How to use the degree credit requirement calculator
A graduate degree is rarely a single number. There is a total credit requirement, a separate minimum inside your own field, and programs differ on whether research or dissertation credits count toward that total. Reading a transcript alone often leaves the remaining balance unclear. Enter the total and field requirements from your handbook, the credits earned in your field, the other credits earned, the research credits earned and the maximum credits you can take in one term.
Field credits and other credits are added together, and research credits are added or left out according to the option you choose, giving the credits that count toward the total. Subtracting that from the total requirement gives the credits still needed, and subtracting the field credits earned from the field minimum gives the field shortfall. The larger of the two is divided by the per-term maximum and rounded up to show the minimum terms remaining. When both shortfalls reach zero the requirement is reported as met.
This calculator counts credits only. It does not judge a dissertation defense, a comprehensive exam, a language requirement, advisor assignment, or rules about maximum time to degree and minimum terms enrolled. The term figure is a floor based on credits alone, so limited course offerings can stretch it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Graduate credit requirements differ by program, by field and by catalog year, and a combined master's and doctoral track differs again. This page embeds no rule and uses the figure in your own handbook.
Counting them adds those credits to the total, while excluding them leaves them out. Either way they are not counted toward the minimum credits in your field.
The larger of the two shortfalls, total credits and field credits, is divided by the maximum credits per term and rounded up. Course availability and timetable clashes are not considered.