Credit points are a way of keeping track of how much of your degree you’ve completed.
Let’s have a look at how they work.
All your university subjects have a value
At university, each subject you do will be worth a certain number of credit points (or “credits” or “units”). Usually, all of your courses are worth the same amount.
Here’s an example from UQ, where they use the term “units” instead of “credit points”. You can see that most subjects are worth 2 units.
Some subjects are worth more or less
Occasionally, you’ll do a subject that is worth more or less than your other subjects. This might be a short subject and be worth half the normal number of points, or a big subject that has more contact time and bigger assessments, and is worth twice as many points.
Here’s another example from the UQ Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours). You can see that the clinical placement in the fourth year is worth three times as many points as a normal subject.
You have to complete a certain number of credit points to graduate
If you’re already at university, you can look up the degree you’re studying on your university’s website. This will usually help you to find the course or program outline and rules. If in doubt, get in touch with your faculty.
A degree’s outline and rules should tell you how many credit points you need to complete in order to graduate. The rules will also tell you whether there are any requirements for a certain number of credit points/subjects to be first year, second year, third year or higher subjects.
If we look at the UQ Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) Program and course requirements again, we can see that students need to take 16 units at first year level, 16 units at second year level, and so on, in order to complete the degree and be eligible to graduate.
Each university is different
It’s important to remember that pretty much every university is different. Some universities use the term “credit points”, some use “credits” and others use “units”. And some universities give a standard subject a weighting of 2, others give a weighting of 8, and others give a weighting of 10. Everyone has a slightly different system. In Brisbane, UQ, QUT, Griffith and ACU are all different in terminology and weighting of subjects.
However, the basic rules are the same across all universities
The basic rules are:
- Each subject you take has a value; and
- You need to complete a certain number of subjects in order to be eligible to graduate.
If you need further information for your situation, probably the best people to ask are your university. Try your Student Centre, school or faculty.
Good luck! 💪
Tom
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