Credit-Hour Requirement for Graduation Download to print

Undergraduate Students

All students in bachelor’s degree programs must satisfactorily earn (with passing grades) a minimum of 120 semester credit hours of coursework to graduate. Associate degrees are awarded for the successful completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours of coursework. Some bachelor’s and associate degree programs require more hours than the 120 and 60, respectively.

As part of this requirement, students must complete a minimum 36 semester hours of the Kent Core for the bachelor's, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. Students must complete a minimum 15 semester hours of the Kent Core for applied and technical associate degrees.

Students who have had coursework or credits waived may be allowed to graduate from their program when they earn fewer than the minimum credit hours stated for that program in the University Catalog provided that they fulfill all requirements for the program and meet the university minimum credits hours for graduation.

Graduate Students

All master’s degree students must satisfactorily complete a minimum 30 semester credit hours applicable toward a master’s degree in order to graduate. Some master’s degree programs require more hours.

While the well-prepared doctoral candidate may expect to meet formal course requirements (exclusive of dissertation) for the doctoral program by completing a minimum of two years of full-time work beyond the baccalaureate, departments may require more extensive preparation where needed. In order to qualify for a doctoral degree, students must present a minimum of 90 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, or 60 hours beyond the master’s degree. These hours may include registration for coursework, individual investigation or research courses and dissertation. Only work of high quality is approved for doctoral credit.