Cost Per Credit Hour Calculator
Calculate cost per credit hour from total tuition and fees, useful for comparing schools, planning a course load, or estimating the cost of adding or dropping a class.
The division, and the course price it implies
cost per credit hour = total tuition and fees / total credit hours
cost of a course = cost per credit hour x that course's creditsThe defaults, $4,500 across 15 credit hours, come to $300 a credit, so the 3-credit line reads $900. Use a term, a year or a whole degree - the ratio only cares that both numbers cover the same period.
Flat-rate tuition is what makes this interesting
Plenty of schools charge one price for any load inside a band, often 12 to 18 hours. Hold the $4,500 fixed and the unit price moves a long way:
| Credit hours | Cost per hour |
|---|---|
| 12 | $375.00 |
| 15 | $300.00 |
| 18 | $250.00 |
Inside a band an added class is free, and a dropped one refunds nothing - it only raises what every remaining hour cost you. Billed per hour instead, the ratio stays flat. Check which you are on before comparing schools.
Frequently asked questions
How much does one credit hour cost?
Whatever your bill divides down to - $300 on the default figures, so a 3-credit course is $900. The number only compares across schools if both bills include the same fees.
Is it cheaper per credit to take more classes?
Under flat-rate tuition, yes: 18 hours for $4,500 is $250 an hour against $375 at 12 hours. Under per-hour billing it makes no difference to the unit price, only to the total.
Can I compare a semester-hour school with a quarter-hour one?
Not directly. A quarter hour covers less material than a semester hour, so per-hour prices are not like for like. Compare the cost of a full academic year, or of the whole credential, instead.