How Many Credit Hours Do You Need for a Bachelor’s Degree?
A degree may open the door to a variety of opportunities and diverse career paths. The degree programs offered at AIU will not necessarily lead to the featured careers. This collection of articles is intended to help inform and guide you through the process of determining which level of degree and types of certifications align with your desired career path.
How many credits do you need to complete a bachelor's degree program? This question may sound straightforward, but it isn’t. That’s because the number of college credits needed to graduate can vary by school, by academic discipline and/or by the type of academic credit system the school uses (quarter credits vs. semester credits). And this doesn’t even take into account one’s individual circumstances—for example, if you are eligible to receive experiential or transfer credit toward your bachelor’s degree program, that could offset/reduce the number of credits required to graduate.
The online bachelor’s degree programs at American Intercontinental University (AIU) are designed as 180 quarter credit hour programs. In contrast, many semester credit-based bachelor’s degree programs often require completion of 120 semester credits. (The difference comes down to whether the academic calendar is divided into two main semesters or four quarters.) But, despite the apparent difference in the total number of credit hours needed for a bachelor’s degree, both quarter credit and semester credit programs are typically designed to be completed in about four years, assuming full-time enrollment.
Different Ways to Earn College Credit
AIU may award academic credit based on a student’s prior education, work or military experience. In fact, you may be able to transfer-in up to 75% of the qualifying credits needed for your undergraduate degree program,1 thereby reducing your tuition costs and potentially shortening your degree completion timeline.2
College Credit Transfer: Students who wish to transfer-in college credits earned at another accredited postsecondary institution may submit unofficial transcripts for evaluation prior to beginning their first term of study. Courses under consideration from another postsecondary institution must be relevant and considered substantially similar to the coursework at AIU before transfer credit will be approved.1
Prior Learning Assessment (PLA): Students may apply to receive undergraduate college credit through AIU Accelerate®, a prior learning assessment program that offers the opportunity to receive academic equivalency credit for learning that has taken place outside of a traditional academic setting. PLA credit for undergraduate degree programs may be earned through the following methods:
- Standardized tests, such as: College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES Subject Standardized Testing (DSST), Excelsior, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB)
- Challenge exams
- Individualized assessment—Experiential Learning Portfolios
- Individualized assessment—Experiential Essays
- Industry certifications; licensure; apprenticeship
- Credits for non-college or corporate training programs
Military Credit: Students at AIU may be able to receive college credit for military experience through the following methods:
- Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
- Military training course
- Service colleges
- Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC)
The AIU MOS Pledge program is a way for students to receive maximum credit for previous military training. Students may automatically receive a certain number of credits based on their MOS level, in addition to any college credit received for other qualifying experience.
The Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC) program is a special initiative between the Air Force and civilian higher education institutions that is designed to offer baccalaureate degree opportunities to every Air Force enlisted member.
For additional information pertaining to military credit, visit the AIU Student Transfer Credit Guide and the University Catalog.
How Long Does It Take to Earn a Bachelor's Degree?
Bachelor’s degree programs are usually designed so that a full-time student can meet a college's graduation credit requirements in four years. Undergraduate degree requirements may include:
- core/major credit requirements
- general elective credit requirements
- general education credit requirements
- minimum GPA requirements
However, different factors can affect a student's personal degree completion timeline, including their college courseload per semester/quarter, whether they are full time or part time, and their attendance format (online vs. traditional vs. hybrid). Generally speaking, online degree programs offer more flexibility and convenience, but some offer more than others. AIU's 100% online degree programs are designed to offer a high level of flexibility so that students can study and complete their coursework when it is convenient for them.
What Kinds of Courses Do You Take in a Bachelor's Degree Program?
Specific courses required by a given bachelor's program vary by institution and/or program. Generally, however, courses can be broken down into three main categories: core courses, general elective courses and general education courses.
- Core courses, or major courses, are directly tied to a student's chosen discipline/major.
- General elective courses are not necessarily tied to a student's chosen discipline/major, and they do not count toward fulfilling general education requirements—rather, a student chooses to take them based on their interests or goals. With that said, students may have varying degrees of freedom to choose their general electives. In some cases, students may be free to choose their general electives from among all undergraduate courses. In other cases, they may have to choose them from a pre-approved list. Whether a student is pursuing a “general track” or a specific degree specialization or concentration (say, a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) vs. Bachelor of Business Administration: Specialization in Finance) could impact their elective options.
- General education courses, sometimes referred to as "Gen Ed" courses, which typically make up a significant portion of any undergraduate degree program, are used to expose undergraduate students to a broad array of subjects and foundational knowledge and skills. Gen Ed courses can comprise a significant chunk of a program's total credit requirements—up to half, in some cases.
FAQs
How many credits a student takes per quarter or semester will partly depend on whether they are enrolled as a full-time or part-time student. But enrollment status doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, as there is “wiggle room” within each category. At AIU, a student must take 12 or more credit hours to be considered full time, and fewer than 12 credit hours to be considered part time.
Transfer credits don’t reduce the total number of credits needed to graduate—rather, they are applied to a degree program’s total credit hour requirements, thus reducing the number of remaining credits a student must still earn to graduate. The more credits a student is able to transfer in, the fewer courses that student should have to take. This can help to reduce both tuition expenses and time to degree. For example, say that you hold an associate degree from another institution—you may be able to transfer-in some of those credits you earned and apply them to your current bachelor’s degree program.
At AIU, students receive a proficiency (PR) grade for prior learning credit. PR credit signifies that a student is proficient in the specific course requirement for their respective degree program. This credit does not count toward a student’s GPA at AIU, nor does AIU guarantee or imply that PR credit will be accepted by another institution.
How long it takes to earn 180 college credit can vary. Bachelor’s degree programs are usually designed as four-year programs: If a school uses the quarter-credit system, then it should take about four years for a full-time student to earn 180 credits.
AIU’s online bachelor’s degree programs require completion of 180 quarter credits, which is equivalent to 120 semester credits
Yes, online bachelor’s degree programs require the same number of credit hours as traditional, on-campus programs. In fact, bachelor’s degree programs are often offered in online, on-campus and hybrid attendance option formats—where online students are held to the same standards and must meet the same college credit requirements as their on-campus counterparts.
As discussed above, bachelor’s degree programs typically require students to satisfy a certain amount of general education credit requirements. Gen Ed courses typically comprise a significant percentage of an undergraduate degree program’s total credit requirements. At AIU, general education credits account for 58.5 of the 180 quarter credits required for graduation. Examples of general education courses offered at AIU are:
- English Composition
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- Humanities (such as History or Philosophy)
- Mathematics
- Natural Sciences
Pursue Your Bachelor’s Degree Online at AIU
AIU’s online degree programs are designed to give working adults the flexibility they need to pursue their academic goals. For more information about our transfer credit policies and PLA credit programs, you can request more information online or call an Admissions Advisor at 855-377-1888.
Ready to learn more? Explore AIU’s online degree and certificate programs today.
1 Transfer credit is evaluated on an individual basis. Not all credits are eligible to transfer. See the University Catalog for transfer credit policies.
2 AIU’s bachelor’s degree programs are designed as 48 month programs; however; many factors will impact your time to completion, including course loads, proficiency and/or transfer credits and breaks.
AIU cannot guarantee employment, salary, or career advancement. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. REQ2236961 07/2026
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