Bonus Consideration

One last thing to mention is workload. Workload is important to consider when developing different levels of courses, as a one-credit course will have significantly less work than a three-credit course. Additionally, consider what a one-credit course at the graduate or doctorate level will look like compared to a one-credit undergraduate course.

The U.S. Department of Education defines the credit unit.

• 1 hour of instruction per week for 15 weeks = 15 hours
• 2 hours of out-of-class work per week/15 weeks = 30 hours
• Minimum student work for a one-credit course = 45 hours

Below are some typical breakdowns for three-, two-, and one-credit courses that are 16 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 weeks. If you need help calculating workload, Wake Forest University offers an openly licensed tool for workload estimation. Please check out the Enhanced Course Workload Estimator.