Graduate School Study Time | How Much is Enough?

How Much Graduate School Study Time is Enough?

SKILLS | SUCCEED 

2/9/2021 by HIGHERGRAD

Everyone learns differently. Because of that, we all study in different ways. You should have a good understanding by the time you start graduate school of what study methods and tips work best for you. But how much is enough? There is no single, magical number for graduate school study time. Each course is different and thus the requirements vary from course to course and semester to semester.

Plan to spend approximately 3X the time of in-classroom instruction on studying while in graduate school. A normal course load of 9-12 credits per semester equates to 27-36 hours of graduate school study time per week. There are many variables, however, that can change your graduate school study schedule. For instance, course difficulty, your understanding of the materials, and also the requirements of the class such as number of exams, quizzes, and projects.

Graduate School Study Time Differs for Each Student

Almost every graduate school student experiences times when it is hard to study. You may be working or you may have a difficult semester of courses. Perhaps you have it all figured out and graduate school is a breeze, unlikely! Either way, there are certain study tips that help to better use your graduate school study time. 

4 Study Tips for Graduate Courses

Although comprehending material during your undergraduate program is important, it is even more critical in graduate school. You are focused on a specific field now and what you learn directly relates to your future career. The more grad school hours per week in devote to study only helps you understand and learn from each course, project and research you undertake. To make the most of our time, here are four tips for successful studying.

• Review material after each class during the week - Keeping newly learned information fresh is the key to remembering it. Spend time after each class, or at the end of the day, reviewing the days topics by reviewing notes and course materials.
• Have a dedicated space for studying - A specific room or area in your house or apartment is one of those graduate school essentials. This can even be the library if you can find a quite place at home. Regardless, it is a must in order to block out other daily challenges and focus on learning the material.
• Allocate time in small chunks - No one can focus for an entire evening each night studying. You need to break up studying during the week into smaller blocks of time. Take breaks and focus on something else for awhile then come back to studying.
• Collaborate with other graduate students - Often times it is impossible to take comprehensive notes in every class. Whether your focus is off for that day or it is the nature of the class. Set aside time each week to collaborate with other students to share knowledge and learn from others what the most important parts of a course are.

​The habits of highly successful grad students can boil down to how well you understand the material. To excel, you need to put in the right amount of time into studying to get there. It is more than simply memorizing for an exam then forgetting. You will be expected to comprehend and use what you are learning. The amount of graduate school study time you put in is what you will get out and ultimately determine how successful you are.

What Does a Normal Grad School Study Schedule Look Like?

If you go with our 3X graduate school study time per class per week you end up with 9 hours give or take per 3 credit course. That may seem like a lot but most graduate school semester are only taking 9-12 credits. So you are looking at up to 36 hours of studying time per week. Again, the answer to the question around how many hours a week should you study in graduate school is not concrete. Your graduate school study schedule has to be flexible enough to change each week. Some weeks you will need to spend more time and other less. Success in grad school relates to some degree on how you schedule and plan your studying to work for you.

To summarize, plan to spend at least 3-times the amount of time of in-person instruction on studying. Every student is different and every program is unique. Your grad school study schedule has to be flexible enough to adapt. Find the amount of graduate school study time that works for you and you will better understand and comprehend the material.