Vanderbilt University will continue to offer in-person, on-campus classes—governed by current safety protocols—during the 2021 spring semester. Remote study through virtual/alternative platforms also will continue to be offered for those students who have personal circumstances that necessitate remote study this spring.
“Whether you have learned or engaged on campus or remotely, your efforts have been instrumental to our promising start to the fall semester,” wrote Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente in a message to the community. “Together, we can keep this progress going and further establish Vanderbilt as a place in which we can all take pride for many years to come.”
The academic calendar for the spring semester was designed to sustain the momentum the Vanderbilt community has established throughout the first six weeks of the fall semester. It also takes into consideration the most recent data and guidance from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the School of Nursing, as well as that of public health officials.
- The first day of classes will be Monday, Jan. 25. Instruction will conclude on Friday, April 30.
- On-campus housing will reopen on Friday, Jan. 22, for all students with on-campus housing assignments. Vanderbilt’s Office of Housing and Residential Experience (OHARE) will manage the move-in schedule.
- There will be no spring break this year, in a continued effort to limit travel-associated disease transmission. In addition, students will be asked to stay in the Nashville area and not travel away from campus for weekend trips through the end of in-person classes and finals.
- Four reading days and six exam days will follow the last day of classes on April 30. Exams will conclude May 10.
- Commencement for the Class of 2021 is planned for Friday, May 14.
- Graduate and professional school/college calendars for the spring also will be released this week. Some may differ from the general university academic calendar.
“We have been incredibly heartened by and proud of how you have come together for one another and in support of our academic mission—a mission of education and discovery that is more important than ever to our world,” Diermeier and Wente wrote. “Together, we can keep this progress going and further establish Vanderbilt as a place in which we can all take pride for many years to come.”
More information, including responses to frequently asked questions, can be found on Vanderbilt’s Return to Campus website. Additional details also will be added there as they are finalized.