how many weeks is a quarter in college
Academic term The quarter system divides the calendar year into four quarters, three of which constitute a complete academic year. Quarters are typically 10 – 12 weeks long so that three quarters amount to 30 – 36 weeks of instruction. Approximately 20% of universities are on the quarter system. Most colleges that use the quarter system have a fall quarter from late September to mid-December, a winter quarter from early January to mid-March, a spring quarter from late March or early April to mid-June, and an optional summer session. Notable users of the quarter system include the University of California system (excluding Berkeley, Merced, the UCLA medical school, and all of the system's law schools), Stanford, the University of Chicago, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and DePaul University.[28][29] Union College uses a modified quarter system: fall, winter, and spring terms are each eleven weeks long; there are some summer classes, but there is no official summer quarter.[30] Because Union's calendar makes use of just three of four quarters, the three academic terms are generally (and somewhat misleadingly to outsiders) dubbed "trimesters," which they are not.[31] Another notable and somewhat unique user of the quarter system is Baylor Law School: it operates on the quarter system while the remaining colleges of Baylor University operate on the semester system.