Maymester - Process for Approved Courses
Below is important information for instructors whose Maymester course has been approved. This information is meant to help you plan and run a successful course.
Important Dates | Tips | Travel Planning | Course Promotion | Student Information | Course Standards
Important Dates
Be sure to review the key dates for 2025 Maymester Courses.
Tips for a Successful Maymester
- After the course is approved, the instructor serves as the primary source of information, including promoting the course to prospective students and responding to student inquiries.
- Seek help from colleagues to promote the course to your majors/minors and other interested students.
- Review student applications and interview prospective candidates. If there are conditions or challenges that students will face during travel, make those very clear to students during interviews. And if medical clearance is required to participate in the course or in specific excursions, require applicants to complete those clearances during the interview process. Students need as much clarity as possible from the beginning about the nature of required activities and excursions.
- Select a faculty member (preferred) or staff member who can accompany the Maymester course to help with logistics and student support. Read more about personnel course support.
- Work with your department/program administrator to make logistical arrangements, such as lodging, partner organization agreements, and excursions. All questions regarding logistics and finance should be directed to your department/program administrator.
- Finalize your itinerary, including contact information, for each day away from campus and share it with the participating students. Consider preparing and distributing additional pre-departure documents, including:
- Rules and/or expectations for conduct, including cultural expectations (e.g., clothing required in specific destinations, certain behaviors students should embrace or avoid, etc.)
- Weather forecast
- Recommended packing list (medical products and supplies cannot be purchased by instructors and support staff on One Card)
- Any other important travel details
- After completion of the Maymester course, be prepared to submit detailed expense reports with itemized receipts. Contact your department or program administrator for additional guidance. All questions regarding finance should be directed to department or program administrators.
Planning for Maymester Travel
The instructor is responsible for completing all VU Travel documents prior to leaving for the course. The Office of Global Safety will contact instructors regarding pre-departure travel documents. Note that Maymester courses adhere to the A&S and Vanderbilt Travel Policies.
Instructors and support staff will have the opportunity to enroll in GeoBlue health insurance, a service that Vanderbilt provides for the duration of course-related travel. Only Vanderbilt instructors, support personnel, and students are eligible for coverage. You will be contacted in April to submit information for yourselves and for participating students.
Prior to Maymester travel, meet with students for an orientation to answer questions, provide an itinerary, and share resources.
When considering rules and expectations for conduct, be sure to also consider free evenings/weekends if students have them. Here are some questions to consider:
- What are the parameters for free evenings/weekends?
- Are students permitted to travel? If so, how far away from the host city?
- Are students permitted to stay overnight in other nearby cities? If so, who is responsible for the cost of lodging?
- Does your safety plan need to be updated to include rules and expectations for free evenings/weekends?
Make sure all accepted students have completed the necessary Overseas Study Release Form and Medical Form, which can be obtained from and returned to GEO, as well as the VU Student Liability Waiver.
To start building community and esprit de corps among your students, please schedule some activities with them in March and April. These can include dinners, team-building activities, or class sessions. For information about financing these activities, contact your department or program administrator.
Promoting Your Course
Instructors are strongly encouraged to promote their approved Maymester course to generate student interest and ensure sufficient enrollment. Once a course is approved, it will be posted on the Summer Sessions website. Below are additional ways you may want to promote your course:
- Reach out to students in your classes and in related majors/minors.
- Ask colleagues in your department and other departments to let their students know.
- Attend the Maymester Abroad Information Fair (required for faculty).
- Create flyers and post them in your building.
- Consider promoting the course on your department website, social media accounts, etc.
It is important to promote your course as early as possible, preferably as soon as you know your course is approved in September. The Summer Sessions website will be updated with final Maymester courses for students to review.
Student-Related Information
Funding Opportunities
Vanderbilt offers the Global Summer Fellows Scholarship Program and students are encouraged to apply for this need-based financial aid before the mid-January deadline.
Commitment to Attend
Students who are accepted into a Maymester course are required to submit a “Commitment to Attend.” This commitment represents a good faith promise to attend, an important consideration in determining whether a course has sufficient enrollment and can therefore be offered. We strongly encourage students to commit within 10 days of notification of acceptance. This deadline is necessary to accommodate waitlisted students into any vacancies that may occur in the course roster. Students are permitted to withdraw their commitment to the Maymester if GEO is notified before the commitment deadline.
After the commitment deadline, students are permitted to withdraw but they are required to pay the full $500 deposit. In addition to paying the deposit, students will be responsible for a portion of the program fee determined by the date of withdrawal. Here is the withdrawal fee schedule for 2025:
Commitment deadline – March 9: 25% of program fee
March 10 – April 6: 50% of program fee
April 7 – May 4: 75% of program fee
After May 5: total program fee
In situations of medical emergency, illness, or injury, students may request to waive the deposit and program fee. Students seeking a waiver should contact the Global Education Office, who will route students to the appropriate contact in the College of Arts and Science Dean’s Office.
After the start of the course, students who withdraw are subject to Undergraduate Student Withdrawal Schedules. Tuition will be adjusted based on the prorated calendar, but program fees will not adjust. Any adjustments to the program fee must be requested and approved by the College of Arts and Science Dean’s Office. Students should contact the Global Education Office, who will route students to the appropriate contact in the College of Arts and Science Dean’s Office.
Course Standards
The same academic and disciplinary standards, policies, and procedures for the academic year apply to Maymester abroad courses, including providing a syllabus to all students, grading and reporting grades, and distributing course evaluations.
After the start of a course, if a student departs from travel, the instructor may offer the student alternative remote assignments and assessments at their discretion. Remote assignments and assessments are not guaranteed. If a student departs from travel before the Maymester course withdrawal deadline, and the instructor does not offer remote assignments or assessments, the student will be withdrawn based on the date of departure. If a student departs from travel after the Maymester course withdrawal deadline, and there is no option for remote assignments and assessments, the student will be assigned the grade earned for completed coursework.