Academic Calendar Structure

Northeastern University operates on a semester-based academic calendar for its undergraduate and most graduate programs. The academic year is divided into three major terms:

  • Fall semester
  • Spring semester
  • Summer semester

The fall and spring semesters serve as the primary instructional periods and are approximately 15 weeks in length, including final examination periods. Within each semester, courses may be offered in several subperiods (also called sessions or parts of term), allowing students greater scheduling flexibility. Typical semester subperiods include:

  • Full semester: standard courses that run for the entire semester, lasting 15 weeks in duration 
  • Session A (first half): accelerated courses that meet during the first half of the semester, seven weeks in duration 
  • Session B (second half): accelerated courses that meet during the second half of the semester, seven weeks in duration 
  • Initial third: accelerated courses offered during the first third of the semester, five weeks in duration
  • Middle third: accelerated courses offered during the middle portion of the semester, five weeks in duration
  • Final third: accelerated courses offered during the final portion of the semester, five weeks in duration

Northeastern University's Office of the University Registrar publishes separate academic deadlines for each subperiod including registration, add/drop, withdrawal, grading, and final examination dates. 

Regardless of subperiod length, all courses are designed to deliver the same academic content, learning outcomes, and total instructional contact hours as a standard 15-week semester course. Accelerated courses achieve this by increasing the frequency and/or duration of class meetings over a compressed time frame, allowing students to earn equivalent academic credit while maintaining compliance with institutional, accreditation, and federal credit-hour requirements. See Course Credit Guidelines in this catalog for more information.