Time Status

Undergraduate Students

Time Status Credits per Semester
Full-Time 12 or more credits per semester
Half-Time 6 to 11 credits per semester
Less Than Half-Time 1 to 5 credits per semester
No Time 0 credits per semester

Graduate Students

Full-time status is defined as six or more semester credits in formal (for-credit) courses and/or the following criteria for establishing status. (This definition excludes Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LLM) students in the School of Law and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) students in the School of Medicine).

All graduate students holding appointments as Saint Louis University fellows, trainees or graduate assistants are considered full-time regardless of the number of credits enrolled, (i.e., a student can have fewer than 6 credits while being fully funded). This means that a student does not have to use the full 18 or 21 credits allocated on an assistantship if the student does not need all of those credits. Dissertation, thesis, and project guidance credits can be divided into multiple semesters to reach the required credits.

All graduate students registered for Special Study for Examinations are considered full-time.

All graduate students registered in thesis, dissertation research or project guidance (5960/5990/6960/6990) are considered full-time.

Graduate Education policy requires that students be enrolled in at least one credits of dissertation credit upon completion of coursework or achievement of doctoral candidacy until completion of 12 credits. After completing 12 credits students may enroll in zero credits, unless otherwise directed (e.g. additional credits while on extensions). For thesis and project guidance, after completing the required credits students may enroll in zero credits, unless otherwise directed (e.g. additional credits while on extensions).