Carnegie unit

noun

A standard measure of academic credit, based on the amount of time spent in class, rather than the mastery of the material, representing 120 hours of instructional contact time over the course of a year.

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Meanings

Carnegie unit1

nounCarnegie unit (plural Carnegie units)

plural Carnegie units · alternative Carnegie Unit

  1. USeducationA standard measure of academic credit, based on the amount of time spent in class, rather than the mastery of the material, representing 120 hours of instructional contact time over the course of a year.

Carnegie Unit2

nounCarnegie Unit (plural Carnegie Units)

plural Carnegie Units

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Carnegie unit.

Origin

Used since 1906. Derives from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which was itself named after Andrew Carnegie.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Carnegie unit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Carnegie%20unit

MLA

“Carnegie unit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Carnegie%20unit. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Carnegie unit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Carnegie%20unit.

Source: Carnegie unit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.