Course Loads

Undergraduate

During regular terms, you are considered a full-time student if you carry 12 or more units of credit.  However, you must take at least 15 units per term to complete degree programs requiring 120 units within eight terms, unless you take courses during summer or winter.

You can only carry an overload—more than 19 units—with the approval of your advisor, and you cannot carry more than 24 units per term. After obtaining the proper approval on the Overload Approval form, you must submit the form when you enroll in courses.

You may be required to have a minimum grade point average before an overload is approved. The recommended undergraduate grade point average for carrying an overload is as follows:

You are responsible for applying for overload approval. Approval is contingent on your past academic performance and an evaluation of your ability to satisfactorily complete the courses for which you wish to enroll.

During summer sessions, the normal load for a five-week session is 6 units of credit. However, you can earn 7 units if no more than two courses are involved.

During winter sessions, the normal load is 3 units of credit. However, you can earn 4 units if courses are 1 unit each or a single course is 4 units.

Graduate

For graduate students, we consider 9 units of credit during fall and spring term and the 10-week summer session to be full-time enrollment. The minimum full-time course load is 9 units of credit during fall or spring term, and 16 units is the maximum (12 units for graduate assistants). You cannot take more than 6 units of credit during any five-week summer session or more than 1 unit per week for pre-session courses.

Graduate assistants must register for at least 9 units of credit that will count toward their degree requirements every semester while employed as a graduate assistant.

If a graduate assistant =wishes to be enrolled for fewer than the required units, the student must submit a Request for Exception to the Nine Unit Registration Requirement, available on the Graduate College Website.

You can only carry an overload (more than the maximum units explained in the previous paragraph) with the approval of your advisor, the department chair, and the associate dean of the Graduate College. To enroll for an overload, you must submit the appropriate approval form when you enroll. This form is available from the Registrar's Office.