Pick your system and enter your credits. The calculator turns them into weekly study hours using the rule that country publishes, or a rule you type in. It adds class time and spreads the study over the days you work.
Pick your system and enter your credits
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Your answer
Your answer shows up here once you fill in the numbers.
What to enter
- Credits you take this term
- The credits you are registered for in the term you are planning.
- Study hours per credit each week
- Used by the US and Canada options. The US federal benchmark is two hours of out-of-class work for each credit hour.
- Total hours per credit
- Used by the UK and Australia options. It covers the whole term, including class time and assessment. The UK figure is 10.
- Weeks in your term
- Used by the UK and Australia options to turn the total into weekly hours. Count teaching and study weeks.
- Class hours each week
- Hours in lectures, labs and tutorials. Leave empty and the US option assumes one hour per credit.
- Days a week you study
- The study hours are spread over these days. Empty means five.
Worked examples
US: 15 credit hours
A student takes 15 credit hours. On the federal benchmark, each credit hour is one hour of class and two hours of study a week.
- Multiply credits by study hours per credit: 15 × 2 = 30 hours a week outside class.
- Add class time of 15 hours: 30 + 15 = 45 hours a week.
- Spread the study over 5 days: 30 ÷ 5 = 6 hours a day.
That is 30 hours of study and 15 hours of class, 45 hours in all. Over five days, study is 6 hours a day.
UK: 60 credits over a 12-week term
A student takes 60 credits in a 12-week term, with 12 hours of classes a week. At 10 notional hours per credit, the term is 600 hours.
- Multiply credits by hours per credit: 60 × 10 = 600 hours for the term.
- Divide by the weeks: 600 ÷ 12 = 50 hours a week, counting class time.
- Take off 12 class hours: 50 – 12 = 38 hours of study outside class.
- Spread the study over 5 days: 38 ÷ 5 = 7.6 hours a day.
That is 50 hours a week in all, so 38 hours of study once class time is taken off.
Using your own rule
A student takes 12 credits at a university that suggests three study hours per credit, and studies six days a week.
- Multiply credits by study hours per credit: 12 × 3 = 36 hours a week outside class.
- Add class time of 12 hours: 36 + 12 = 48 hours a week.
- Spread the study over 6 days: 36 ÷ 6 = 6 hours a day.
Study comes to 36 hours a week, which is 6 hours a day.
Australia: 24 credit points at 25 hours each
A student takes 24 credit points in a 13-week semester. UNE’s policy puts a credit point at about 25 hours, and this example uses that. Your university may differ. Class time is 12 hours a week.
- Multiply credits by hours per credit: 24 × 25 = 600 hours for the term.
- Divide by the weeks: 600 ÷ 13 = 46.2 hours a week, counting class time.
- Take off 12 class hours: 46.2 – 12 = 34.2 hours of study outside class.
- Spread the study over 5 days: 34.2 ÷ 5 = 6.8 hours a day.
The term is 600 hours, or 46.2 hours a week with class time.
Where the rules come from
The US figure is in federal regulation: a credit hour reasonably approximates one hour of instruction and at least two hours of out-of-class work a week, for about fifteen weeks. The UK figure is in the QAA credit framework: one credit is typically 10 hours of notional learning. Australia and Canada have no national rule. UNE’s policy, one Australian example, puts a credit point at about 25 hours. These are benchmarks. How much you need depends on the course and on you.
The UK number includes class time
Notional hours cover everything: lectures, directed study, independent study and assessment. A 60-credit term is 600 hours in all, so the calculator takes your class hours off to show the study outside class. The US rule works the other way round, with the two study hours added to the class hour.
How it is calculated
- US and Canada: multiply your credits by the study hours per credit. Add your class hours to get the whole week.
- UK and Australia: multiply your credits by the total hours per credit to get the term. Divide by the weeks to get a week, which includes class time.
- Take your class hours off the weekly figure to get study outside class.
- Divide study by the days you work to get hours a day.
US weekly study hours = credits × study hours per credit
Weekly hours with class time = credits × hours per credit ÷ weeks in term
Assumptions to keep in mind
- The rule is a benchmark, not a promise. Hard courses take longer, and easy ones take less.
- Hours are spread evenly across the term, with no heavier weeks for exams.
- The US option assumes one class hour for each credit unless you enter your own.
- For the UK and Australia, the total covers class time, so the study figure is the part left after class.
- Part-time students enter their own credits, and the same rules apply.
Mistakes that give the wrong answer
Adding class time twice
On the UK rule the 10 hours already include class time. Use the class hours box to see the study that is left, and do not add them back.
Using a UK number for a US credit
A US credit hour is a weekly rule, and a UK credit is a total for the term. They do not convert one to one.
Treating the rule as a ceiling
Some courses need more than the benchmark. If you are always short of time, plan more.
Forgetting exam weeks
The calculator spreads hours evenly. Exams and deadlines bunch work up, so leave room.
Questions students ask
How many hours should I study per credit hour?
The US federal benchmark is at least two hours of out-of-class work each week for every credit hour, plus one hour in class. So a 15-credit load is about 30 study hours and 15 class hours, 45 in all.
How many hours is one UK credit?
One credit is typically described as 10 hours of notional learning, which includes class time, study and assessment. A 20-credit module is about 200 hours.
How many study hours per credit in Australia?
There is no national figure. UNE’s policy puts one credit point at about 25 hours of total workload, which makes a six-point unit about 150 hours. Check your own university’s policy.
How many hours should a Canadian student study?
Canada has no national rule. Ask your program or instructors what they expect for each credit, and enter that figure.
Is 45 hours a week too much?
It is what the US benchmark gives for a 15-credit load: 15 hours of class and 30 of study. It is full-time work, so plan around it, and leave time for sleep and a job if you have one.
Does this include time for assignments and exams?
Yes, on the UK and Australian rules, which count assessment in the hours. The US benchmark counts out-of-class work, which includes reading and assignments.
