Cornell's Summer Session provides exciting off-campus study opportunities

School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, February 16, 2017

Undergraduates from Cornell and other institutions can earn credits during the summer in a variety of off-campus Cornell programs in the U.S. and abroad.

For students interested in professional or personal development through an internship or public engagement, the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions offers programs in Washington, DC; New York City; and Moshi, Tanzania:

  • The Cornell in Washington Summer Program (June 5–July 28, 2017) is an intensive, multifaceted experience designed to give participants a greater understanding of the workings of government and the processes by which public policy is developed. Students enroll in one or more courses and spend most of each day in an internship or similar activity in congressional committee offices, executive branch agencies, nonprofit arts and research institutions, interest groups, and professional firms and businesses.
  • The Prelaw Program in New York City (June 5–July 14, 2017) features a four-credit course on the American legal system and a limited number of selective internship placements at law firms or in the legal department of corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The program is directed by C. Evan Stewart, a senior partner of Cohen & Gresser LLP in New York City and winner of the New York State Bar Association's 2016 Sanford D. Levy Award for Professional Ethics.
  • The Urban Semester Summer Program in New York City (May 30–July 28, 2017) offers students an opportunity to intern in low-income neighborhoods in New York City, aiding social justice nonprofits in housing, education, and health while earning academic credit. Students spend four days each week at their placement sites and one with their course instructor, taking part in seminars, discussions with professionals, and site visits.
  • The Global Health Program in Tanzania (May 27–July 21, 2017) provides students with an opportunity to gain broad knowledge about global health issues. Participants live with a local family and, for the first four weeks of their stay, enroll in a course at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, where they learn about current policy issues and work in teams with Tanzanian students. During the second half of the program, students contribute forty hours of service per week to a local non-governmental organization, hospital, or agency in a service project tailored to the students' interests.

Students who'd like to spend part of the summer in Europe can choose among four different programs:

  • Imagining Rome: Art Studio and Creative Writing Workshops in Italy (May 25–June 23, 2017) is designed for students who are interested in studying writing or studio art at Cornell's teaching facility in the historic city center of Rome. Enrolling in six or seven credits of specialized study, participants study the architecture, sculpture, painting, and spatial design of the city as well as the culture of Rome as expressed in its visual art and in the poetry, fiction, memoirs, and letters of writers, painters, and sculptors who have lived in or visited Rome.
  • The Summer Program in Turin (May 28–July 8, 2017) is designed for students who want to learn about European politics and policy debates and to immerse themselves in the history and culture of Turin. Students enroll in one or two three-credit courses, taught by Cornell faculty and hosted at the Einaudi Foundation in downtown Turin's majestic Palazzo d'Azeglio. The program also features a number of extracurricular activities and excursions.
  • The Summer Program in Madrid (May 29–July 7, 2017) is an immersion experience in which students speak Spanish in and out of the classroom, get to know and interact with native speakers, visit museums and sites of historic importance, attend concerts and theater productions, and experience life in a European nation. Students enroll in one or two four-credit courses, taught by Cornell faculty and satisfying the language requirements for the College of Arts and Sciences.
  • The Performing and Media Arts Summer Program in Europe (June 7–July 21, 2017) is designed to give students an arts-focused, wide-reaching introduction to the urban culture of Rome and Paris. In each city there is a required interdisciplinary four-credit core course combining performance and cinema studies with architectural/urban history and general cultural studies. The sessions in each city may include public performance and/or exhibition of original student work.

Back in the U.S., students may opt to spend their summers at Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), the seasonal field station run by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire on Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine—home to migratory shore birds, a diverse marine invertebrate community, and 500 harbor and gray seals. SML courses emphasize intertidal and subtidal ecology, seabird and marine mammal ecology, marine conservation, underwater research, forensic science, animal behavior, ornithology, sustainable fisheries, marine conservation, and more. Biology internships and sustainable engineering internships are also available to undergraduates.

For information about these and other summer opportunities at Cornell, contact the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions at summer.cornell.edu, cusce@cornell.edu, or 607.255.4987.