Course Student Minimums

All expenses of the FHL summer program — from faculty & TA salaries, benefits, and housing to UW program administration fees, TA tuition, and vessel use — are paid from course student tuition (partly defrayed for many students by scholarships from donor funds). A course must enroll enough students to pay for expenses; if it does not, we have no choice but to cancel it. The student numbers below are the minimum required for a course to break even with and without the cost of a TA.

Based on the number of confirmed students on MARCH 15th, decisions are made on whether a course will be held and whether it receives a TA.

< 13 Confirmed Students Course will be canceled
13-17 Confirmed Students Course is held, no TA
18 or more Confirmed Students Course is held with TA

For Summer A 2027 courses, an earlier date has been set for the number of applicants: on FEBRUARY 1st, Summer A classes with fewer than 14 viable applicants will be cancelled.

Faculty FTE

Following UW College of the Environment policy, faculty FTE is based on number of course credits, number of instructors sharing the course, and appointment duration. A typical 9-credit FHL summer course has two faculty instructors, each receiving 0.9 FTE (1.8 FTE total for the course) for 1.5 months. For a course with more than two instructors, the total FTE will be divided among them, e.g., 0.6 FTE for each of three instructors.

Visiting Faculty Compensation: Monthly Rates at 1.0 FTE

ACTUAL PAY WILL DEPEND ON APPOINTMENT FTE (typically 0.9 each for two instructors)

PhD MS
# Yrs Post-Degree Experience1
0-3 $ 6,500 $ 6,000
4-7 $ 7,000 $ 6,500
8-11 $ 8,000 $ 7,000
12-15 $ 9,000 $ 8,000
16-20 $ 10,000 $ 9,000
21+ $11,000 $ 9,000

Faculty Housing

FHL housing is covered for faculty who do not have a home on island2; if more than two faculty for a course require housing, they must share units or pay for additional ones beyond two.

Important Dates for 2027

Faculty are not expected to be at FHL for the duration of their appointment, but are expected to be on campus from the first through last days of class. Per US and UW visa regulations, international instructors are required to be in the US for the duration of their appointment; please plan accordingly.

  Sum A 2027 Sum B 2027
Faculty Appointment Dates June 1 – July 15 July 16 – Aug 31
Students Arrive June 13 July 18
First Day of Class June 14 July 19
Students Depart (no class) July 16 Aug 20
  1. Years from Jan. 1 of degree year to appt start date; “4-7” = from 4 yrs through 7.99 yrs, etc.
  2. Housing provided only for primary instructors, not for visiting speakers.

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