Academic Year

Semester Calendar Year: Berkeley College’s calendar includes three terms organized on the semester system. The fall semester begins in September, followed by the winter semester in January, and the spring semester in April.

A standard academic year (two consecutive semesters) is typically comprised of two terms totaling 30 weeks, and a full-time student is expected to complete a minimum of 24 semester credit hours (in most cases a minimum of eight three-credit courses) in that time.

The campuses are closed on some legal holidays. The current academic calendar specifies the exact dates.

The Semester System: Courses are evaluated in terms of semester hours of credit.

A credit hour is an amount of work of not less than 50 minutes of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours (120 minutes) of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time. At least an equivalent amount of work is required for laboratory work, internships, practicums, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

Class Hours: Generally, instructional hours are from 8:00 AM through 11:00 PM on weekdays and from 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM on weekends.

Students enrolled in the School of Health Studies programs should refer to their respective Student Handbook Supplements for program-specific class and clinical rotation hours.