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credit hour

credit hour

3 3.5
One hour of class each week during a semester that counts toward a degree
  • noun
  • /ˈkrɛdɪt ˈaʊər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hora de crédito
  • The professor advised that each credit hour requires about three hours of study per week.
  • credit hours earned
  • credit hour course
  • number of credit hours

Examples

  • In addition, the range of credit hour requirements is quite similar except for the Health course category.

    Academic text (1996)
  • And now the typical recommendation that you see is for each credit hour, you should study three hours per week.

  • You are going to finish those 12 credit hours for your degree, no matter whether you make that team or not.

  • What should be the minimum number of credit hours a physical education major is required to take in dance?

    Academic text (1992)
  • A ratio of 1.00 indicates that a student earned all credit hours he or she enrolled in.

    Academic text (2015)
  • In addition, of interest to this study was an examination of course credit hours enrolled and credit hours earned.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Is intelligence testing really important enough to devote 3, 4, or 6 credit hours of work?

    Academic text (1991)
  • Data were collected for students who had completed 18 credit hours or more during a five-year period.

    Academic text (1991)
  • On average, those who withdrew were attempting 14 semester credit hours, compared to 13 for those who remained.

    Academic text (1997)
  • But it is questionable how many credit hours should be required in mathematics by Russian business schools.

    Academic text (1996)

Synonyms

credit
vscredit hour
  • Specialized
276 3.5

Recognition for finishing a course that counts toward a degree

describes the single hour per week instructional unit rather than the award
course credit
vscredit hour
  • Specialized
1 3.4

An official record that a college gives for a completed course toward a degree

refers specifically to a single weekly classroom hour unit
credit point
vscredit hour
  • UK
1 3.7

A unit used to count how much study a course gives toward a degree

focuses specifically on one hour of weekly classroom instruction
semester hour
vscredit hour
  • US
3.1

A unit of college credit equal to one hour of class per week during a semester

is the same unit described in the key concept
ECTS-credit point
vscredit hour
  • UK
7.7

A unit showing how much study a course needs at a European university

is the one hour per week unit and not tied to European rules
ECTS credit
vscredit hour
  • UK
4.8

A point given by European universities to show how much student work a course needs

focuses on a single weekly classroom hour rather than European workload measures

Antonyms

noncredit
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A course that does not give credit toward a degree

Surface Forms

credit hour singular
credit hours plural

Morphology

credit + hour

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'credit' (an academic unit awarded for coursework) with 'hour' (a 60-minute period): it denotes a credit measured by hours of instruction. Although somewhat technical to higher education, the noun–noun composition is compositional and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Credit hour comes from the simple idea of giving one credit for each hour of class a student has each week during a semester. That's why a three-hour course gives three 'credit' units that count toward a 'degree'.