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Winter Session FAQ

General Information

Research experiences that require student housing may begin no earlier than Saturday, November 21, 2020, and must be completed by Saturday, January 30, 2021. There are minimal local apartment options available during the winter session (students cannot remain in the Residence Halls). A separate housing application will be made available to students engaged in research who require winter break apartment arrangements. Applications will be accepted for stays 11/21-12/30 ($1170), 1/1-1/30 ($870), or the entire break 11/21-1/30 ($2100). The ability to accommodate short-term stays on a case-by-case basis for department-sponsored programs is not guaranteed and will be determined at a later date. Financial Aid is not available to pay for these housing charges. Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement also has resources and funding grants for eligible students. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

If a student has a pre-existing research relationship with an advisor on campus, will they be allowed to do research on campus over the winter session, assuming their advisor agrees? 

  • Yes. 

Do students have to be signed up for research credits to do research over the winter session? 

  • Students may receive payment or academic credit but not both.

Under what conditions would students be eligible for ND-provided housing, if any? 

  • If they are engaged in faculty-sponsored research, low socioeconomic, international, or student-athlete. Once you identify the student(s), please send us their name(s), NDID, and name of the program sponsoring the research, and we'll ensure they receive an application for Winter Session housing. If you plan to use Department funds, we can bill the room expenses to a FOAPAL. 

Is research enough, or research for credit, or must they be taking a "class"?

  • Faculty sponsored research meets the standard for a student's eligibility for housing. 

If the student wants to do research for credit, what does the advisor need to do to allow that? To whom should the advisor talk to get a winter session research course set up? What is the deadline for doing so?

  • Colleges/Schools/Departments/Center/Institute/Programs and faculty should follow existing procedures for for-credit special topics courses during the winter session.
  • Colleges/Schools/Departments/Center/Institute/Programs may work with Associate Registrar Rochelle Jones (RochelleJones@nd.edu) to create courses that run in January for the winter session.  No classes will be slated for December 2020. However, students may participate in research experiences in December, with the class section occurring during the winter session in January.   

Are students allowed to be on campus doing research during the period between Christmas and New Year’s, assuming their advisor agrees to them doing so? Or put another way, are there any dates over which students cannot be present on campus to do research?

  • The Extended University Holiday break will include University holidays from November 25 - 27, 2020 and December 21, 2020 through January 5, 2021. Please note that designated University holidays are for postdocs and students as well as other University personnel classifications. Students may remain and have access to their Winter Session housing during this period, but here are additional details regarding campus operations for buildings and food services: 
  1. From November 21- December 23, 2020 and from January 4 - February 2, 2021 the campus will be treated as "open." Building access and HVAC operations will operate in an "in-semester" mode.  
  2. There may be a few exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis (e.g. the Hesburgh Library will only open via card access to the campus community in order to limit off-campus public access).
  3. During the period of December 24, 2020 - January 3, 2021 buildings will be set into typical Christmas Break mode for both access and HVAC systems operations.
  4. Residence Hall access to students will be disabled once they have relocated to their alternative winter break housing accommodations.
  5. Snow removal operations will not be reduced.
  6. RecSports facilities will be open from November 21 - December 23, 2020 and January 4 - February 2, 2021. The hours of operation will be posted at https://recsports.nd.edu/reopening/.
  7. The dining halls and tents will close at noon on Saturday, November 21, 2020. 
  8. Some retail outlets in LaFortune and Duncan Student Center, specifically Starbucks, Subway, the Huddle C Store, and Hagerty Family Cafe, will remain open. These outlets will close December 24, 2020 - January 3, 2021. We will monitor needs and work with the Office of the Executive Vice President to adapt to food service needs as they develop.
  9. The Morris Inn and Rohr’s will remain open every day during this break, including December 24, 2020 - January 3, 2021. Rohr’s will provide expanded grab ‘n’ go fresh market items in the Morris Inn lobby for breakfast and lunch. 
  10. Other services such as Buildings Services (janitorial and cleaning), Central Receiving, Procurement, Risk Management and Safety, Notre Dame Police and Fire, and Building Services will be operational. Some that normally serve the undergraduate student population may be scaled back, but those that serve the research programs are expected to be staffed to fully support research operations.
  11. Over the Winter Session, parking is allowed in any parking lot where the gates have been lifted.
  12. The Campus Card office will remain open, with the exception of December 21, 2020 - January 5, 2021.