A baccalaureate degree must contain a minimum of 120 semester hours. Baccalaureate degree programs also have a maximum of 120 semester hours (exclusive of physical education hours). Exceptions to the maximum degree length requirements may be made only with approval of the Board of Regents. A baccalaureate degree program must require at least 21 semester hours of upper division courses in the major field and at least 39 semester hours of upper division work overall.

A master's degree must contain a minimum of 30 semester hours, consisting of at least 12 hours of coursework open only to graduate students.

A doctoral degree must contain at least 16 semester hours of coursework at the doctoral level, in addition to research, dissertation writing, and directed study.

Federal definition of a credit hour

A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates:

1. Not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time, or;
2. At least an equivalent amount of work as outlined in item 1 above for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.

University System of Georgia definition of a credit hour

A minimum of 750 minutes of instruction or equivalent is required for each semester credit hour.

University of Georgia Credit hour policy

University of Georgia courses should meet Federal and University System of Georgia requirements for awarding credit hours. This applies to all courses at all levels (graduate, professional, and undergraduate) that award academic credit recorded on an official transcript issued by the University regardless of the mode of delivery, including but not limited to online, lecture, seminar, and laboratory. This applies to all types of courses, including but not limited to Clinical, Cooperative Education, Directed Study, Internship, Laboratory, Online, Practicum, Seminar, Service Learning, Student Teaching, and Research. Academic units are responsible for ensuring that credit hours are awarded for work that meets the requirements outlined in the Federal and University System of Georgia policies. The expectation of contact time inside the classroom and student effort outside the classroom is the same in all delivery formats of a course whether it be fully online, a hybrid of face-to-face contact with some content delivered by electronic means, or one delivered face-to-face in lecture or seminar format. Courses that have less structured classroom schedules, such as research seminars, service-learning courses, independent and directed studies, study abroad, internships, practica, studio work, clinical experiences, or any other academic work leading to the award of credit hours, at a minimum, should state clearly learning objectives, expected outcomes, and workload expectations that meet the standards set forth in the Federal and University System of Georgia definitions of a credit hour.