How many credits for part time student

Office of Financial Aid

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Enrollment statuses are the same for every semester: fall, spring, and summer.

Undergraduate (1000 - 4000 level courses)Graduate (5000 - 7000 level courses)
Full-time: 12 or more undergraduate credit hours.

3/4 time: 9-11 undergraduate credit hours.

1/2 time: 6-8 undergraduate credit hours.

Full-time: 9 or more graduate credit hours.

3/4 time: 7-8 graduate credit hours.

1/2 time: 5-6 graduate credit hours.

Things to be aware of regarding enrollment:

  • Must be an active degree seeking student
  • Most financial aid awards require at least half-time attendance and many programs require full-time attendance.
  • Grants, including Federal Pell Grant, are offered based on full-time enrollment; however, actual amount disbursed is based on enrolled credits at the end of drop/add. Some grants will pay for full-time status only, others will pro-rate for part-time status. Check the minimum credit hours on the Aid Types page.
  • USF awards are prorated based upon actual USF hours enrolled.
  • Once you have passed a course, you can take the course one more time and it can count in your hours enrolled for receipt of federal aid and USF Grants.
  • Courses taken on an audit basis do not count in determining your enrollment status for financial aid.
  • If you have both undergraduate and graduate level classes, check the multi-level enrollment page for more information.
  • If you will be enrolled at another school as an undergraduate student, review the information here.

Tuition and Mandatory fee rates vary, depending on the student’s enrollment status.

Undergraduate students are considered to be part-time if they are enrolled for less than 12 credits.  Part-time students are charged tuition on a per credit basis, as well as part-time fees.  Full-time students are enrolled for 12-18 credits, and charged a flat rate for tuition and full-time fees.  Undergraduate students enrolled for more than 18 credits are charged the flat rate tuition plus per credit for each credit that exceeds 18.

Graduate students are considered to be part-time if they are enrolled for less than 9 credits.  Part-time students are charged tuition on a per credit basis, as well as part-time fees.  Full-time students are enrolled for 9-15 credits, and charged a flat rate for tuition and full-time fees.  Graduate students enrolled for more than 15 credits are charged the flat rate tuition plus per credit for each credit that exceeds 15.

How you register may affect your student account balance.  It is not unusual for students to register for classes over a period of days.  When that happens, their tuition and fees may be recomputed as their enrollment changes from part-time to full-time.  Tuition and fee charges may be added to the student account as the student adds classes to their schedule.  If that is the case, there will be a plus sign next to the amount displayed for tuition and fees on the Account Activity tab in PittPAY.  Expanding the amount displayed will provide the incremental charge details, by date, that sum to amounts associated with tuition and fees.

Waitlisted classes can affect your student account balance too. Learn more.

The minimum full-time semester workload is 12 credits for undergraduate students and 9 credits for graduate students. Certain forms of federal, state, and institutional financial aid require full-time status by the end of the add/drop period. Only full-time students are permitted to live on campus.

Overload Approval

To receive overload approval for a given semester, approval must be obtained from the appropriate assigned advisor:

  1. students in the performing arts BFA and MusB programs who wish to register for more than 22 credits (a maximum of 30 credits is allowed each semester); and
  2. students in all other undergraduate degree programs who wish to register for more than 18 credits (a maximum of 24 credits is allowed each semester).

Part-Time Status

Undergraduate students who pursue fewer than 12 credits (and graduate students who pursue fewer than 9 credits) per semester have part-time status. Part-time matriculated students meet the same admission and degree requirements as full-time matriculated students. Students who wish to pursue part-time studies should consult with the chair or director and department faculty to determine whether a part-time program is available.

Nonmatriculated, Winter Session, and Summer Session Students

Course Load and Overload

  • During the academic year (fall and spring semesters), nonmatriculated students may take a maximum of 18 credits each semester without special permission.
  • Overloads are not permitted in winter session. Given the intensive pace of winter session courses, all students are limited to a maximum of 4 credits—no exceptions.
  • During summer session, all students may enroll for a maximum of 12 credits across the four summer sessions. Limits within the sessions are as follows: a maximum of 4 credits in the online Session I and a maximum of 8 credits in Sessions II, III, and IV combined.

How many credits should I take while working part time?

A typical college course is 3 credit hours, and a full-time college course load is generally 12 credit hours, though some students take up to 18 credit hours. Part-time study is generally 1 to 11 credit hours. Students are advised to study independently three hours a week for each credit hour.

What does the IRS consider half

For financial aid purposes, enrollment status for all terms is as follows: full-time is 12 or more credit hours, three-quarter time is 9-11 credit hours, half-time is 6-8 credit hours and less than half-time is 1-5 credit hours.

What does the IRS consider a full

According to the IRS, full-time students are children under the age of 19 or adults under the age of 24 who attend an educational program at least five months per calendar year.

How many credits is full

Since the federal government defines full-time enrollment as 12 credits per semester for financial aid purposes, students often mistake their “full-time” status with a guarantee for on-time graduation.