Prospective students should understand that this is an intensive language program, covering an academic year’s worth of course material in 8 weeks. Much of your “free time” will be spent studying.
If you have questions about any aspects of the program, please check out our FAQ or contact the MEDLI Coordinator.
In addition, check out the WISLI website for more information regarding general overviews of the Summer Language Institutes.
Important Logistical Information
Class will begin on Monday, June 16th, 2025. The last day of class will be Friday, August 8, 2025.
These intensive programs will require students to be engaged in classes Monday through Friday 8:30am – 1:00pm (Central), with extra time dedicated for homework assignments. Please review our Absence Policy.
The following materials will be helpful to students learning on-campus. Please see the Campus and Visitor Relations site for different ways to reach Madison and campus. Note that it may be cheaper to fly to Milwaukee (MKE) or Chicago (ORD), and then take the Badger Bus (Milwaukee) or Van Galder bus (Chicago) to campus.
For students flying directly to Madison, taxis are available at the north end of the terminal (Door #7) to take you from the airport to campus, which is approximately a 20-minute ride.
Flying to Madison: If you are coming from far away, you can choose to fly into one of three nearby airports. Madison’s airport (MSN) is located ~20 minute drive away from campus. Once you arrive at the airport, we would suggest hiring a taxi to your place of residence.
Flying into Chicago: You may choose to fly into Chicago (ORD) to save cost on flights. There are Coach USA buses that run every 60-90 minutes from their Bus/Shuttle Center. Tickets can be purchased online in advance, or on the bus once you have arrived. Buses will finish their route at Madison’s Langdon Street stop. Once there, you can choose to take a taxi to your place of residence.
Flying into Milwaukee: You may also choose to fly into Milwaukee (MKE) and can take a bus from Mitchell Airport to Madison’s Langdon Street stop. Tickets can be purchased in advance online. Once there, you can take a taxi to your place of residence.
Housing Options in Madison
There are number of housing options available to MEDLI students, including on-campus dormitory dorms, privately owned dormitory rooms and privately owned apartment rentals. Each offers a different mix of convenience, affordability, and flexibility. There are only a limited number of on-campus dorm rooms, but there are usually plenty of off-campus apartment rooms for sublease.
On campus housing
In Summer 2025 on-campus housing will primarily be in Smith Hall, with mostly triple rooms available and a very small number of single and double rooms.
Barnard Hall will be available to WISLI students (of which MEDLI is a part) on a first-come, first-served basis and extremely limited. Only single rooms are available in Barnard Hall.
Applications for on-campus housing are anticipated to open in late March/early April. Individuals may apply once they are admitted to the University and need to be enrolled in a summer course by the move in date. After submitting an application, official contracts will be sent by the Housing team indicating the room type available to you. Students may then choose whether or not they wish to move forward with the contracting process. Once the contract is signed and advance payment is made, it becomes a legally binding contract as long as the student is enrolled for summer. Housing does not allow students to cancel a signed contract in order to live off campus if enrolled for summer. On-campus housing applicants should be certain of their decision to live on campus before signing the contract.
Rate details for Smith and Barnard Hall for the Summer 2025 session are still pending.
Dining plans will be available for Summer 2025 in the form of a summer block meal plan. Those with an on-campus housing contract for the summer will have the option to select a block of meals that would be available for use in Gordon or Four Lakes dining markets. Rheta’s Market (located directly next to Barnard) will have very limited hours and may only be open during certain parts of the summer. Information about the different dining markets and locations can be found here.
For questions regarding on-campus housing for Summer 2025, please contact info@housing.wisc.edu.
Privately Owned Dormitory Rooms
Private residence halls are residence hall (dormitory) living arrangements that are owned and operated by the private sector. Application procedures and lease agreements are solely the responsibility of the student renter, not the University. Many include a meal plan. For information on Private Residence Halls in Madison, write or call the halls directly. Applications are not available through the mail from the MEDLI Office or the UW-Madison Campus and Visitor Relations office. Below is a list of some of the most popular private dorms in Madison as well as a link to a map showing you their locations. Click on the name of the dorms you may be interested in to find out more information.
Highlander House
Dorm@Lucky
Dorm@Regent
The Statesider
The Towers on State
Privately Owned Apartment Rentals
The UW-Madison Campus Area Housing page has a convenient search engine where you can search for off-campus rental housing (sublets). The website has online listings of privately owned apartments, houses and rooms for sub-lease, as well as consumer rental information. For further information, call UW-Madison Campus and Visitor Relations at (608) 263-2400. Please be aware that most off-campus students either walk, bike, or bus to campus.
Other Avenues
Students who have been admitted to MEDLI will be provided information regarding a closed Facebook group created for their cohort, and may request to be added to the group. This group is intended to facilitate MEDLI community building, roommate and housing arrangements, and planning of social activities outside of class.
Finally, if you check out Madison Craigslist and Facebook, there are many postings for available summer sublets as well.
Please be aware that MEDLI cannot be held responsible for any sublet or rental agreements made through any aforementioned resource. However, we are happy to help when we can.
Bus
City bus passes are included in MEDLI tuition and make Madison very navigable. For more information please visit the WISLI Transportation Page.
Hourly parking on campus is very limited and very expensive! If you know you will be bringing a vehicle to campus for the summer, you must purchase a parking permit in advance. We will update you with more information as we coordinate with UW Transport Services regarding the purchase of parking permits.