Trimester FAQs

The flexibility to accommodate a separation of Trimester and Semester study periods could result in dual and double degree students studying across trimesters and semesters. You can seek study planning advice by emailing enrolments@jcu.edu.au.

To be classed as full-time a student will be required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points in each standard study period.

A normal full-time workload for each Trimester is nine credit points (three subjects). For Student Income Support purposes a student must undertake 75 per cent of the normal full-time workload; being six credit points (two subjects) for a Trimester. For more information, please refer to the Australian Government website for details about eligibility for Student Income Support.

Guidelines for undertaking study in the Trimester model and retaining eligibility for Student Income Support:

• If a student requires Student Income Support for the full academic year they must enrol in six subjects spread across all three trimesters, with at least one enrolment in every Trimester. It is recommended students enrol in all their subjects for that year no later than January of the academic year to enable system processing and sustained income support.
• If a student’s enrolment pattern for the year will have an uneven number of subjects in each trimester (e.g.  3+2+1 or 3+1+3), it is recommended they enrol in all their subjects before the commencement of Trimester One to indicate to Centrelink they are planning to undertake the minimum 75 per cent normal full time load across the year.

Each Study Period and Trimester is allocated to a Teaching Period. The academic year is divided into two Teaching Periods. Teaching Period 1 is the first six months of the year and Teaching Period 2 is the second six months of the year. Subjects with a census date prior to 1 July fall within Teaching Period 1, and subjects with a census date on or after 1 July fall within Teaching Period 2. Trimesters One and Two are included in Teaching Period 1 and Trimester Three is included in Teaching Period 2.

To be classed as full-time a student will be required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points in each standard study period.

A normal full-time workload for each Teaching Period is 12 credit points (four subjects). For Student Income Support purposes a student must undertake 75 per cent of the normal full-time workload; being 9 credit points (3 subjects) for that Teaching Period. For more information please refer to the Australian Government website for details about eligibility for Student Income Support.

Guidelines for retaining eligibility for Student Income Support whilst undertaking study in Teaching Periods when also required to undertake a subject offered in a Trimester:

• If a student requires Student Income Support for the full academic year they must enrol in six subjects spread across two Teaching Periods. It is recommended students enrol in all their subjects for that year at the commencement of the academic year.
  1. Teaching Period 1 example: If a student is required to enrol in two subjects in Study Period 1 and one subject in Trimester One they must be enrolled in the subjects before the earliest commencement date.
  2. Teaching Period 2 example: If a student is required to enrol in one subject in Study Period 2 and two subjects in Trimester Three they must be enrolled in the subjects before the earliest commencement date.

If available in the course, students can undertake a mix of both on-campus and online subjects. Students enrolled as on-campus (internal) are able to undertake online subjects. Please refer to the subject search engine for subject availability.

No, graduation dates are not affected by trimesters.

International students should follow their study plan and complete their studies in the timeframe permitted under their visa. Trimesters will not change their visa requirements as they will be able to complete in the appropriate timeframe.

Students can enrol into a maximum of three subjects per trimester. Enrolment in additional subjects needs to be approved by the College. Students requesting approval will be assessed on their GPA score.

No, students do not need to study in all three trimesters, however, if a student receives Centrelink payments, they may be required to undertake study in all three trimesters to be eligible for payments while studying. For more information see FAQ ‘How will studying in Study Periods and Trimesters affect my Centrelink Payments?’