Background and trends In the United States, quarters typically comprise 10 weeks of class instruction, although they have historically ranged from eight to 13 weeks. Academic quarters first came into existence as such when
William Rainey Harper organized the
University of Chicago on behalf of
John D. Rockefeller in 1891. Harper decided to keep the school in session year-round and divide it into four terms instead of the then-traditional two. This number has stayed fairly constant since 1930, when 75% of U.S. institutions surveyed indicated they used a semester plan, with 22% on the quarter system. During the 1960s, a number of U.S.
state university systems made a switch from a semester to quarter system, typically in an attempt to accommodate the large number of post-war "baby boom" students who had reached college age (sometimes called the "Tidal Wave I enrollment boom"). A prominent example of this trend was the
University of California system, which moved to a quarter system in 1966. Since then,
UC Berkeley switched back to semesters in 1983, the new
UC Merced branch opened with the semester system, and some UC professional schools have switched back to semesters at various points. At various points since the 1960s, committees have been established and official discussions have taken place within the UC system to discuss a systemwide switch back to the semester system. In recent years, a number of higher education institutions have considered or approved a switch to a semester system. The
University System of Ohio, which includes
Ohio State University,
Ohio University, and the
University of Cincinnati, converted to the semester system in 2012 to better align with other public and private institutions in the state, among other reasons. Individual schools have also switched, like
Georgia Tech in 1999. Rochester Institute of Technology converted to semesters in Fall 2013, although the decision was highly controversial, overriding a student vote to remain with quarters. Other institutions and systems that have switched include
California State University, Los Angeles,
Auburn University, the
University of Minnesota system, the
Utah State system, and
Northeastern University. Also, quarters allow for faculty to engage in terms with a relatively light course load of teaching and greater opportunities for short
sabbaticals. •
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (until fall 2026) •
Loma Linda University •
Pacific Union College •
Santa Clara University •
Stanford University •
University of California - Eight of the ten
University of California campuses are on a quarter system. However, the five law schools in the University of California (
UC Berkeley School of Law,
UC Davis School of Law,
UCLA School of Law, UC Irvine Law, and
UC Law SF) are on a semester system as is the
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. •
University of California, Davis •
University of California, Irvine •
University of California, Los Angeles •
University of California, Riverside •
University of California, San Diego •
University of California, San Francisco •
University of California, Santa Barbara •
University of California, Santa Cruz Colorado •
University of Denver Georgia •
Savannah College of Art and Design Illinois •
DePaul University •
Northwestern University •
University of Chicago Indiana •
Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology Louisiana •
Louisiana Tech University Massachusetts •
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Minnesota •
Carleton College New Hampshire •
Dartmouth College New York •
Union College Ohio •
Antioch College Online •
Capella University Oregon •
Eastern Oregon University •
Oregon Health & Science University •
Oregon Institute of Technology •
Oregon State University •
Portland State University •
Southern Oregon University •
University of Oregon •
Western Oregon University Rhode Island •
New England Institute of Technology Pennsylvania •
Drexel University (until August 2027)
Washington •
Central Washington University •
Eastern Washington University •
Evergreen State College •
Seattle University •
Seattle Pacific University •
University of Washington •
University of Washington Bothell •
University of Washington Tacoma •
Walla Walla University •
Western Washington University Wisconsin •
Milwaukee School of Engineering ==See also==