<p>I know that some schools have more semesters in a year, with shortened semester around 8 weeks, but I`m having trouble finding a list. What schools have accelerated study?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>By definition, there can only be two “semesters”. That word originally meant “six months” (i.e. half a year). In the USA, a semester typically is about 4 months long, with a ~month-long holiday break, starting in mid-December, to divide the two terms. Most US colleges operate on a semester system.</p>
<p>Some colleges operate on a quarter system. For many students at these colleges, in effect it is a trimester system (because many students don’t take classes in the 4th quarter, which occurs in the summer. The University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Stanford, and UCLA all operate on a quarter system.</p>
<p>A few colleges operate on a one-course-at-a-time “block plan”. Colorado College has 8 blocks per year, with four blocks per semester. Blocks last 3.5 weeks with a 4.5 day break between blocks. Each student takes 1 class per block; each professor teaches 1 class per block (ordinarily, to 25 or fewer students). Each course gets its own dedicated classroom/studio/lab (24x7) for the duration of the block. A 1-block course covers approximately the same material as 1 course in a conventional semester plan.</p>
<p>Here is a list of quarter system and block plan colleges:
[Quarter</a> System and Block Plan Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://www.planetbauer.com/colleges.htm]Quarter”>Quarter System and Block Plan Colleges and Universities)</p>
<p>tk21769 - That was a good definition except that schools with a quarter system are not like trimesters in many ways. Actually, the only similarity is that each term is 10 weeks instead of the semester 15 weeks.</p>
<p>With a trimester, classes are in session from early September until Thanksgiving and then you are off until January 3rd. Then 10 weeks, one week off, final 10 weeks. No classes offered at the college in the summer. In a quarter system, classes start in mid-September, have the four-day Thanksgiving break, classes and finals in December, then a break from mid to late December until very early January. Then 10 weeks, one week off, final 10 weeks. There is a large selection of summer classes from which to choose and many kids do include one summer session to allow for double majors and study abroad or a “school year” internship. Oh and I believe most quarter systems are not as restrictive in number of classes allowed each term, but I’m not certain of that.</p>
<p>And then there are some schools with 4 quarters that are not like trimesters! WPI has 4 7-week “terms” named A,B,C,D. There is a week break in between A/B, C/D and winter break in between B and C. If you take courses in the summer, that is considered term D. You do take classes all 4 quarters if you are a full-time student. You take 3 courses during each 7 week term. It does not work well for procrastinators!</p>
<p>Many years ago I went to a school that had three trimesters–November through February, March through June, July through October, with maybe 3 weeks between them.</p>