Credits, semesters and how long you actually have

What a credit means

A credit is a measure of study load, not of difficulty. A four-credit paper is expected to take roughly twice the work of a two-credit one. Universities differ in how they map credits to hours, so treat it as a relative signal rather than an absolute.

The maximum period

This is the number nobody checks and everybody should. A two-year MBA commonly carries a maximum permitted period of four years. Miss it and the credits lapse.

Failing a paper is ordinary and recoverable. Running out of the maximum period is not, and it is the most common way a distance MBA ends without a degree.

Where the load actually falls

Semesters one and two carry the most papers. Semester four is usually dominated by the project, which is fewer papers but more self-direction — and therefore where more people stall.