How Many Months Are in a College Semester?

A typical college semester has three months. However, the length of a semester varies from state to state. The fall and spring semesters each have 15 weeks, while the summer semester is usually shorter with about 12 weeks.

A semester system breaks an academic year into two terms of about 14 to 20 weeks each. Semester length varies from school to school within a range of one to three weeks. Some community colleges still use the K-12 schedule, which consist of two 18-week semesters. U.S. universities have two intakes during the fall and spring semesters. The fall semester commences in August or September and ends in December, while the spring semester starts in January and elapses in May. Summer semesters are held between May and August.