Credit Policy

Policy on Awarding Credit

The University of Chicago awards academic credit in units rather than traditional credit hours across both undergraduate and graduate programs. A standard academic course carries 100 units of credit.

Quarter-length courses typically meet for an average of three hours per week over a ten-week term, delivered through either three 50-minute sessions or two 80-minute sessions. Most courses include additional academic components, such as laboratories, discussion sections, screenings, field studies, or clinical experiences, and require substantial time for independent study outside of scheduled sessions.

In alignment with broadly accepted academic standards, students are expected to engage in a minimum of two hours of independent work for every hour of direct instruction. Courses with extended durations receive credit proportional to total instructional time and workload expectations.

The University’s course scheduling patterns are intentionally designed to ensure compliance with the federal expectation for regular and substantive interaction between students and faculty. Regardless of delivery mode, department, or degree level, 100 units of University of Chicago credit satisfy the total amount of student engagement required, inclusive of both direct instruction and independent academic work, in accordance with federal guidelines.

While the University does not routinely convert its unit-based system into other credit hour formats, for purposes such as transfer evaluation or reporting, 100 University of Chicago units may be considered approximately equivalent to 5 quarter credit hours or 3.3 semester credit hours, based on federal credit hour definitions.

This credit policy supports the University’s commitment to academic rigor and consistency across all instructional formats, while ensuring compliance with applicable federal and accreditation standards regarding credit hour definitions and academic engagement.

At the University of Chicago, credit for law programs is awarded in credit hours as outlined by the American Bar Association (ABA), their accrediting body. The ABA credit policy to which the University of Chicago Law School adheres is defined in Standard 310 of the “ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools” document.

Federal Definitions and Regulations

Federal definitions and regulations regarding the assignment of credit hours appear as follows under Section 600.2 and 600.24(f) of the Higher Education Opportunity Act:

Credit hour: Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than—

1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.