Exact Answer: 6-15 Weeks
This is one of the questions every enthusiastic first-year college student wants to know when planning a learning schedule. A semester is a portion of an academic year (a period in which the college holds classes).
Northern hemisphere countries have an academic year lasting from August until June the following year. In the southern hemisphere, an academic year starts from February and ends in November or December.
Most countries have an academic year that starts in early autumn or late summer and ends during spring or the following summer. Apart from the semester, there are two other different academic systems; the Trimester and the Quarter.
In a semester system, college students attend classes for two semesters each academic year. They are commonly known as the fall semester and the spring semester.
How long is a college semester?
Etymologically the word semester was German, referring to an academic term of 6 months. It is used in America and other countries, referring to the two periods of the college academic calendar.
A college semester is fifteen to sixteen weeks long, depending on the college. In the United States of America, the semester system is the most used, but some colleges offer courses on a trimester system.
An academic year in the US has thirty-six weeks; therefore, two semesters each 18 weeks long. The trimester system has the:
- Fall semester – 15 weeks long
- Spring semester – 15 weeks long too
- Summer semester – 6 weeks long
A summer semester is nine to twelve weeks long. Some colleges have two very short summer semesters, six weeks each.
Semester lengths may vary from college to college, with a range of one to three weeks. Florida State University and Western Michigan University have this type of academic calendars.
The length of a college semester depends too on how many semesters the college has per academic year. With the increase in the number of online schooling, eight weeks semesters have become a norm.
Holidays may sometimes appear in the semester’s calendar. It means that if a class is canceled due to bad weather or traffic, it cannot be compensated for at the end of the semester.
Why different semesters have different Lengths
Fall and spring semesters both have fifteen weeks. They are the typical college semesters. The length of a semester determines the number of classes a student needs to take per semester. It also impacts on the time taken to complete the course.
When planning a learning schedule, a student needs to know that not all colleges offer the same classes every semester. Schools post in advance the courses they will provide and in which semester of the academic year so that students can plan their learning schedule.
Summer semesters
It is termed the “time to catch up or advance.” Summer semesters are an opportunity to accelerate or supplement a student’s college program. To some students, it is time to take a break.
These semesters are shorter, which means that classes are expected to be more prolonged or more frequent. If a student is looking to join an accelerated college program or maybe make up for courses not taken in the fall and spring semesters, summer semesters come in handy.
Mid-semester courses
Some colleges offer mid-semester courses. There are two scenarios for these courses. They may:
- Start at the same time as the fall and spring semesters but end halfway through the semester.
- Start halfway through the semester and end at the same time, the fall and spring semesters end.
Once a student knows how long the semester will last, creating a learning schedule and planning for classes becomes easier. Each class, a student, takes is measured in terms of “credit hours.”
A scheduled course has one credit hour per week, while an accelerated course has two to three credit hours per week. An average of 15 credit hours is expected from every student, with a minimum of 12 credits and a maximum of 18 credits.
The knowledge of how many semesters are there and how long they last help a student plan ahead wisely.
References
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-010-9165-x
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
I think this post is immensely helpful for many college students, well done.
This is very informative, thanks for sharing!
Understanding academic years and semester lengths is an important aspect for collegiate planning, great read!
Absolutely, loved reading this.
It’s crucial to understand academic systems when planning a college schedule, this is well written.
Agreed, a very insightful post.
I find the information to be very helpful, thanks!
The knowledge of semester lengths and how they can affect coursework planning is crucial, a great post.
This is one post many students can benefit from.
Very well explained and helpful.
Semester lengths can be confusing when enrolling, and this post really helped to clear things up.
This is a helpful guide for prospective students.
Very helpful and concise.
I never knew that summer semesters could be so short, I learned a lot here.
I think a lot of us did, this was enlightening.
Understanding the semester lengths and structures is crucial for a successful college experience, thanks for sharing.
A very insightful post indeed.
The information here gives a great understanding of college schedules.
This post answered my questions clearly and concisely, thank you.
Definitely cleared some things up for me, thanks.
The post organizes information well; it’s greatly beneficial when planning a college schedule.
Excellent read for prospective college students.