Not all colleges at the University of Miami are created equal. While all students walk away with a degree, some require more hours outside of the classroom than others.
Reflecting this, GPA requirements for Latin Honors — the Summa/Magna/Cum Laude distinctions given to graduating students — vary by college. The threshold for the highest honor, Summa Cum Laude, is a 3.951 in the Business School and a 3.992 in the College of Arts & Sciences.
The Academic Bulletin doesn’t include a breakdown of homework, so some students might not realize how much work their college requires until they’re already enrolled.
In a survey The Hurricane distributed to UM students, those in the schools of Nursing and Engineering had the busiest schedules. For some, the time spent studying or doing homework can be five times that of the Business and Communication schools.
College of Arts & Sciences
The College of Arts & Sciences has more than 4,400 students, making it UM’s largest college. Majors range from creative writing to neuroscience, with the only similarity being a nine-credit language requirement. As a result, students’ opinions on workload vary.
“I think it depends a lot on the professor,” said Marizu Weller Rios, a senior studying political science and public administration. “The College of Arts & Science is very reading-heavy.”
For majors like neuroscience, a senior in the major said labs and research can become more than nine hours of out-of-class work a week.
In contrast, Rios said humanities and social sciences can have anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours of homework.
Business School
Finance, accounting or economics — the increasingly exclusive world of business focuses more on interview preparation and networking, which can take upwards of 20 hours.
“The Business School is far less demanding when it comes to homework,” said Alfredo Briceno, a senior majoring in finance. “We have other things that we need to be doing, such as recruiting and networking, and all that takes up a majority of our time.”
Frost School of Music
Practice takes up most of the students’ time at the Frost School of Music. Daily sessions can take up to five hours, a cumulative 20 hours a week, according to a senior studying media scoring and production.
The trombone you hear from the Frost courtyard is not always leisure — it is often someone studying.
School of Education and Human Development
Students in the School of Education do fieldwork much quicker than others. By freshman year, most already have classroom roles, turning their homework from essay writing into grading.
“A lot of our work in [Data Analytics & Intelligence for Social Impact] heavily relies on other opportunities, such as internships and research,” said Stella York, a senior double majoring in DAISI and Elementary Education.
School of Architecture
Architecture is one of the few five-year programs at UM. Students spend 15 hours on studio classes and another 15 completing projects.
“It consists of lots of model building and site planning via hand drawings or AutoCAD,” said Alice Ray, a freshman studying Architecture. “Architecture is a time commitment, and I can tell it’s going to take dedication to stay on track.”
Those 6 daily studio hours l are the price for attending the No. 13 best architecture colleges in the country.
School of Engineering
Engineering is considered among the hardest undergraduate degrees, according to Atlas Summer Courses. Classes often build on top of each other, so failing one course could set you back a full year. To stay on track, students dedicate long hours every week reviewing material.
“I definitely think the College of Engineering is on the higher end in terms of workload,” said Chloé Van Hess, a senior studying mechanical engineering. “[My psychology and musicology] classes were definitely among the top 5 lightest-load classes I have taken at [UM].”
School of Communication
The name says it all. Whether through articles or advertising campaigns, students spend their time on assignments rather than reading.
“Being in the School of Communication, a lot of your finals and homework are very project-based,” said Isabella del Valle, a Junior studying Literature and Public Relations. “It’s a lot of teamwork, collaboration and strategy.”
School of Nursing and Health Studies
All prerequisites — a combined 53 credits — have to be completed before students in the School of Nursing and Health Studies can begin clinical practice in Junior year. Their extensive hands-on training ranked SONHS No. 36 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 Best College Nursing Programs Rankings.
“In my experience over the past year, nursing definitely has proved to be a rigorous major and I can always count on a constant workload,” said Skylar Apirian, a sophomore nursing student. “Compared to some of my friends in other majors, I feel like we have a lot more studying and work throughout the week, especially with exams.”
Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science
Home to UM’s hurricane emulator, the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science ranks among the best in the country for research, according to the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey.
The other main appeal is its variety of five-year double-degree programs. But it comes with a cost: more hours spent working.