Degree Credit Progress Calculator

A degree is a number of credits, and every term moves you toward it. This calculator shows how far along you are and answers the planning question either way: at your pace, how many terms are left, or to finish by a certain time, how many credits you need each term.

How to Use It

1. Choose When I’ll Graduate or Credits Per Term.
2. Enter the Credits to Graduate your degree requires and the Credits Completed so far.
3. For When I’ll Graduate, enter the Credits Per Term you plan to take. For Credits Per Term, enter the Terms Left you want.
4. Press Calculate to see your progress and the terms or credits you need.

How It Works

The credits left are the credits required minus the credits you’ve completed:

At a steady pace, the terms left are the credits left divided by your credits per term, rounded up, because a short final term is still a term:

Working the other way, the pace you need is the credits left divided by the terms you have. The calculator warns you when that’s more than 24 credits a term, beyond what most schools allow.

Worked Example

A student needs 120 credits and has 45. That’s $45 \div 120 = 37.5\%$ of the degree, with $120 - 45 = 75$ credits left.

• At 15 credits a term: $\lceil 75 \div 15 \rceil = 5$ more terms.
• To finish in 4 terms instead: $75 \div 4 = 18.75$ credits a term, a heavy but possible load.

Tips and Common Mistakes

• Credits aren’t the whole story. You also need every required course and any minimum GPA. Check a degree audit or your advisor.
• Use your real total. Some majors need more than 120 credits, and quarter-system schools count differently (around 180 for a bachelor’s).
• Count accepted credit only. AP, dual-enrollment and transfer credits count once they’re on your record.
• Full time isn’t always on time. Twelve credits a semester is full time, but a 120-credit degree in eight semesters takes 15.
• Summer terms help. A summer session is a term with its own load; it can shorten your timeline without a heavy fall or spring.