The University of Delaware’s Winter Session registration is now open, and classes fill up quickly, so students are encouraged to begin exploring their options. Winter Session is a five-week term between fall and spring semesters that gives students special opportunities on campus and a change of pace from the usual routine.

Winter Session provides a number of benefits. Students can use the time to expedite their degree path and lighten their spring semester, or even catch up on their academic requirements. Research shows students with 30 credit hours by the end of their first year have a significantly higher chance of graduating in four years, making Winter Session particularly relevant for first-year students. Any student can tackle a challenging subject or explore interests that they may not be able to fit into the regular semester.

Winter Session also offers an opportune time for students to build their resume through experiential learning such as an internship or study abroad.

Nicole Natalli, a senior accounting major, has taken advantage of Winter Session each year to stay on top of her coursework after changing her major.

“I took Chemistry 103 in the winter my freshman year because I didn't do well at it in high school,” said Natalli. “I wanted to dedicate more time to it by taking it over Winter Session. It helped having the class every day because I was always reviewing the information and had more time to study so I did well. After deciding to switch my major from exercise science to accounting my sophomore year, I took Accounting 207 over Winter Session in order to catch up on my classes and make sure I didn’t fall behind.”

Winter Session also provides financial benefits — all students receive a discount if they take five or more credits. For students who take six credit hours, the discount is 25 percent.

Approximately 500 undergraduate and 50 graduate courses are available during the day or evening on a wide variety of topics.

For students hoping to extend their winter holiday before starting classes, the University will also offer about 50 classes that meet on a four-week schedule. The five-week term begins Jan. 3, while the four-week classes start Jan. 8. There are also online classes that can be taken anywhere a student may be.

Registration is open through Jan. 8 for five-week classes and Jan. 11 for four-week courses. Anyone may participate in Winter Session — admission to a UD degree program is not required.  

Kyle Kuhn, a junior political science major, said, “My major follows a very time-specific list of courses, that’s why I decided to take winter classes. I used Winter Session to get ahead on my prerequisite classes so that I can start taking the upper-level ones early. Taking a lighter course load over the winter gives you much more time to concentrate on studying. Also, during the winter the gym is always open so that’s really convenient.”

Winter session programming

The Division of Student Life will offer programs throughout Winter Session to provide all students with opportunities to explore new areas of the campus and local communities, meet people different from themselves, engage in self-reflection and have fun. Popular opportunities returning for winter 2018 include:

• Study at Home, a series of events created to help introduce students to parts of the University that they might not otherwise know about, discover local points of interest, and explore the nearby cities that offer great insight into the history and development of our region.

• Hot Chocolate Festival, an event emulating the grand festival hosted annually by the City Bakery in New York. The centerpiece of the program will be the vast array of gourmet hot chocolates on offer, including traditional and more daring choices. For the truly ambitious chocolatiers on campus, there will also be a custom chocolate creation station equipped with all of the flavors and spices available on the rest of the menu.

• Dive In: DIVErsity Institute, a four-week series of workshops and reflection allowing students to explore spheres of social identity, culminating in an experiential learning trip to Washington, D.C., with stops at Howard University, the Smithsonian Museum and more.

Students may also enjoy a variety of new and expanded campus-wide events including: a pop-up garden, service activities addressing local income inequality and housing insecurity, a film series with serious themes (disability and diversity) as well as the not-so-serious (laughably bad geology films), a winter Olympic competition, an astronomy visualization seminar, interfaith vocation and purpose exploration, Quizzo trivia nights, guest lectures, and much more.

Upcoming programs have been made possible through support from the Unidel Foundation. To date, the Office of the Provost and Division of Student Life have assisted departments and student groups in earning grants for 44 Winter Session programs, with emphasis on creative, high-impact opportunities that foster a more diverse and stimulating Winter Session environment for students. Details on all events will be available at events.udel.edu.

On-campus housing

Students who have occupied traditional residence halls and suites during the fall semester or will occupy a room during the spring semester are not required to pay a housing fee during Winter Session.

The only students who will be charged any housing fee are those who live in the residence halls during Winter Session only and those who live in graduate or family housing (Conover or Graduate House). Students who want to live on-campus only for Winter Session need to complete the Winter Session Housing application found in the MyHousing portal.

Students living on campus (other than on-campus apartments) must register for at least one Winter Session course or be approved to participate in a University project or activity in order to occupy the assigned space during Winter Session.

Additional information is available on the Residence Life and Housing website.

Meal plan and dining options

Students living in traditional residence halls or suites during Winter Session must enroll in a full meal plan, which provides dining options at multiple residential and retail venues across campus. Winter meal plans contain a designated number of all-you-care-to-eat meals and/or points, with any remaining points carrying over to the spring semester.

Students living in off-campus housing or the Christiana Towers who are looking for a convenient solution to supplement their dining needs may voluntarily choose from any of the resident or optional meal plans being offered.

Pencader and Russell dining halls will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the week, and for brunch and dinner on the weekends. Retail dining locations will have adjusted Winter Session schedules.

A complete listing of Winter Session hours along with additional information related to the Winter Session meal plan will be available on the UD Dining website. Students may call 302-831-6761 or email Dining Services with questions.

For additional information, visit the Winter Session website.