Unfortunately, the winter weather leaves little time for students to enjoy the outdoor green space during the regular fall and winter terms.
Luckily, the campus is in full bloom for students during the spring and summer terms terms. By offering a variety of courses for new and continuing students during the spring (May and June) and summer (July and August) terms, the university enables students to experience campus during the peak of its outdoor splendor.
Beyond the advantages of warmer weather, taking spring and summer classes can benefit students in a variety of academic ways. Incoming students to the U of S can take these classes to ease the transition into university life, to fulfill a prerequisite or to get ahead on credits to allow for a smaller course load during the fall and winter terms.
Second-year arts and science student, Karleen Silvester, took advantage of spring and summer classes during her return to student life.
“As a student who was returning to study after a year off, spring and summer classes were a great and quick way to be able to add a few prerequisites to my transcript without having to worry about them interfering with my tougher classes ahead in the busier fall and winter terms,” said Silvester.
Continuing students can also benefit from lightened fall and winter terms, alongside the other advantages that come from being able focus on one class at a time.
Ava MacLean, a fourth-year SUNTEP Education student found social advantages in the class sizes and shortened length of spring and summer classes, saying, “I enjoyed how close my class got over the couple weeks we were together. Since it was a small class and we saw each other every day we were able to make connections we wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Alongside these social advantages, the spring and summer term can enable students to fully focus on a difficult class without needing to divide their attention between multiple courses at a time. As well, taking spring and summer classes can help students to get ahead in their programs, therefore allowing for earlier degree completion.
Spring and summer classes can also be completed away from the main Saskatoon campus. There are a variety of class offerings that can be completed online. Taking online courses in the spring or summer gives students the flexibility to earn credits toward their degrees while they are at home, working or travelling.
The U of S also offers courses that enable students to travel abroad while earning credit. The opportunities to study abroad during the 2018 spring and summer terms are vast, totaling 18 different programs in 13 countries. These programs, ranging from approximately two weeks to two months in length and taught in languages including English, Chinese, French, German and Norwegian, allow students to work towards degree completion while experiencing a different culture and becoming more globally conscious.
Regardless of whether students are studying abroad, online or in Saskatoon, spring and summer classes offer many benefits. The opportunity to ease into university life, complete a prerequisite, get ahead on credits, focus on a difficult class and lighten class requirements during the fall and winter terms are just a few reasons why taking courses during the spring and summer terms is advantageous to students. The beautiful campus is a bonus.
Registration for spring and summer classes opens on February 14 at 8:30 am CST. Visit summer.usask.ca to learn more.