In a typical face-to-face learning environment, where there is a significant amount of directed teaching, one lecture, seminar, or discussion credit hour represents 1 hour per week of scheduled class/seminar time per semester. Most lecture and seminar courses are awarded 3 credit hours per semester. Over an entire semester, this formula represents at least 45 hours of class/seminar time and 90 hours of student preparation. In online learning, as there is less directed teaching and more self-study learning required, a credit hour represents 1 hour per week of following both instructional material on the internet and student self-study time. This independent study requires more focused student learning.  As such, one independent study hour (including thesis or dissertation research) represents 3-4 hours per week of supervised and /or independent practice.  This in turn represents between 45 and 60 hours of work per semester. A typical American Bachelor’s degree program of study on a semester calendar requires at least 120 credit hours to be earned by the student. A  Master’s degree program requires at least 33 credit hours and represents over 4,000 actual hours of supervised and unsupervised (independent research) study, while a doctoral program can represent 8,000 or more actual hours of advanced study and research beyond the Master’s degree.