Semester hours????

[circushotsxx]

Hi,
Does anyone know waht semester hours mean? Especially from my university (Canadian) which work on credits...half a year = 0.5 credits; 1 year = 1 credit
Thanks!

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[Diksha]

If you are filling out the AMCAS, you should enter in the semester hours or credits that are listed on your transcript (i.e. 1 semester hour/ .5 semester hour). Most American schools operate on a different system, where a semester-long course is worth 3 or 4 credits, so you should perhaps call the schools you are applying to and talk to them. But I'm almost certain you've got to enter in the number that appears on your transcript.

Ummm...are you filling out the AMCAS? Because if you aren't, then this might not apply 😛

 

[circushotsxx]

I'm just wondering with respect to English requirements. Many universities say they need 6 semester hours. Not sure what this translates to for Canadian Universities. Is it 1/2 a credit? Where I took a course for 1/2 a year?

 

[TheDok]

1 credit, 1 year of english

 

[LizzyM]

In the US, 1 credit usually represents ~15 hours of classroom instruction or ~30-45 hours of laboratory time. Generally, this means 1 hour per week for 15 weeks. Typical courses meet for 3 hours per week for 15 weeks and carry 3 credits. Courses with a lab generally carry 4 credits (3 hours of classroom per week plus 1 lab session).

 

[circushotsxx]

thanks for your responses...
but what does this mean in terms of what they say on their website as "6 semester hours" worth of english. what is that equivalent to? 1/2 a year of the class or 1 year of the class?

 

[TehDoc]

6 semester hours would mean 2 semesters of composition.

 

[LizzyM]

thanks for your responses...
but what does this mean in terms of what they say on their website as "6 semester hours" worth of english. what is that equivalent to? 1/2 a year of the class or 1 year of the class?

A semester is ~15 weeks, so 6 semester hours = 90 hours of instruction (6 hours per week for 15 weeks).

3 hours per week for 30 weeks (2 semesters of 15 hours each) = 90 hours.

Another way of saying this would be 3 hours per week for an academic year.