A system which divides the academic year into four periods of about 12 weeks each. The regular academic year has the fall, winter, and spring quarters. The summer quarter is usually optional.

A type of academic calendar system. In this setup, students take classes for three academic periods. The first quarter usually starts in late September or early October and concludes right before Christmas. The second quarter usually starts around early to mid–January and finishes up around March or April. The last quarter, or “third quarter,” usually starts in late March or early April and finishes up in late May or Mid-June. The fourth quarter is summer. The major difference between the quarter system and semester system is that students take more courses but with less coverage.

Division of the academic year into fall, winter, spring and summer quarters; every quarter is ten to eleven weeks in duration.