Every college requires students to earn a specified number of credits to graduate, but that's not the only requirement for earning a degree. You'll also be required to take a certain number of credits in select subjects, and you may also need to complete some kind of final project, an internship, or a specific number of hours of supervised work experience. Throughout it all, you'll need to maintain passing grades, or you'll have to repeat courses before you get to hang that diploma on your wall.
By the OnlineU team | Updated 12/28/2023Every college requires students to earn a specified number of credits to graduate, but that's not the only requirement for earning a degree. You'll also be required to take a certain number of credits in select subjects, and you may also need to complete some kind of final project, an internship, or a specific number of hours of supervised work experience. Throughout it all, you'll need to maintain passing grades, or you'll have to repeat courses before you get to hang that diploma on your wall.
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College credit is the standard of measurement used to indicate how much effort is typically involved in a class. One credit hour represents one hour of time spent in the classroom plus an estimated two hours of studying each week, although there are a few exceptions to this standard.
At schools on the standard semester system, which typically has two 15-week terms each academic year, most courses are assigned a value of three or four credit hours. A three-credit course typically means that you'll be spending three hours in class and should plan to put in about six hours of homework and studying each week to complete all of your assignments. If you're taking a three-credit fully online course, you can expect a similar time commitment of nine hours a week.
At schools on the quarter system, which usually has four 10-week sessions a year, each course is usually worth three or four credit hours as well. Here again, a three-credit course involves three hours in class and about six hours of homework. However, because the terms last only 10 weeks instead of 15, those three credits are not equivalent to three credit hours on the semester system. In fact, if you transfer between schools on different systems, your transfer credits will probably be recalculated using these formulas:
Credit Transfer Formulas
# of semester credits X 1.5 = # of quarter credits
# of quarter credits / 1.5 = # of semester credits
The number of credits you'll need to graduate is based on several factors, mainly the degree level and the program. But in addition to earning enough credits to meet the required amount, you must simultaneously take a certain number of different types of classes.
College courses usually fall into three categories:
Associate degrees, available at community colleges and some universities, typically require the completion of 60-66 credits to graduate. At three credits per course, you'll need to take 20-22 courses to earn this degree. Full-time students often take five college classes (15 credits) per semester to complete most of the requirements in four semesters, then wrap up the remaining requirements in summer sessions or a fifth semester.
The breakdown of class types varies by school, but a typical program might require eight or nine general education courses, eight or nine courses in your primary area of study — what's known as your major — and the balance devoted to electives. The general education requirements may be further broken down into, for example, two courses (six credits) in math, two courses (six credits) in humanities, two courses (six credits) in physical sciences, and several other three-credit courses in technology, physical education, or the social sciences. Most of the major courses will be predetermined for you, although you may be able to select some of the courses in your program.
At a school on the semester system, a bachelor's degree typically requires you to complete 120-128 credits to graduate. If you earn three credits per course, you'll need to take 40-42 courses. Full-time students might take five or six college classes (15-18 credits) per semester to complete most of the requirements in eight semesters, plus one or more summer sessions or a ninth semester. It can be challenging for many students to maintain this pace for four years, which is why so many students need five or even six years to complete a bachelor's degree.
At a school on the quarter system, learners generally need to complete about 180 credits. If you went straight through, taking four courses or 12 credit hours per session (48 credits per year), you could complete your degree in just under four years. Again, however, this pace may be difficult for some, so you may need additional quarters to meet all of the requirements.
In general, about half of the classes in any bachelor's program will be devoted to general education courses. A good portion of the remaining courses will focus on your major (primary area of study), some of which are required and some of which you can select yourself. The easier, beginning courses in a program are called lower-division courses, while the more advanced courses are called upper-division courses.
Which courses you take to complete the remaining number of credit hours is somewhat up to you. Some students may choose electives that relate to their personal interests or professional goals. Another option is to choose a second major — called a double major — and finish 30-36 credits to meet the requirements for the additional subject. You could also choose to minor in a secondary area of study, which usually requires about 15 credit hours.
When you get to the master's degree level, you no longer need to take general education courses. Instead, you'll take required courses and possibly several electives, all within your area of study.
Master's degrees often require the completion of 30-36 credit hours, although some degree programs, such as master's degrees in business administration and nursing, may require as many as 50 credits. Full-time students taking an average of 15 credits per semester may be able to earn a master's degree in two to three years.
However, additional graduation requirements may add courses and time to a master's program. For example, you may be required to complete one or more prerequisite courses before starting your master's courses, especially if your bachelor's degree is in a different subject. Depending on the area of study, you may also need to write a thesis or complete a certain number of hours of supervised professional training.
The number of credits needed to earn a doctoral degree vary dramatically, depending on the type of degree. Professional doctorates, such as a Doctor of Education, typically require 36 credits, while many other doctoral degrees can require 60-120 credits. For example, joint programs that combine all of the coursework for a master's degree with the coursework for a doctorate usually require 120 credit hours.
Many students earning a professional doctorate or a Ph.D. spend the first two to three years taking their advanced courses and learning research methods. They then decide on a research topic and focus solely on writing a dissertation, which commonly takes anywhere from three to seven years, depending on the subject and the student's personal circumstances.
The number of credits you'll need to graduate varies, depending on the level of college degree, the school, and the area of study. However, some useful guidelines would be 60-66 credit hours for an associate degree, 120-128 credit hours for a bachelor's degree, and 30-36 credit hours for a master's degree.
Most courses are worth three credit hours, so five classes is equal to 15 credit hours. Learners are not required to earn a particular number of credits per year, but your course load — meaning the total number of credits you're taking in a semester — will determine whether you're a full-time student or a part-time student. A student taking four to six classes, or 12-18 credits, per semester is considered to be full time, while a student taking less than 12 credits in a semester is considered to be part time.
Yes, people often graduate with more than 120 credits for a variety of reasons. Students who change majors or transfer credits from another school may need to take additional courses to complete a program's graduation requirements, even if they have more than the required number of credits. A student may also opt to take one or more additional courses based on their goals and interests.
There are several ways you may be able to graduate college early. If you're still in high school, you may be able to earn college credits by participating in a dual enrollment program or taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and earning high scores on the AP exams. If you're just enrolling in college, you can take placement exams to test out of some general education courses. Those who have accumulated several years of work experience or military service may be able to undergo a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) and receive college credits for that experience. Finally, some schools offer accelerated programs that enable students to graduate sooner.
Of course, all of these guidelines are based on traditional academic models, including colleges and universities that offer fully online degrees. Some primarily online schools, however, offer alternatives. Several schools offer shorter, six- to eight-week terms, and students usually take just one or two courses per term. Some online schools design their programs so that students take one four-week course at a time. Because of these variations, some of these online schools no longer count credit hours and instead simply require students to complete a set number of courses.
Regardless of what type of school, program, or degree you've selected, there's no question that meeting graduation requirements in higher education can be complicated. Most schools lay out all of these requirements in their course catalogs and on their websites, but you can always consult with your academic advisor to confirm you're earning the right number of credits while meeting all of your graduation requirements.
