Block,Quarter or Semester: Choosing the System that Works Best for You

By Karolyn Castaldo on February 6, 2012

Today, the options for class length at different universities are incredible. Whether you want it short and sweet, fast-paced, or long and drawn out, there’s a place for you out there: you just have to find it! The three most popular systems for class length are block systems, quarter/trimester systems and semesters.

Photo from Flickr.com by MC Quinn

From personal experience, I know how both both block systems and quarters/trimesters work. Between my junior and senior year of high school, I attended Colorado College for a “Beginning Fiction Writing” class. Colorado College uses the block system, which is 1 class for three weeks at a time, with a 4-day break in between each block. Though most people find this a little intense, it’s an extremely nice way to learn. You only have one class to worry about at a time so you can put all your energies toward that class. You have a lecture for three hours five days a week (but depending on the professor you may have less!) This is a truly great system for people who cannot seem to handle more than one class load at a time. It’s also great for people who get bored of a class after the third week. It’s very intensive though, so it might get a little hectic depending on your major!

The Quarter/Trimester system is great as well. At my school, the University of Denver, we call them quarters, but it essentially a trimester system. You take four classes for ten weeks and have 3 terms per academic year. This is also a pretty intensive program of study, because it goes by very quickly. Before you realize it, it’s Week Five (midterms!) and then it’s Week Ten (finals!). We call it quarters because the University offers a Summer Quarter that is not required by all undergraduates. This system also works well for students who get bored of classes easily, but who want to learn more than can be crammed into 3 weeks. We have Fridays off at DU (for most majors) so that we are not too bogged down with work! Another perk is that we get very long breaks in between our terms. Quarters/Trimesters allow you to take more classes per year than you usually would in a semester system. You can find these types of systems abroad as well.

Finally, the semester system is something that I’m not familiar with from personal experience, but it is the most common form. With a semester system, you have 15 weeks of classes twice per academic year. Generally, students take at least five course per term. Semester systems allow classes to go a little more in depth or just at a slower pace, which can be much better for some students who get stressed out easily. The semester system gives fairly long breaks, but often, students have to return to school after Thanksgiving in order to take their final exams. Considering the amount of schools that use this system, rather than the Block or the Quarter/Trimester, it is the most preferred term-length. Most abroad programs run on semester systems so it is easy to do a Semester abroad if you want.

Whichever you choose, be sure that you can handle the pace and workload and that it is beneficial to your studies. Don’t choose a Quarter or Block just because of the break lengths and don’t choose a Semester just because you don’t want to take intensive courses. All are great options, it’s just a matter of what works best for you!

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format