Typical college semesters last a total of 15 or 16 weeks, though there are a variety of accelerated courses and semesters that are faster. Each class that you take is measured in terms of “credit hours”, which approximately translate to the amount of time you spend in that class each week. In a typically scheduled course,
you will meet for one hour a week per credit hour. In an accelerated program that takes eight weeks to complete, you will meet for approximately two hours a week. The majority of typically scheduled undergraduate classes total three credit hours. These meet for three hours a week and earning a passing grade award you three credits towards the completion of your degree. Featured ProgramsFor undergraduate students, bachelor degrees usually require the completion of 120 credits, and associate degrees usually require the completion of 60 credits. For graduate students, master degrees usually require the completion of 36 to 54 credits, while doctoral degrees usually require the completion of 90 to 120 credits and a dissertation. Students are usually required to take a minimum of 12 credits to be classified as a full-time student, and a maximum of 18-credits. Students are usually expected to take an average of 15 credit hours per semester, which meet for 16 weeks, which comes out to 240 hours spent in the classroom in an average semester. There are a variety of accelerated degree programs that let students take a double course load, which allows them to graduate in half of the usual time frame.  If you are worried about the time commitment that a college degree requires, you might consider earning an online degree, which gives students a large amount of schedule flexibility. Some aspects of a physical classroom experience cannot be replicated digitally, depending on the academic subject. For example, science majors studying online will not be able to do the same kind of lab work as students at a brick and mortar school. If you are unsure about whether or not an online program is right for you, be sure to check out our article that discusses the Pros and Cons of Online College and University Programs. The schedule flexibility of an online course requires students to be self-motivated as they will complete classwork on their own time. Accelerated degree programs require students to have great time management skills, as the condensed credit schedule will be extra demanding during the semester. If you are worried about translating your time management skills into the format of an online college format, be sure to check our guide of the 15 Top Tips To Make A Personal Schedule for Online College. Most university degrees last 3-4 years, but does that mean you’re in university consistently during this period? Of course not! University would be even more intense than it already is. Although, it has been said that the majority of children, up until they are the school leaving age of 16, would have spent most of their life in school. In the same vein, if you remain in full-time education after 16 and then go on to university, you would have spent a large proportion of your life, as well as your time and energy in education. This isn’t something to be scared of as university prepares you for the working world, and in particular helps in the development of personal time management. Even though you are given a set timetable at university, the organisation of university semesters provides a lot of freedom in how you delegate your time. But how long are university semesters? On average there are 3 semesters in a university year, each semester usually lasting 12 weeks. Below are the most common semester dates:
These dates can vary depending on the university that you go to, but these are the averages for university semesters. For more information on what a university semester is and what it entails, please continue reading this article.
What is a university semester and how long are they in the UK?A university semester, also called a ‘term’ in some universities, is used to split the academic year to separate different blocks of teaching and assessments. On average each semester lasts 12 weeks and consists of a mixture of lectures, tutorials, assessments and holidays. The semesters will remain the same throughout your university degree and may differ slightly with different degrees. The semester dates may also differ if you’re doing a postgraduate degree, in comparison to an undergraduate degree, whereby their semesters tend to be longer and they don’t have as many holidays. Historically a semester is from the Latin word “semestris” which means 6 monthly. However, these days the word is used synonymously with the word “term” when talking about universities. How many university semesters are there in an academic year?On average 3 semesters correlate with the seasons: autumn, winter and spring/summer. Autumn and spring usually consist of periods of teaching whereas winter and summer are when you will have exams. There tend to be two separate blocks of teaching which results in having two separate timetables over the course of the academic year that will spread over the 3 semesters. For example, if you’re an undergraduate studying Biomedical Science you would be given a timetable at the start of semester 1 and another timetable at the start of semester 2, you could have the following modules: Semester 1: Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Human Microbial Diseases Semester 2: Genetics, Physiology, Immunology and Epidemiology At the end of semester 1 there is usually an exam period whereby you will be tested on everything taught in semester 1. After these exams you will be given a much–needed break to relax and wind down before the start of the next semester. Throughout semester 1 you may also have other assessments to complete including pieces of coursework or essays to write. This is why it’s so important to keep up to date with your lecture notes from the very beginning of the semester so that when it comes to exam season you would already be well prepared. In semester 2 there is the introduction of new modules that spread over both semesters 2 and 3 as semester 3 is generally considered exam season and tends to be the shortest semester with the least amount of lectures. The end of semester 3 is when you will be tested once again but on everything from semester 2 and 3. The end of semester 3 is when the summer holidays begin! Are university semester dates different depending on which university you go to?Most universities generally start around the same time, in a period between late September and early October and typically ends in June. You may want to read When Do Universities Start? for some more information on start dates for University. However, the way the semester is divided in the academic year differs between universities with some only having two semesters and classify semester 3 as the summer holiday instead of it being classified as the exam season. Below is a table of the semester dates of 5 universities for the academic year 2020/21 with the average semester length for each university and an average length of each semester for the 5 different universities:
From the table you can see that the average semester length varies significantly between universities and the total average semester length of all 5 universities is 12 weeks with semester 3 being the shortest semester (this calculation would differ depending on the universities used and the sample size of the universities chosen). What happens in between semesters?Most universities have a period of 3-4 weeks in between each semester (the semesters are not consecutive) which correlate to the formal holiday’s Christmas, Easter and the summer holiday, respectively. During this period, most students return to their home address to spend time with family and friends, as well as continue their revision for any upcoming exams. Most (if not all) universities have ‘reading week’ which is typically towards the end of semester 1 and 2 or in the middle of the semester depending on the university you go to. Reading week may be seen as a holiday to some as there are usually no lectures, however, the point of this week is to provide a ‘breather’ within the university timetable to allow time to catch up with any work, chase up a lecturer if you need help, read ahead for the upcoming semester or just rest. Do Russell Group universities have longer or shorter semesters?Russell Group universities tend to have shorter semesters of 9 weeks compared to the average semester length of 12 weeks but that doesn’t mean you will spend less time in university and you will have less work to do! All universities ensure the workload given is fair and evenly distributed regardless of your degree and the university you choose to go to, although Russell Group Universities do carry a level of prestige and expect work to be to a high standard. Remember, as with other universities, these vary based on where you are studying. Do Oxbridge universities have longer or shorter semesters?The University of Oxford refers to their semesters as ‘terms’ which are split into 3: Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity, which correlate with semesters 1, 2 and 3, respectively. In comparison, the University of Cambridge refers to the semesters as the full Michaelmas term, full lent term and full Easter term. Oxbridge universities may name their semesters differently and have shorter semesters of 8 weeks exactly but their semester dates still reflect those of most other universities. How many months make a semester?How Long Is a College Semester in Months? A college semester is 15 weeks, which is just shy of four months. Typical trimester terms are three months, and quarters are about two and a half months long. Accelerated courses are usually finished in two months or less.
How long is a semester in Nigerian universities?Nigerian universities especially Federal and State Universities make use of a semester system which is usually 4-5 months. This means, within a year, there are 2 semesters that make up one academic session.
How long is a semester?A semester is a calendar that divides the academic year into 15 - 17 week terms. There are generally two semesters per academic year: Fall (beginning in August or September) and Spring (beginning in January).
What is a university semester?WHAT IS A SEMESTER? A semester system divides the academic year into two sessions: fall and spring. Each session is approximately 15 weeks long, with a winter break between the fall and spring sessions and a summer break after the spring session.
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How long is a semester in university
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