciated taking a class through Goucher because the professor was very attentive, often sending out communications and offering prompt, personalized feedback even with the online format. “That really got me feeling like I wasn’t the only one sitting in front of my computer for a few hours a week doing schoolwork in the middle of the summer,” she said. “It really felt like she was there and cared about us, just as if we were there with her in class. “
Sara Eckart ’16 took two Goucher courses online last summer while she lived on campus and interned with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. She said she enjoyed working at her own pace and living on campus during the much-calmer weeks of summer. (Limited on-campus housing is available for the summer term.) Contact Residential Life for information at CommunityLiving@goucher.edu.
For more information on summer classes, schedules, fees, and housing visit here or contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@goucher.edu.
For those interested in summer graduate school options, check out the graduate programs in education, AP Summer Institute, Summer Teachers’ Institute, and distance learning programs.