Student FAQs

SSP courses are designed to help UMD students enhance their skills and succeed at the university. These courses are not affiliated with any specific department or major. Instead, they have been created specifically to meet the needs of all UMD undergraduate students.

SSP courses function just like any other course at UMD. The credits you earn for SSP courses count as electives and can be used to help you complete the 120 credits necessary to graduate.

Undergraduate UMD students from any discipline or major are allowed to enroll in SSP courses. Our 1000-level courses are designed and open for all undergraduate students regardless of academic standing. Our 2000-level courses are designed with second-year students in mind but are open to other students who are looking for guidance with their academic career. Most of the 3000-level courses are by invitation only—see our Course Offerings page for more information.

SSP courses follow the same tuition policies as other UMD courses. This means that UMD students enrolled in 13-20 credits will pay no additional tuition for SSP courses. See the university’s policies on full-time credits for more information.

The courses have mandatory class attendance (12.5 hours of total class time per credit hour). The amount of coursework assigned differs for each course, but all of the coursework is designed to support students in their personal and academic lives. Many of the assignments involve applying course topics to their other classes and personal pursuits or reflecting on the course content and the students' lived experiences. Therefore, although students will be expected to dedicate time and energy to SSP classes, many students find that this work helps alleviate, rather than adds to, their overall workload.

Offering both 5- and 7-week courses makes registration available throughout the semester. The 5-week courses start at three different times throughout the semester (Week 1, Week 6, and and Week 11), and 7-week courses start at two different times throughout the semester (Week 1 and Week 8). This means that if it does not work for you to take the course at the beginning of the semester or you drop a class and need to take additional credits to replace it, you still have the opportunity to register for the course.

You can enroll in SSP courses during your registration time for the upcoming semester, but you can also register for the 5- and 7-week courses any time during the semester before the particular course you want to take begins. For example, if you want to take a course that is offered during the last 5 weeks of the fall semester, you can enroll in it up until the time it begins, usually early in November. View the current UMD academic calendar for the specific dates of each session.

You can register for these courses the same way you register for other courses at UMD (through the MyU portal).

These courses are intended for tutors working in the Tutoring Center. For information on how to become a tutor, see the Prospective Tutors page.

These courses are designed to create a collegial environment among the students and provide more individualized attention from the instructor. Based on our experience, we have found that anything beyond 15 students detracts from this experience. We feel that this is an essential component of what makes these classes so beneficial for students.