The Semester Hour

The credit value of courses is expressed in semester hours. Most courses are designed to require approximately three hours of work a week throughout the semester for each semester hour of credit given; that is, for each hour a class meets, an average of two additional hours of preparation is expected of the student. The time requirement in the laboratory, field, or studio varies with the nature of the subject and the aims of a course, so there is no fixed ratio of laboratory to class hours.

Most courses meet three hours a week in the fall and spring semesters and have a credit value of three hours. In a six-week summer term, courses meet seven and a half hours a week for three semester hours of credit. Fall and spring semester classes that meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are scheduled for an hour (50 minutes with a 10-minute interval between classes); classes that meet on Tuesday and Thursday are scheduled for an hour and a half (75 minutes with a 15-minute interval between classes). Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes normally begin on the hour and are dismissed after 50 minutes; Tuesday/Thursday classes normally begin on the hour or half-hour as appropriate and are dismissed after 75 minutes. Summer classes normally are scheduled every day for an hour and a half (75 minutes with a 15-minute interval between classes).

Course Numbers

Each field of study taught at the University is identified by a name and a one-, two-, or three-letter abbreviation. Lists of fields are included in the General Information Catalog. Each course in the field is identified by a number made up of three digits, which may be followed by a letter. Except in the Dell Medical School, the first digit of the course number indicates the credit value of the course in semester hours. Courses numbered 201 through 299 have a value of two semester hours; 301 through 399, a value of three semester hours; and so on. A zero as the first digit indicates that the course is noncredit. Except in the School of Law, and the Dell Medical School, the second and third digits of the course number indicate the rank of the course; if they are 01 through 19, the course is of lower-division rank; if 20 through 79, of upper-division rank; and if 80 through 99, of graduate rank.

Courses that have the same field of study abbreviation and the same course number, but differing credit values, may not both be counted for credit unless the course is designated as repeatable for credit. For example, Mechanical Engineering 136N and 236N may not both be counted because they are substantially the same; however, English 326K and 326L may both be counted.  

A course number ending with the letter A designates the first half of a two-semester course; B, the second half. For example, Music 612A is the first half of Music 612; Music 612B, the second half. A student who completes half of a two-semester course earns half the semester-hour value of the course; for example, Music 612A has a value of three semester hours. A course number ending with the letter X designates the first third of a three-semester course; Y, the second third; and Z, the last third. Each third of the course has one-third the semester-hour value of the course as a whole.