Course Loads & Full-Time Definition

TERM FULL-TIME LOAD HALF-TIME LOAD MAXIMUM LOAD
Spring or Fall
Semester		 – eight credits
– six credits (for graduate
assistants not receiving financial aid)
– one credit of 700F or 800		 four credits -16 credits
– nine credits (for
graduate assistants)
Summer
Session		 four credits per session or
a total of eight credits for
two sessions		 two credits per session or
a total of four credits for
two sessions		 eight credits per
session

Full-Time Load Definition

The Graduate Division considers students in all of the following cases to be full-time:

  • Students enrolled in eight credits or more per semester, in *degree-related courses.
  • Graduate assistants enrolled in six credits or more per semester, in degree-related courses.  If you are a GA receiving financial aid, please contact the University of Hawaii Financial Aid Services Office for information regarding enrollment requirements.  Summer enrollment is not required of graduate students.
  • Master’s Plan A students enrolled in one credit of 700F.
  • Doctoral students enrolled in one credit of 800.
  • Students pursuing a dual degree with law or medicine who are:
  1. Considered full-time by the professional school and enrolled in at least one degree-related course, or
  2. Carrying a full-time load as defined by the Graduate Division, or
  3. Law students in their first year of study.

* Degree-Related Courses — In addition to regular graduate courses taken to meet graduate degree requirements, ELI courses and courses used to remedy undergraduate deficiencies are considered degree-related. Audited courses are not considered degree-related.

International Students

Full time status must be maintained for international students unless prior approval has been obtained from ISS to register for less than full-time (8 credits).

Overload Policy

Students may exceed maximum course limits only with approval from the Graduate Division. Graduate assistants who wish to enroll in more than nine credits in any semester must file a Graduate Assistant Petition to Enroll in More than Nine Credits with the Office of Graduate Student Services. They are advised to consider carefully the potential effects of academic overload on their ability to maintain the required academic performance and to carry out their graduate assistant duties.

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