The University provides opportunities for students to obtain a degree in fewer than four years in various Arts and Sciences disciplines by combining credits earned through the Advanced Placement program of the College Entrance Examination Board, dual enrollments credits, credits earned by overload (more than 15 credits per semester), and attendance in at least one summer session, either here or elsewhere.
In the most recent year for which data are available, 52 (almost 2%) of the students from the first-year entering class of 1996 earned degrees in three years or less. In the first-year entering class of 1999, 60% of all students earned some advanced placement (AP) credits, 34% earned at least 15 AP credits, and 26% earned between 16 and 61 AP credits; these students are thus eligible to shorten their time to graduate. Most students now either reduce their course loads or graduate with extra credits. No regulation prohibits students from graduating early, but early graduation from the five undergraduate schools other than the College is rare because the sequencing of courses required for professional degrees commonly requires four full years.