Can someone please tell me what 3 semester hours actually means? I’m trying to find out how long a course is if it’s 3 semester hours…Thanks in advance!
For lectures and discussions this means meeting for three “hours” per week. Often a class “hour” is actually 50 minutes. This could be three 50 minute classes per week or two 75 minute classes per week. Many campuses will therefore have class start times on the hour with 10 minutes in between for going between classes. Some large campuses (such as UW-Madison) may have 15 minutes between class start times, with some extra time in the middle for lunch. This gives crazy schedules which remain in your brain decades later!
Labs are different and usually require more hours than credits given. For example, a 5 credit science class could have 3 lectures, 1 discussion and one 3 hour (literally) lab. I have had lab only courses that gave 2 credits for 8 or 9 hours in the lab (Organic Chemistry) in two sessions per week.
It may seem like 16 credits is not much time to spend but it is often suggested that 2 hours for every credit is spent in addition to class time for homework. That 16 credits then becomes 48 hours spent on academics. Of course, more time could be needed, especially when a major paper or exam looms.