College/university workload?

The standard expectation when designing a course is that (cumulative) for every 1 hour of classroom time, a student will need to conduct 3-4 hours of independent/guided learning.

That means that if the course meets 3 hours per week, you should devote 9-12 hours on homework. That includes reading, preparing, assignments, test study, reviewing notes, private tutoring, study groups, and office hours with professor.

The major does not effect the equation very much. The methods for preparing for a humanities course (reading, research, analysis) is different than preparation for math/sciences (work problems, work problems, work problems).

That is why 12 hours is “full time”:

12h in class

36h out of class

48 hours total

It depends on the college as well as the major and the schedule. Typically, math/science majors take a lot of tests while humanities majors write several papers. Engineering majors usually have the most intense workload.

12-18 semeters credits

Liberal Arts is like

English 101

Psych 101

Poly Science

College Math 1

Music Apperciation or ARt History

Astronomy is like

English 101

Astrophysics 1

Caculus 1

Poly Sci

Art History

Pre Med is like

English 101

Biology 1

Inorganic Chemistry

Poly Sci

ARt History

Trig or College Math 1

I never dropped below 18 units in any semester of college. And I held a part time job at 25 hours a week.

The workload varies depending on your major and the classes you will have to take.

There are no universal answers to this question. There is a huge range from school to school, and even within each school. Count on it being a lot, and if it is less than you expect you will be pleasantly surprised.