§ 3-301 Number of Hours Required

1. All Students
   1. For undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, the minimum program required for receipt of maximum educational benefit payments under the Veteran’s Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966 and receipt of Social Security benefits as a dependent is 12 hours in a semester (six hours in the summer term).
   2. Twelve credit hours and above in a semester constitute a full program of study for tuition and fee assessment; in the summer term, the number of hours is six and above. (See § 3‑501(b) on credit ranges.)
   3. Registration requirements for certification purposes in individual semesters, if the student is registered, are as follows:

      Undergraduate and Professional Students

      Semester	Full-time	Half-time
      Fall	12 credit hours	6 credit hours
      Spring	12 credit hours	6 credit hours
      Summer	6 credit hours	3 credit hours

      Graduate Students

      Semester	Full-time	Half-time
      Fall	8 credit hours	4 credit hours
      Spring	8 credit hours	4 credit hours
      Summer	4 credit hours	2 credit hours

      For purposes of load calculation, English as a Second Language courses required or recommended by the English as a Second Language Placement Test will count as four hours even if the registration is listed in the student registration systems as zero hours.

   4. For university academic terms of other lengths, the number of hours are determined proportionately in accordance with the above principles.
   5. Study Abroad students shall be considered full-time for academic purposes at the university when they are enrolled for at least the minimum full-time academic load as defined by the international institution. However, federal regulations require that students must take and transfer back 12 or more University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hours to be considered full-time for financial aid purposes.
2. Undergraduate Students
   1. Each student is required to pursue a normal program of studies. The number of hours varies with the college and curriculum. More or less than a normal program may be permitted only by authority of the dean of the college or designated representative.
   2. In most colleges, 12 semester hours are required for Dean’s List recognition. (See § 3‑401.)