Successfully run courses from 2024 do not need a new proposal, they will go through our renewal process. Contact Stephanie Friedman (sfriedmn@uchicago.edu) if your course was cancelled or low enrolled and you want us to consider renewing it for 2025.
Who Can Propose a Course?
- Current UChicago faculty, instructional professors, senior lecturers, and lecturers are invited to propose courses for all Summer Session offerings (including September Term).
- Current UChicago staff should consult with their home departments about their eligibility to teach during the summer before proposing a course.
- Current UChicago graduate students should consult with their home departments about their eligibility to teach during the summer before proposing a course; in addition, they will need to apply through the UChicago GRAD posting.
- Students who will graduate during the 2024-2025 academic year and others whose affiliation with UChicago will end before June 16, 2025 may still propose courses. If your proposal is accepted, Summer Session will notify you about any additional steps required as part of the appointment approval process.
All applicants must have experience teaching at the undergraduate level, including those proposing pre-college courses. For pre-college teaching, previous experience working with high school students or in an intensive summer program is a plus but is not required.
Come to Our Information Session
This session will be recorded for those who cannot make it. Please email slopez@uchicago.edu if you would like a copy of the recording and slides after the session.
Monday, October 7th, 12:00-1:00 pm Central, via Zoom
Submitting a Proposal
Deadline: Monday, October 28, 2024
The Guide to Course Proposals 2025 page contains more 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 successful 2024 courses. In September, courses from Summer 2024 that had strong enrollments will be sent to departments and/or instructors for renewal. If you are interested in adding a second section of a successful 2024 course, contact Sarah Lopez slopez@uchicago.edu.
If you do not receive a renewal form for an offering from Summer 2024 that you would like to have offered again in 2025, you should submit a Course Proposal Form for the offering, accompanied by the rationale for renewing it; we will consider this proposal together with the other proposals for new offerings we receive.
If you wish to discuss current enrollment trends in your area and other matters that affect what courses should be offered, please contact Stephanie Friedman via e-mail at sfriedmn@uchicago.edu.
Current UChicago Affiliates
For those current UChicago affiliates on 9-month appointments (meaning that you do not have contractual obligations during the Summer Quarter, even if you are paid over 12 months) at UChicago, 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.
We do not yet have most 2025 compensation levels, but in 2024, 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 will usually be notified at least 21 days before the course is scheduled to begin if the Summer Session Office decides to cancel a course 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.
In Summer 2025, we will be offering courses that are designed to be either in-person or remote. 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)
CAs (which include Teaching Assistants, Lab Assistants, Lectors, Graders, etc.) in remote courses who are current UChicago students must be in the United States when working in the program, unless they are enrolled in a UChicago Study Abroad program.
CAs in remote courses who are not current UChicago students 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.
Summer 2025 open positions - that is, courses that do not have an assigned primary instructor - will be posted beginning in late autumn 2024. See the "Proposing a Course" section for submitting course not currently offered by Summer Session.
All Candidates
Your cover letter should address a specific course that is listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section, below, as seeking instructors, as well as your qualifications to teach that course; without this, your application will not be considered. Courses will be listed and the page will be updated, as needed- the date of the most recent update is listed at the top of the Courses with Staffing Needs section for those that want to check back periodically.
Internal UChicago Candidates
Please contact your/ the offering department if you are interested in teaching a course listed.
- Special note for current UChicago Humanities and Social Sciences Ph.D. students:
- All summer teaching (as a primary instructor or as an assistant) in UChicago undergraduate curriculum courses 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 curriculum. As such, they are the only programs in which you can teach outside of your MTE/PTP and you would be compensated.
External Candidates
- Visit our program pages (above) 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 scheduled dates and times posted for the course before you apply
- Submit your application at the links below for the Primary Instructor position through the University of Chicago’s Interfolio jobs board. You will be required to upload a copy of your cover letter, CV, and reference contact information for current or previous teaching supervisor and/or department chair.
- Immersion and Summer Online pre-college programs: Posting Number TBD
- Summer Quarter and September Term: Posting Number TBD
- Summer Language Institute: Posting Number TBD
- Completed applications will be reviewed beginning early winter 2024. Applications will still be accepted after this date until all positions are filled; the Courses with Staffing Needs section, below, will be updated as needed throughout the winter and spring quarters.
- Your cover letter should address a specific course that is listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section, below, as seeking instructors, as well as your qualifications to teach that course; without this, your application will not be considered.
We will begin posting Course Assistant openings in March 2025.
All candidates: please apply only if you are interested in a course listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section, below, and tailor your cover letter to that course. The staffing needs section will be updated periodically throughout the spring, as needed. The date of the most recent update is listed at the top of that section.
In the first paragraph of your cover letter, specify the course(s) for which you are applying. Your letter should also highlight the skills and experiences relevant to the disciplinary area(s). Applications that do not include a specific course listed in the Courses with Staffing Needs section, below, will not be considered.
Completed applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, beginning in April 2025 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.
- After reviewing the list of courses currently hiring (below), visit the 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 scheduled dates and times posted for the course before you apply
- Submit your application for the Course Assistant position (this includes Teaching Assistants and Language Assistants) through the Summer Session CA Application (Google form); applications submitted through UChicago Handshake or UChicago GRAD Gargoyle will not be considered.
- You will be required to upload:
- Cover letter: the first paragraph of the cover letter must list the course(s) for which you are applying; the remainder of the letter should cover skills relevant to those specific course
- CV or resume, including reference contact information for current or previous teaching supervisor and/or department advisor or chair
- Teaching evaluations, if available
- Applications submitted only through Handshake or GRAD Gargoyle will not be considered
- Candidates with no current UChicago affiliation should apply only for positions which are marked as being 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 (as an instructor or as an assistant) in UChicago undergraduate curriculum courses 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 curriculum. As such, they are the only programs in which you can teach outside of your MTE/PTP and you would be compensated.