Winter Session is open only to current Brown University undergraduates. Students must be enrolled at Brown in the preceding Fall term to be eligible to enroll in Winter Session courses. 

For Brown RISD dual degree program student, please contact your academic advisor to confirm eligibility.

Information will be available in CAB. PINs are not necessary for registration.

Why Take a Winter Session Course?

• Learn in a highly focused environment that allows for immersion in a specific topic
• Take an innovative course not available during the academic year
• Spread out coursework throughout the year or earn the additional credit

​Enrollment and Credit

Winter Session courses may count towards a concentration or elective. Students will earn one unit of credit, equivalent to four semester hours.

Brown undergraduates can earn a maximum of four summer or winter credits at Brown (no more than 2 summer in any given session). Effective 2025, Brown summer and winter courses DO earn Enrollment Units and can be used to satisfy the minimum 32 enrollment unit requirement. They do not, however, advance a student’s semester standing which is used for course registration timing/restrictions, housing, etc.

Academic Advising

If you have academic advising questions, please contact college@brown.edu, or reach out to your academic advising dean. More information related to specific academic advising deans. Curricular Resource Center hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting January 6, 2026.

Registration

Registration for Winter Session 2027 will take place November 18 to December 16, 2025. Students may view and register for courses using the Courses@Brown site. 

No PIN necessary to register for Winter Session courses. 

Note: Courses may be canceled if they do not meet the minimum number of students required. Active courses will be confirmed in early December after the initial registration period.

Grading

Unless otherwise indicated in the course description, Winter Session courses default to the ABC/NC grading scale. Students may change their grade option before January 5, 2027. Grade options cannot be changed after this date.

Winter Session Fees and Refunds

Please visit the Student Financial Services website for Winter Session fees and refund policies.

Dropping a Winter Session Course

Enrolled  students who would like to drop a course during the University break (December 22, 2026 - January 5, 2027) should be familiar with  the refund schedule. Students who wish to withdraw from a Winter Session course should complete this form. If a student submits the request while the University is closed (Tuesday, December 22, 2026, after the close of business, through Monday, January 4, 2027) the date and time of your submission will be recorded using the timestamp associated with your request. Your request will be reviewed when the University reopens on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. If you have any questions, email wintersession@brown.edu.

Housing and Dining

Any questions related to Dining and Housing should be directed to those offices accordingly.

Questions

If you have any questions, please email wintersession@brown.edu.

Winter Session Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is eligible to enroll in a Winter Session course?

A: At this time, Winter Session is only open to enrolled undergraduate Brown students. Brown-RISD Dual Degree students should contact their academic advisor to confirm eligibility. Students must have been enrolled at Brown for the fall semester (on campus or on an approved study abroad program) in order to register for and attend Winter Session. December completers (0.5-ers) may be eligible with approval from the DOC Office. 

Note: Upon request, doctoral students may be eligible to enroll in Winter Session courses, pending instructor permission and Graduate School approval. Doctoral students who are approved to enroll in a Winter Session course will be responsible for paying tuition independently for that course. Master's students are not eligible to enroll in Winter Session courses. Please direct questions to Vanessa Ryan, Associate Dean of the Graduate School.

Q: Can I enroll in a Brown Winter Session course if I have already taken four Brown summer courses?

A: Effective 2025, Brown summer and winter courses DO earn enrollment units and can be used to satisfy the minimum 32 enrollment unit requirement. Students can earn a maximum of FOUR  credits from Summer/Winter Session to count toward the enrollment unit requirement. These credits do not, however, advance a students semester standing which is used for course registration timing/restrictions, housing, etc.

Q: How many courses may I take?

A: Due to the intensive nature of these courses, students may only enroll in one course per Winter Session.

Q: Will any academic support services be available during the Winter Session?

A: Academic coaching may be offered, pending individual availability. For more information, please visit the Academic Support Services website (https://www.brown.edu/academics/college/support/academic/).

Q: Is it possible to study off-campus during the Winter Session and transfer the credits?

A: No. Brown will only accept credits earned during the winter break if the course is taught as part of the Brown Winter Session or the RISD Wintersession.

Q: Why does Brown charge tuition for the Winter Session? Couldn’t I take a course at RISD for no added tuition cost?

