Summer Session

Summer Session Instructional Employment

Every summer, some of UChicago’s best teaching talents can be found in the classroom with our own College students as well as academically talented pre-College and visiting undergraduate students from around the world. Offerings include:

  • Undergraduate Summer Quarter and September Term courses, drawn from the existing College curriculum that primarily serve current College students
  • Pre-college courses, specially designed for academically advanced high school students from around the world who are ready to tackle undergraduate-level material
  • Summer Language Institute courses, crafted to cover the content provided in a quarter-long course or year-long sequence in 3 to 8 weeks. 

Summer Session Instructional Employment includes primary instructors, teaching assistants, and graders.

Summer Session 2026 Employment Information

    Summer positions are open for courses that do not have an assigned primary instructor. 

    All Candidates 
    Your cover letter should address a specific course that is listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section below, as well as your qualifications to teach that course.  Courses are added and the page is updated as needed (the date of the most recent update is listed at the top of the Courses with Staffing Needs section). If a course is listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section below, the position has not yet been filled.

    Internal UChicago Candidates

    • Full-time Academic Appointees: Please contact your/the offering department if you are interested in teaching a course listed.
    • UChicago Graduate Students should check with their deans of students to determine their eligibility to teach for Summer Sessions.
    • Please submit your application as indicated in the Courses with Staffing Needs section below. Either a person is listed or a link is provided.

    External Candidates

    1. Visit our program pages to learn more about the program and the specific course for which you are interested in applying. Make sure that you are available to teach during the dates and times posted for the course before you apply
    2. Please submit your application as indicated in the Courses with Staffing Needs section below. Either a person is listed or a link is provided.
    3. Completed applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications are accepted until all positions are filled. The Courses with Staffing Needs section is updated as needed throughout the winter and spring quarters.
    4. Your cover letter should address a specific course as well as your qualifications to teach that course. Without this, your application will not be considered. 

    In the Courses with Staffing Needs section below, if a person is listed, please email the required materials to that person. Completed applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and applications will be accepted until all positions are filled.  If a course is listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section below, the position has not yet been filled.

    • Review the list of courses currently hiring and visit the program pages before applying. Make sure that you are available to teach during the scheduled dates and times posted for the course before you apply
    • Submit your application to the person listed
    • Candidates with no current UChicago affiliation should apply only for positions marked as "open to external candidates".

    Compensation can vary by program: guidelines are listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section. 

    Special note for current UChicago Humanities and Social Sciences Ph.D. students 

    All summer teaching (instructor or assistant) in UChicago undergraduate curriculum courses (Summer Quarter and September Term) must be a part of your MTE/PTP.  Please check with your department to see if this would be approved.  

    Immersion and Summer Online courses are only open to pre-college students are not part of the UChicago undergraduate curriculumAs such, they are the only programs in which you can teach outside of your MTE/PTP and you would be compensated.

    Current UChicago Affiliates

    For those current UChicago affiliates on 9-month appointments (i.e. you do not have contractual obligations during the Summer Quarter, even if you are paid over 12 months), all Summer Session teaching is considered extra service, whether you are a senior lecturer, lecturer, or faculty member. You will receive additional compensation for summer teaching, above and beyond your annual salary or stipend. Summer teaching does not count towards contractual teaching obligations for the academic year. 

    Individuals should ensure that they are aware of any possible restrictions placed on their ability to take on additional summer teaching obligations that might be stipulated by their grant funding, university status, or other considerations. If you are going to engage in any paid activities in addition to summer teaching, you must disclose that as soon as possible so that the university can assess your maximum summer earnings.

    Those on 12-month appointments should consult with their department supervisor and HR staff regarding summer teaching, which may not be compensated as extra service. 

    Summer 2026 compensation levels are not yet available. In 2025, per course compensation was calculated at 1/9th of the base academic year salary, within the following minimums and maximums:

    • The minimum for faculty was $10,000.
    • The minimum for all other levels (Sr. Lect and OAAs/CBA/ Staff) was $8,500.
    • The maximum for all levels (except staff and temporary lecturers) was $15,000.
    • The maximum for staff and temporary lecturers (1B) was $8,500 per course.

    Per the GSU-UE, a graduate student employed as a Graduate Student Lecturer during Summer Session 2025 whose employment is not part of their primary funding related to their academic program shall be paid $5,318 per course.

    Pre-College Primary Instructor Salaries

    Because they are more intensive, pre-college Immersion courses provide remuneration at a rate of 1.5 times that of standard Summer Quarter undergraduate courses. 

    Course Cancellations

    Primary instructors are notified a minimum of 21 days before the course is scheduled to begin if the course is canceled due to low enrollment. Such decisions are final and not subject to appeal. Primary instructors who must cancel an individual class session due to illness or another emergency should contact us immediately at summersession@uchicago.edu or 773-702-2149. They should also use Fast Message in Faculty Access to reach their students.

    Summer courses are designed to be either in-person or remote. Primary instructors and course assistants must be able to perform their responsibilities from a remote location, and their remote work arrangements are their responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, an adequate internet connection and an adequate working space.

    Primary Instructors
    Primary instructors of remote courses must be in the United States when teaching for the program, specifically in California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, or Wisconsin for tax purposes.

