Workload

Answer: 

Academic Load

The total semester or term academic load of a student is the sum of all credits and credit equivalents (e.g., graduate language courses, undergraduate courses, courses audited, etc.) being carried. The normal academic load of a graduate student during any semester is nine credit hours or equivalent. Under no circumstances may it exceed 15 credit hours or equivalent. During the summer term, the maximum academic load for the second summer term is nine credit hours, and for the first summer term it is four credit hours. The maximum academic load for any combination of the first and second terms is 12 credit hours. For the student who is a full-time teaching assistant or whose service to the University requires approximately 20 hours per week, the academic load shall not exceed 10 hours. This maximum may be increased to 12 hours for students with lighter service loads upon recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies and approval of the Dean of the Graduate School.

Students satisfactorily completing nine course credits, or equivalent, of graduate level work during a semester, are classified as full-time students by the University. Students satisfactorily completing five course credits, or equivalent, during a summer term are classified as full-time. Those completing less than these amounts are classified as part-time. Full-time students who fall below the minimum full-time equivalent as the result of failing or dropping one or more courses are reclassified as part-time students for that semester or term. 

For more information, please see the Graduate School Bulletin.