Quarter versus semester system: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:41, 16 September 2014

This page compares the quarter and semester systems as found in US universities. These are two different systems for organizing academic terms. See also the Wikipedia page Academic term.

Alternate sources

Source	Best links
Quora	Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?
College Confidential	Nothing of high quality, but consider Google Search on quarter and semester on College Confidential
About.com	On Young Adults: Quarter System and Semester System

Basic comparison

Criterion	Quarter system	Semester system
Example universities	University of Chicago, Stanford, Northwestern	MIT, Princeton, Harvard (note that MIT has a somewhat unusual structure because they have a separate Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January).
Number and timing of terms	Three major academic terms (called quarters): Fall or Autumn (late September-December), Winter (January-March), and Spring (March-June). An additional Summer Quarter late June-August.	Two major academic terms (called semesters): Fall (August-December or September-January), Spring (January or February to May). An additional summer term May-July or June-August
Duration of terms	Typically, the quarter has ten weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. Summer Quarter may be somewhat shorter, at 8-10 weeks.	Typically, the semester has fifteen weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. See here for more.

Quora questions and answers

Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This page compares the quarter and semester systems as found in US universities.
+This page compares the quarter and semester systems as found in US universities. These are two different systems for organizing academic terms. See also the Wikipedia page [[Wikipedia:Academic term|Academic term]].
+==Alternate sources==
+{| class="sortable" border="1"
+! Source !! Best links
+|-
+| [[Quora]] || [http://www.quora.com/Do-you-prefer-colleges-with-trimesters-semesters-or-quarter-schedules Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules?]<br/>[http://www.quora.com/The-College-and-University-Experience/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-quarter-system-over-the-semester-system-for-college-education What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?]
+|-
+| [[College Confidential]] || Nothing of high quality, but consider [https://www.google.com/search?q=quarter+semester+site%3Acollegeconfidential.com Google Search on quarter and semester on College Confidential]
+|-
+| [[About.com]] || On Young Adults: [http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegelife/g/QuarterSystem.htm Quarter System] and [http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegelife/g/SemesterSystem.htm Semester System]
+|}
+==Basic comparison==
 {| class="sortable" border="1"
 ! Criterion !! Quarter system !! Semester system
 |-
-| Example universities || University of Chicago, Stanford, Northwestern || MIT, Princeton, Harvard (note the MIT has a somewhat unusual structure because they have a separate Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January).
+| Example universities || University of Chicago, Stanford, Northwestern || MIT, Princeton, Harvard (note that MIT has a somewhat unusual structure because they have a separate Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January).
 |-
 | Number and timing of terms || Three major academic terms (called quarters): Fall or Autumn (late September-December), Winter (January-March), and Spring (March-June). An additional Summer Quarter late June-August. || Two major academic terms (called semesters): Fall (August-December or September-January), Spring (January or February to May). An additional summer term May-July or June-August
 |-
-| Duration of terms || Typically, the quarter has ten weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. || Typically, the semester has fifteen weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. See [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080320191601AADv1ov here] for more.
+| Duration of terms || Typically, the quarter has ten weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. Summer Quarter may be somewhat shorter, at 8-10 weeks.|| Typically, the semester has fifteen weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. See [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080320191601AADv1ov here] for more.
 |}
+==Quora questions and answers==
+* [http://www.quora.com/Do-you-prefer-colleges-with-trimesters-semesters-or-quarter-schedules Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules?]
+* [http://www.quora.com/The-College-and-University-Experience/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-quarter-system-over-the-semester-system-for-college-education What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?]