A: Brown charges tuition for Winter Session courses for four important reasons that differentiate it from the RISD Wintersession.

1. Brown students do not have priority for RISD courses, but they do enjoy priority for Brown Winter Session courses. Brown’s Winter Session is only open to Brown students, so course registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no waiting period for enrollment, as no students get preference over others. Contrary to Brown’s Winter Session, RISD's January term is only available to Brown students on a space-available basis, which often means that students cannot enroll in a RISD course.
2. Unlike RISD’s wintersession, Brown Winter Session courses count as a separate term for enrollment purposes. This means that students who take a Brown Winter Session course can choose to take five spring courses. Brown students who enroll in a RISD winter course use one of their five spring course slots to do so.
3. Brown’s Winter Session course offerings are unique educational opportunities for intensive engagement. Rather than merely condensing semester-length courses into a shorter time period, courses taught during the Brown Winter Session have been developed with pedagogical innovation in mind.
4. The Brown Winter Session calendar does not overlap with the start of the spring semester, so students do not need to juggle multiple schedules at once.

• Academic Calendar
• Student Financial Information
• Financial Aid Information
• Winter Recess Housing Information
• Office of Information Technology

Brown's Winter Session, a four- week session, offered to Brown undergraduates both in person and online courses, is an exciting opportunity for instructors who are looking to work with talented students and experiment with new material and pedagogies.

Winter Session extends the undergraduate curriculum into December and January, offering a range of courses from across the disciplines. All courses offered must be currently approved courses or be submitted via the course proposal portal and approved by the offering academic department and the College Curriculum Council (CCC).

The four-week session provides students an intensive learning experience, enabling them to achieve a degree of focus that is a challenge for many during the fall and spring semesters.  Since students chose their classes freely and take only one course, they have time to focus on a limited set of objectives. Indeed, students regularly report that the compressed session, the availability of the instructors and the absence of distraction during the Winter Session significantly facilitates their learning.  The engagement of students, the compressed session, and the (relative) freedom from distraction also provides faculty an opportunity to experiment with new course content and pedagogies.

The instructional staff of Winter Session consists primarily of Brown faculty, supplemented by visiting faculty and advanced graduate students.

Fully Online courses must meet the following criteria from Brown’s College Curriculum Council approved course proposal guidelines. 

1. The syllabus should identify regular opportunities during the term for students to engage in two or more substantive interaction activities, initiated by instructors, drawn from this list:

• Direct instruction (e.g., synchronous Zoom lectures or discussions)
• Assessment with feedback that is provided by the course instructional team (e.g., papers, projects, tests, quizzes or homework)
• Opportunities for students to ask questions (e.g., regularly scheduled office hours, invitation in a syllabus to email questions with noted response time)
• Group discussions (e.g., Canvas, synchronous)

2. The syllabus should identify at least one way that instructors are attuned to student participation and performance, and support is offered when needed. Although possible demonstrations could go beyond this list, common examples include:

• Participation in synchronous class sessions is detailed, including how a student might get midway feedback about their performance
• Student activity on course websites or materials is noted (e.g., weekly discussion posts), including how a student might get periodic feedback about their performance
• Instructors evaluate and give feedback on assignments and assessments
• For fully asynchronous courses, the syllabus would note a schedule where an instructor would check in with a student to discuss progress in the course

For more information and resources, please visit Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning.

Course development funds can be requested the first time a course is taught or when there are significant revisions to a course that was previously taught. These funds can help to support instructional needs of the course, for example, books, specialized software or translation of course specific materials. These funds do not support the compensation for TAs, as that is covered elsewhere. Request course development funds using this budget form.

The budget will be reviewed and approved by the Division of Pre-College and Undergraduate Programs (PCUG) after a course is approved by the College Curriculum Council (CCC). It may be the case that some requested budget items are approved and others are not. Additional information may also be requested. Funds may not be distributed until the course is approved by CCC. Questions about course development funds can be directed to pcugcourses@brown.edu.

Winter Session 2027 Course Proposal Form is open from February 6 to March 13, 2026

Propose an Online or On-Campus Course

Propose an off-campus course with Global Experiential Learning and Teaching (GELT)

Information about instructor compensation for Winter Session 2027 can be found at this link.