Summer at Syracuse University

History and Purpose

Summer courses have been offered at Syracuse University for more than 100 years. From a small beginning summer term of only 39 enrolled students, SU summer has grown to include some 8,000 students registered in one or more of many programs that branch out from the central summer mission.

One aspect of that central mission is to offer main campus and visiting students a variety of courses, enabling them to catch up, make up, or get ahead. Because summer is an ideal time for faculty to experiment with new courses and programs, students can take courses that are not offered during the academic year. In recent years, different formats have been added to the original plan of two six-week sessions. MAYmester (an intensive two-week session that begins immediately after Commencement) and online courses (which last throughout the summer) provide options that many students appreciate. Evening courses serving part-time students are open to all students during the summer.

Another aspect of the summer mission is to meet the need of working people, from teachers to managers to counselors, for continuing education in their fields. To that end we offer a wide variety of one- and two-week courses and workshops throughout the summer. By using only one week of their vacation, busy professionals can complete the class time required for an entire three-credit course.

The City and Region

Downtown Syracuse is just a walk or a short bus ride away, and a train carries its passengers between the University and Carousel Mall. There are concerts of all kinds, clubs, museums, and weekend activities that include a Greek Festival and an arts and crafts fair. Summer students with access to a car can take day trips to the Finger Lakes and wine country, the Thousand Islands, or the Adirondack Mountains.

Syracuse is known as one of the snow capitals of the United States, but its many summer attractions seem to be a well-kept secret. Not least among those attractions is its beauty—green, a city of trees and flowers nestled among the softly curving hills called drumlins. The region abounds in lakes, rivers, and streams. Most summer days are warm and the nights comfortable, largely free from the extreme heat and humidity that oppress much of the East Coast.