Course Credit and Course Load

Course Credit

Courses are designated as either a full course or a half course.
One full course is equivalent to 3.0 semester hours. A half course is equivalent to 1.5 semester hours.
A half course normally meets for half a semester during one of the six-week sessions rather than for the entire semester. During the January and summer terms, full courses meet for 40 hours of instruction and half courses meet for 20 hours of instruction.
Class periods are one 50-minute class period plus the required preparation. The faculty expects a minimum of two hours' work outside class for every hour of allotted class time.

A normal course load for the master of divinity degree is TEN courses per year; for the master of arts degree, NINE courses per year.
The MAXIMUM load in any semester is five full courses; the maximum for January Term is one full course.
The recommended course load is 4.5 courses in the fall and spring semester, and one full course during the January Term.
Two courses (including all outstanding incompletes, but excluding the Bible Proficiency Exam) is the maximum number of courses a student may have to complete during the summer and still participate in graduation ceremonies in May.
Students who carry between 1.5 and 2.5 courses in a semester are considered PART-TIME; students with 3 or more courses in a semester are FULL-TIME. Students in the post-master Graduate Research programs should consult the catalog for status requirements.