Definitions

Before one can understand the requirements for academic degrees, one first must understand some terms about academic credit for a class:

semester

A semester is an academic term with a duration of 15 weeks. Typically in the USA, a university has two semesters per year: one begins in August and the other begins in January. (There is a third semester during the summer, but most students have jobs during the summer, instead of attending classes then.)

semester hour

A so-called "one-hour" lecture class has a duration of 50 minutes. A lecture class that meets for a total of 3×50 minutes each week for one semester is worth "3 semester hours" of credit. A lecture class that meets for a total of 5×50 minutes each week for one semester is worth "5 semester hours" of credit.

quarter

A quarter is an academic term with a duration of 10 weeks. A typical student attends classes for three quarters during the year. (There is a fourth quarter during the summer, but most students have jobs during the summer.) Some universities in the USA have quarters, instead of semesters.

quarter hour

A class that is worth 3 quarter hours of credit is equivalent to a class that is worth 2 semester hours of credit, because a quarter has fewer weeks of classes than a semester.

Bachelor's Degree

Minimum academic requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited university in the USA in the year 1970 include:

• A total of at least 120 semester hours of credit must be earned in classes at accredited universities. It typically takes a student four years of full-time study (not including summers) to earn a bachelor's degree.
  
  Each of these classes has written examinations, term papers or weekly homework, and other assignments that must be completed by every student. Students were required to attend every class meeting, unless they had a good reason for their absence.
  
  There are numerous restrictions on which classes may be counted for a degree, for example:
  • specific classes in one's major subject may be required, according to the decision of the faculty in each department
  • specific classes in general education (e.g., writing, speech, mathematics, science) may be required
  • a selection of classes outside one's major subject is required, to give breadth to one's education: by exposing students to science, mathematics, history, philosophy, psychology, economics, music, etc.
  • at least 50 semester hours of credit must be earned in classes suitable for third- or fourth-year students majoring in those subjects
  • either take a two-semester foreign language class (e.g., total of 10 semester hours) or pass a competency exam in a foreign language.

These rules supposedly prevent students from graduating by either taking only easy classes, or taking classes in a narrow range of subjects.

• At least the final year of study (i.e., at least 30 semester hours) must be conducted on the campus of university that issues the degree, a so-called "residency requirement". This requirement ensures that the university that issues a diploma will have some first-hand experience with the student, instead of relying on credit for courses taken at another university. Many colleges required at least the final four semesters (i.e., two years) of study be conducted on campus.

Master's Degree

Minimum academic requirements for a master's degree (e.g., M.Sc.) from an accredited university in the USA in the year 1970 include:

• A total of at least 30 semester hours of credit beyond the bachelor's degree must be earned in classes at accredited universities. At least 24 semester hours is in classes, of which at least half must be at the graduate level.
• Traditionally, a candidate for a master's degree was required to complete a master's thesis, which was an original scholarly work. The candidate was required to defend the thesis before a meeting of the candidate's advisory committee, which other professors were welcome to attend. The student was typically given 6 semester hours of credit for a successful thesis.
  
  Beginning in the late 1960s, universities in the USA began to devalue the master's degree by allowing students to take an extra six semester hours of classes instead of doing a master's thesis.

A Master's degree typically required one year of full-time study or two years of study while also doing teaching or research on campus (i.e., a half-time teaching or research assistant).

Doctoral Degree

The requirements for a doctoral degree (e.g., Ph.D.) from an accredited university in the USA have a great deal of variation from one subject area to another, and from one university to another. The one common feature everywhere is that the doctoral degree is the highest academic degree offered by universities in the USA.

The minimum academic requirements for a doctoral degree in the year 1970 include:

• A total of at least 50 semester hours of credit beyond the bachelor's degree must be earned in classes at accredited universities. Most of these classes will be in the student's major subject and most of these classes will be at the graduate level. Classes that were taken for a Master's degree can also be used to satisfy part of the requirements for a doctoral degree.
• The most important part of a doctoral degree is the completion of a doctoral dissertation, which is a significant, original scholarly work that is suitable for publication in professional journal(s).   The student is given at least 12 semester hours of credit for a successful doctoral dissertation. Variation in the amount of credit given for a dissertation causes most of the variation in the total number of semester hours required for a doctoral degree.
• There is a sequence of three examinations:
  1. A written examination, typically about six hours in length covering the undergraduate syllabus. A student typically is given two chances to pass this examination, a failure on the second time expels the student from the graduate program.
  2. A written proposal of a dissertation topic and research methods, followed by a oral examination by the candidate's advisory committee, which other professors are also welcome to attend.
  3. And, most significantly, the candidate is required to defend his/her dissertation before a meeting of the candidate's advisory committee, which other professors are also welcome to attend.

A doctoral degree typically required between four and six years of full-time study and research beyond a bachelor's degree. Most universities required the candidate for a doctoral degree to spend at least three years on campus, taking classes and doing research.

Library

Every accredited university must have an adequate library, to support scholarly research by both students and faculty. Most major universities have a total of more than 5 × 10⁵ volumes of scholarly books and periodicals in the several libraries on their campus.