Students should understand that for every hour spent in class, they are expected to spend two to three hours studying outside of class time, and should therefore plan their academic load accordingly. Study time may vary based on the student's background knowledge and class difficulty.
Graduate Business
A full-time program consists of nine (9) or more semester hours of graduate course work. Part-time students who are employed full-time will generally be limited to six semester hours of graduate work in a given semester. During the evening summer session or during an accelerated term in a fall or spring semester, the recommended course load is one-half that of a regular semester.
Graduate Education
A full-time program during the fall and spring semesters consists of nine (9) or more semester hours of graduate course work. A full-time program during the Summer Sessions consists of six (6) or more semester hours of graduate course work. Students enrolled in the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification program are restricted to two courses (6 semester hours) per semester until the point of student teaching.
Graduate Arts and Sciences
A full-time program consists of nine (9) or more semester hours of graduate course work. Part-time students who are employed full-time will generally be limited to six semester hours of graduate work in a given semester. During the summer sessions, the recommended course load is one-half that of a regular semester.
Westminster Choir College
A full-time graduate program consists of between nine (9) and fifteen (15) semester hours. Enrollment for more than 15 semester hours constitutes an academic overload, and requires the permission of the Associate Dean for the School.
Graduate students may exceed the normal maximum academic load after completing one (1) full-time semester at Rider University (minimum of 9 credit hours) and attaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or higher. Students on Conditional Academic Standing are not eligible for an academic overload.
Students who exceed the normal load are required to pay an overload per credit fee for each credit over 15, except in the case of non-billable hours.
Students may enroll for a maximum of 12-14 combined credits during Summer I and II sessions, with no more than 7 credits in any one session. These maximums may be exceeded only with the permission of the student's academic dean.