L&S Credit Limits in Fall, Spring, and Summer Terms
UW-Madison undergraduate students who enroll in 12-18 credits during the Fall or Spring Term or who enroll in 6-12 credits in the Summer Term are considered full-time students.
In order to create learning environments that permit students optimal time to engage in their studies, UW-Madison has established limits on the number of credits students may take in any given term. Students who wish to enroll in more credits than the term maximum (above) must have a cumulative University GPA of 3.000 or higher. Students in their first term of undergraduate enrollment at UW-Madison are not eligible. When prompted by Course Search and Enroll to seek dean’s permission for credit overload in any term, students should review the overload eligibility criteria, the credit limits for the term (below), and submit a completed overload request form.
Additional tuition and fees are assessed when full-time students enroll in credits that exceed the term full-time maximum. See the Bursar’s Office website for information regarding tuition rates and fees. Credit overload is calculated on the basis of all credits attempted after 100% deadline, which means that swapping one course for a different course after the 100% deadline may incur added tuition and fees.
When unsure whether approval for credit overload is required, students should submit a completed overload request form and be prepared to review their plan with an academic dean.
Fall Term
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No UW-Madison student may carry more than 20 credits during the Fall or Spring Term, regardless of where those credits are taken. This is the absolute maximum.
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Permission is required to enroll in 19 or 20 UW-Madison credits in a Fall or Spring Term at UW-Madison.
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Permission for credit overload is NOT required if UW-Madison enrollment is 18 credits or fewer. If enrollment at another institution brings total registration to 19 or 20 credits, permission is not required.
Spring Term
- At UW-Madison, Spring Term includes regular spring term sessions (such as the A1 session) and winterim classes.
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Winterim classes have Spring Term session codes that begin with W, X, Y, and Z. Credits taken during these sessions are included in a student’s Spring Term enrollment limits.
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For more detail on winterim enrollment, please visit UW-Madison Winterim Course Credit.
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- If enrolling during winterim and/or the regular spring term (e.g., A1 session), students must limit enrollments as follows:
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No more than 4 credits may be earned in any term identified as winterim, regardless of where those credits are taken.
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No more than 20 credits may be earned in the regular spring term (e.g., A1 session), regardless of where those credits are taken.
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No more than 20 credits may be earned across winterim and regular spring term if winterim courses end after the regular spring term (e.g., A1 session) has begun.
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Permission for credit overload is NOT required to enroll in
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18 or fewer UW-Madison credits across winterim and regular spring term session (e.g., A1 session); and/or
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3 or fewer credits during a UW-Madison winterim course (W, X, Y, or Z sessions).
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19 or 20 credits, as long as any credits beyond 18 are completed through a different institution.
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4 winterim credits at another institution
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Permission for credit overload is required to enroll in
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More than 18 UW-Madison credits across winterim and regular spring term session (e.g., A1 session);
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19-20 UW-Madison credits in the regular spring term session (e.g., A1 session); and / or
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4 UW- Madison credits during a winterim session course (W, X, Y, Z sessions);
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Summer Term
- Students are limited to 1 credit per week of instruction with the exception of the 8-week general session (DHH), in which they may enroll in 9 credits without permission: https://registrar.wisc.edu/credit-load-and-ranges/.
- No student may carry more than 13 credits during the Summer term, regardless of where those credits are taken.
- Permission is NOT required for
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any credits taken at another institution.
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enrollments permitted by Course Search & Enroll.
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Permission is required
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when Course Search & Enroll prevents a student from adding courses.
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to exceed any session limit by 1 credit.
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to enroll in 13 UW-Madison credits in Summer term.
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Contact L&S Undergraduate Academic Deans’ Services with further questions:
Phone: (608) 262-0617
Email: lsdeans@saa.ls.wisc.edu