Registration for summer courses at Butler University starts today, and officials say that the experience could help students catch up, boost their résumés or travel.

For students who don’t want to spend their vacation lounging on the pool deck, a Butler summer session may be an option. Whether enrolling in classes, starting an internship, participating in the Indiana Brain Gain or studying abroad, Butler students have a variety of options to keep busy this summer.

If students decide to stay and study at Butler, classes are offered in the mornings or afternoons, which leaves time for an internship.

Classes are broken into two sessions, beginning May 15 and June 25. Because the same amount of contact time is required for the six-week courses and semester-long courses, summer classes usually last three to four hours and meet four to five times a week.

Registrar Sondrea Ozolins said class schedules are designed to put students in “the best learning situation.”

A typical day for a summer study student consists of one to two classes a day on top of an internship or summer job, she said.

To sophomore Freedy Rastede, an electrical engineering and physics major who has taken summer classes at Butler, the long classes weren’t a problem.

“Class was taught at a faster pace,” he said. “But I was still able to keep up and get a lot done.”

Junior chemistry major Dylan Harmison said he also liked the class structure.

“Honestly, I almost preferred it to the long, drawn-out learning of classes during the school year,” he said.

The Butler summer session also offers internship assistance to students over their break. Students interested in gaining career experience in their respective fields can make an appointment with Internship and Career Services.

“We can’t guarantee you an internship,” Jeremy Walthall, office coordinator of ICS, said. “But we are definitely a tool that should be utilized by students.”

All internship openings are posted on the ICS website using B.L.U.E., a program that lists internship positions across the country.  The ICS office holds normal hours during the summer, and is open from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Students who choose to stay on campus during their vacation can also participate in the Indiana Brain Gain, a program that is “designed to help students connect with the Indianapolis culture and community during the summer,” according to the ICS website.

Each Wednesday, Brain Gain participants attend a cultural event, ranging from cooking classes to company tours.  In order to participate in the Brain Gain, students must live in the University Terrace or Apartment Village.

All Brain Gain applications are due by 5 p.m. on March 30.

If students need a break from Butler during their vacation but still want to get credit, study abroad programs are also available through the Center for Global Education.

To sophomore Kyle Graden, an international business and Spanish major, choosing to study abroad during the summer was a
no-brainer.

“In order to do all my credits, I had to do summer school,” he said. “I figured what better way than a trip to Mexico?”