    Course Assistants (CAs), including Teaching Assistants and Graders
    Current UChicago students: CAs in remote courses must be in the United States when working in the program, unless they are enrolled in a UChicago Study Abroad program. 

    Not current UChicago students: for tax purposes, CAs in remote courses must be in California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, or Wisconsin.


     

    Please do not submit proposal forms for courses that were offered during summer 2025. They will go through our renewal process.    

    Submit your Proposal for Summer 2026 by Monday, October 13, 2025.

    The Guide to Course Proposals 2026 page contains information about the types of courses most in-demand with our students, feedback from long-term Summer Session instructors, the steps needed for both current affiliates and external candidates, and the link to the proposal submission form.

    Questions, even after reading our proposal guide? Contact us at summersession@uchicago.edu

    Instructors should not submit a proposal form for courses that were offered in summer 2025.  In September, courses from Summer 2025 that had strong enrollments will be sent to departments and/or instructors for renewal requests. Courses that have low enrollment (fewer than ten) are usually not renewed for subsequent summers. If you are interested in adding sections of an oversubscribed summer 2025 course, contact Sarah Lopez slopez@uchicago.edu

Courses with Staffing Needs

All Summer 2025 hiring has ended; 8/11/25

    No positions are available at this time.  

    All Immersion pre-college courses take place in-person, either June 16-July 3 or July 9-25. Immersion courses are taught during in an intensive, condensed format; these 100-unit courses meet Monday through Friday over 3 weeks. There is no reading or exam period for these courses; any final exams or presentations would be given during the last class session. 

    See the Immersion program page for course and program details and download an Immersion Teaching Assistant job description.  

    External applicants would be anyone who: 1) will not have an active status at the University of Chicago after June 16, 2025 (including alum), 2) those graduating in June 2025, or 3) those who have no prior affiliation with the university.

    Primary Instructor Openings

    Course Number & Title Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send application and materials

    Course Assistant Openings:  Compensation for Teaching Assistants in the Immersion program in 2025 is $3,710. 

    Course Number & Title Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send Application and
    Questions

     

    No positions are available at this time.  

    Summer Online courses are taught remotely, in an intensive, condensed format. These 100-unit courses meet for 3 weeks, Monday through Friday, beginning Wednesday, July 9 through Friday, July 25. There is no reading or exam period for these courses. Final exams or presentations -if any- would be given during the last class session. Synchronous sessions occur either 9:00-11:00 am or 6:00-8:00 pm.

    See the Summer Online program page for additional course and program details and download an Summer Online Teaching Assistant job description.  

    External applicants would be anyone who will not have an active status at the University of Chicago after June 16, 2025, including alum, those graduating in June 2025, or those who have no prior affiliation with the university.

    Primary Instructor Openings: No positions are currently available.

    Course Assistants  Compensation for Teaching Assistants in the Summer Online program in 2024 was $3,000; rates for 2025 have not yet been formalized. 

    Course Number & Title Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send Application and
    Questions

    No positions are available at this time.  

    Summer Quarter courses are a mixture of in-person and remote.  Undergraduate courses during Summer Quarter are taught in an intensive, condensed format; these 100-unit courses meet for a total of at least 30 contact hours over 3 to 9 weeks, from June 16 through August 22. There is no reading or exam period for summer quarter courses; final exams are given during the last class session. Classes are not held on June 19, Juneteenth, or on July 4 for Independence Day, both University holidays. 

    See the Summer Quarter program page for additional course and program details and download a Summer Quarter Teaching Assistant job description.  

    External applicants would be anyone who will not have an active status at the University of Chicago after June 16, 2025, including alum, those graduating in June 2025, or those who have no prior affiliation with the university.

    Primary Instructor Openings

    Course Number & Title 
    (Instructional Mode)
    Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Application Requirements

    Course Assistants:  

    Compensation for Teaching Assistants in Summer Quarter 2025 is $3,190. 

    Course Number & Title 
    (Instructional Mode)
    Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send Application and
    Questions

    September Term courses are a mixture of in-person and remote.  Undergraduate curriculum courses are taught in an intensive, condensed format. In September Term, these 100-unit courses meet for a total of at least 30 contact hours over 3 weeks, from August 25 to September 12. There is no reading or exam period for September Term courses; final exams are given during the last class session. Classes are not held on September 1, Labor Day.  

    See the September Term program page for additional course and program details and download a September Term TA job description.  

    External applicants would be anyone who will not have an active status at the University of Chicago after June 16, 2025, including alum, those graduating in June 2025, or those who have no prior affiliation with the university.

    Primary Instructor Openings: No positions are currently available.

     

    Course Number & Title
    (Instructional Mode)
    Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send Application and
    Questions

    Course Assistants:  Compensation for Teaching Assistants in September Term 2025 is $3,190. 

    Course Number & Title
    (Instructional Mode)
    Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Send Application and
    Questions

    No positions are currently available.

    See the MBL program page for additional details about the program and courses offered. 

    Primary Instructor Openings

    Course Assistants Openings

    Course Number & Title Position Open 
    (Date Added)
    Academic Experience Open to External Applicants Application Requirements Send Application and
    Questions