<p>Could somebody explain exactly how the quarter system works at UW? I try to tell my parents that the credit hours are different from the standard two semester system, but that doesn't seem to work for them. </p>
<p>Also, how many credits are needed for graduation? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I don’t know about UW specifically. But when I was at Ohio State (also quarters) it made total sense.
So lets pretend you are going to take 12 different courses over the course of the year, and they are the same number of credit hours at either of 2 schools, one on semesters and one on quarters.
It works kind of like this: 6 classes times 2 quarters = 12
or 4 classes times 3 quarters (not summer) = 12.
But in the quarter system, you might have taken 5 courses one (or more) of the quarters, so at the end of the year you actually have taken more classes than at the semester school (13 vs 12).
Hopefully that helps!</p>
<p>Here's some useful info from the UW website. The University of Washington operates on the quarter system. Most students attend three, 10-week quarters. Advantages of the quarter system include:</p>
<pre><code>* The opportunity to sample a greater number of classes during one’s academic career
* Shorter classes – 10 weeks in length
* The ability to focus on a select number of classes (usually 3) each term
</code></pre>
<p>At UW, you need 180 credits to graduate, including the specific requirements for your major (i.e. my International Studies major requires approximately 70 credits in specific International Studies classes). Out of these 180 credits, you have to complete 75 credits of general requirements for the Areas of Knowledge: 20 credits for Individuals & Societies (I&S), 20 credits for Natural World (NW), 20 credits for Visual, Language, & Performing Arts (VLPA), and at least 3 more classes in the Areas of Knowledge to reach 75 credits.</p>
<p>Most students attend for fall, winter, and spring quarter (some do take summer quarter). Fall runs from the end of September to mid-December. Winter runs from the beginning of January to late-March. Spring runs from the end of March to beginning of January. To be considered a full-time student, you have to take at 12 credits per quarter, but most students take 15 credits (3 classes that are 5 credits each). You can take up to 18 credits per quarter without paying extra tuition, but if you go above the 18 credit threshold you have to pay an extra $700 or so. I hope this makes sense and answers your question.</p>