Credit Hour Policy
Course Credit: The semester course credit is the unit of credit. One semester course credit is equivalent to four semester hours. The vast majority of courses at Haverford College are assigned 1.0 credit. Half-semester courses, or those courses meeting for half of the recommended instructional time, are assigned 0.5 credit.
Academic Period: Haverford College uses the semester course credit system and lists semester course credits on the official student transcript. Haverford College has two semesters either sixteen or seventeen weeks in length: fourteen instructional weeks, a one-week mid-semester break, and one or two weeks for final examinations.
Recommended instructional time: The official normal student workload is four course credits per semester. One course credit unit at Haverford College normally represents three hours of class or seminar time. Some classes include discussion sessions, laboratory periods and study sessions in addition to the three hours of class meeting time. Laboratory periods are required in many courses and are usually three hours or more in duration, but students typically do not earn additional course credits for completing them.
Recommended out of class time requirements: Students are advised to spend two to three hours working for every hour of class attended. The typical student attends class for 12 or more hours per week, and prepares for class at least 24 hours per week.
Last reviewed 2/6/2026