ACADEMICS >> Credit Hours

CREDIT HOURS

Definitions

The semester (FALL/SPRING) credit hour is the basic unit of academic credit granted by Huazhong University of Science and Technology. One semester credit is equivalent to one contact hour (60 minutes) of faculty instruction time per week for 15 weeks. Therefore the total contact time (also known as ‘instructional time’) for a whole semester is determined for all sessions.

Huazhong University of Science and Technology Equivalencies of the Credit Hour

Equivalent total contact time of a course (1 credit to 5 credits) is calculated as below. ALL FALL/SPRING/SUMMER session courses must follow this policy.

1-credit course: 1 credit × 60 min × 15 weeks = 900 contact minutes (15 contact hours)

2-credit course: 2 credit × 60 min × 15 weeks = 1800 contact minutes (30 contact hours)

3-credit course: 3 credit × 60 min × 15 weeks = 2700 contact minutes (45 contact hours)

4-credit course: 4 credit × 60 min × 15 weeks = 3600 contact minutes (60 contact hours)

5-credit course: 5 credit × 60 min × 15 weeks = 4500 contact minutes (75 contact hours)

SUMMER AND WINTER SESSION CLASS

Course credit earned in each summer and winter session is equivalent to the same course credit offered in the FALL or SPRING term. The SUMMER/WINTER session vary in length, allowing that students can finish the program with a high flexibility through the 4-week, 5-week or 6-week sessions. However the total contact time of SUMMER/WINTER session still adheres to the standard of the FALL/SPRING session contact time as announced above in Huazhong University of Science and Technology Equivalencies of the Credit Hour.