Skip to main content
Graduate Education and Life

Summer Enrollment

If you plan to enroll in summer graduate courses, we’ve got you covered. Learn about summer term credit hours, financial assistance, graduate assistantships or fellowships in the summer, tuition waivers, health insurance, and policies for international students.

GENERAL SUMMER ENROLLMENT GUIDELINES

  • Full-time enrollment in the summer term for graduate students is 6 credits. However, tuition is charged for each credit hour up to and including 9 credits. Although students may enroll for up to 17 hours in the summer term, they are strongly discouraged from enrolling in more than 12 hours.
  • Students must be enrolled at least half-time (3 credits) to be eligible for Federal loans in the summer. See Summer Financial Aid for information. Students who will enroll in the fall do not need to enroll in the summer to avoid loan repayment.
  • All graduate students who participate in any course work or individually supervised academic work during the summer are expected to concurrently enroll in appropriate courses and credits to document their own and their instructors’ effort.
  • Doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy do not need to enroll in the summer to maintain continuous enrollment unless required by their program.
  • Some graduate programs may require summer enrollment.

Summer perks, whether you’re enrolled in summer courses or not.

  • Students must be enrolled for at least 1 credit to receive many University services during the summer. But some services remain available to non-enrolled students during the summer.
    • Join the Rec. Students not enrolled in the summer but who were enrolled in the spring term and have pre-registered for the fall term can purchase a Student Recreation Center pass for $110. This pass is also available to incoming graduate students who can provide documentation of fall admission or enrollment.
    • Use the library. The WVU Libraries offer summer library privileges at no charge to WVU students who were enrolled in the prior spring term or have pre-registered for the upcoming fall term.
    • Continue your wellness services. Students who have an established relationship with the WELLWVU Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services may be allowed to continue those services during the summer even if they are not enrolled.
    • Get around town on the Mountain Bus. Students do not need to be enrolled in the summer to use their Mountaineer Card for free Mountain Line bus service.

University tuition waivers

A student who receives a full-time waiver of University tuition during the summer term (6 credits) may register for more than 6 credits without additional University tuition charges.

Student health insurance

Student health insurance (whether paid by the student or provided as part of a graduate assistantship or fellowship) is not impacted by enrollment in the summer. Students enrolled in the student health insurance plan in the spring will continue coverage through the end of the plan year in August.

GRADUATE ASSISTANTS AND FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

To hold a graduate assistantship or fellowship during the summer, a graduate student must enroll in a minimum of 1 credit during the summer term. But keep in mind that some graduate assistants’ programs or supervisors may require enrollment in specific courses or for more than 1 credit.

  • Graduate assistants who are funded by research grants may be required to enroll in more than 1 credit because their tuition waiver from the University is part of the cost share for the grant. Students should check with their supervisors to ensure that they enroll for the required number of credits.
  • Even though graduate assistants and 12-month fellowship recipients are allowed to register for fewer than full-time credits during the summer term, they are expected to devote their time to their academic pursuits as if they were a full-time student during the time they receive a stipend.
    • NOTE: Academic pursuits may include work required for an assistantship, research, writing, coursework, program requirements, activities that contribute to development of the student’s intellectual and professional skills, and activities that facilitate the student’s progress toward degree completion.

  • Summer Enrollment Guidelines
    • Given the highly flexible and variety of academic activities during the summer term, we GA assignments can have greater flexibility in the summer compared to the fall and spring terms.

  • Work Hours
    • In general, GAs should be expected to work an average of 20 hours per week. However, some assistantships in the summer term may require longer work hours during short time periods or shorter work hours during long time periods.
    • Summer GAs may hold any combination of assistantships and hourly worker positions on campus during the summer term if their total work hours do not exceed 240 hours. Rules for additional employment do not apply in the summer term.

  • Stipends
    • Stipends in the summer must meet or exceed the WVU minimum stipend in effect for 9-month assistantships, prorated appropriately. The WVU minimum stipend is $15,000 for 9 months, which equals a stipend of 5,000 for the full 12 week period for 20 hours per week. Summer stipends should not greatly differ from the stipend rate provided during the regular academic year for similar work.
    • A graduate assistantship must pay at least the equivalent of one month of the WVU minimum 9-month stipend (currently $1,667) to qualify a student for a University tuition waiver during the summer.
    • The workload and assignments should be similar to assistantships during the fall and spring terms and follow the same Graduate Assistantship Policies. Graduate students hired primarily for clerical, manual or similar work that does not contribute to their professional skills and knowledge should be hired as hourly workers.

  • Summer Special Assistantship Waiver
    • Students who serve as regular (not partial) graduate assistants in both fall and spring are eligible to receive a tuition waiver in the following summer even if they are not a graduate assistant in the summer, with the approval of their school or college. Some schools, colleges, or programs that accept waivers during the fall and spring may not do so in the summer, so students interested in summer waivers must check to determine if they can receive them.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students have different requirements for summer enrollment that take precedence over general WVU policies. Some basic guidelines are provided here, but international students who are unclear about their need to enroll during the summer should contact International Students and Scholars Services (304-293-3519, isss-students@mail.wvu.edu).

International students who do not hold a graduate assistantship for the summer, and whose program does not require summer enrollment, do not need to be registered in the summer. However, there are some specific circumstances that would require the student to register for summer credit hours:

  • International students must enroll for at least 9 hours in the summer if the summer term will be the first term of enrollment at WVU.
  • If summer is the last term for the student, they must enroll in 9 hours unless they have a reduced course load approved by International Students and Scholars Services. Please note, students should not register for less than 9 credit hours prior to receiving approval to do so.