The Great School of Magic
Scheduling:
The Great School of Magic operates 3 14 week trimesters per year, with another 6 weeks of scattered vacations. The schedule:
Newmont 1: New Year's Day. No classes.
Newmont 2: Winter Session Begins
Newmont 5: Necromantia. No classes.
Newmont 14: Glantrian Ice Games. No classes.
Vatermont 15: Boldavian Procession at night. Classes meet, but many people show up hungover the next day.
Vatermont 27-Thaumont 7: Alexander Day and Bells of Fate, Followed by a week of Spring Vacation, which includes Good Sprite Day.
Thaumont 14: Spring Break. No formal classes, but students are put to work blowing up the ice walls put up the previous winter.
Flaurmont 18: Monsters Fair. No classes.
Flaurmont 25-28: End of Trimester exams.
Yarthmont 1-2: Exam Recovery Days. No classes. Many students spend this period of time mostly unconscious.
Yarthmont 3: Summer Session begins (although it's still technically Spring)
Yarthmont 25-8: Arcanium. No classes.
Klarmont 3: Parliament Day. The GSOM does not celebrate this holiday.
Klarmont 20: Army Parade. No classes.
Felmont 9-13: Summer Break. No classes. (The Gondola Games effectively extend this one more day)
Felmont 14: Gondola Games. No classes.
Fyrmont 15: Night of the Red Moon. No classes and wise students hide.
Fyrmont 25-28: Trimester Exams.
Ambyrmont 1-2: Exam Recovery Days. Many students spend this period of time mostly unconscious.
Ambyrmont 3: Fall Session begins.
Ambyrmont 14: Feria del Toros. No classes.
Ambyrmont 25: Beggar's Hope. Classes meet anyway. The Great School holds a puzzle solving competition in the evening, however, in which the winning beggar gets a one year scholarship to the Great School of Magic and 1,000 GP. Students design the puzzles; the student with the best puzzle gets a refund on this semester's tuition.
Sviftmont 15: Vyvonese Carnival. No classes.
Sviftmont 26-Eirmont 4: Winter Break. No classes.
Eirmont 26: Fire Night. Classes meet.
Kaldmont 6: Best Wishes of Krondahar. No classes.
Kaldmont 14: Raising the Walls. No classes.
Kaldmont 24-7: Final Exams of the Trimester and Year.
Kaldmont 28: Last Day of the Year. No classes.
An average student [Intelligence 12] progresses in his studies as follows:
Year 1, Winter Session: Becomes 0 level.
Year 1, Summer Session: Becomes 1st level.
Year 1, Fall Session: Becomes 2nd level.
Year 2, Summer Session: Becomes 3rd level.
Year 3, Fall Session: Becomes 4th level
Year 5, Summer Session: Becomes 5th level
Year 7, Summer Session: Becomes 6th level
Year 9, Fall Session: Becomes 7th level
Year 12, Summer Session: Becomes 8th level
Year 15, Fall Session: Becomes 9th level and can take graduation test to gain a GD (Gentleman's Degree).
He now has 36,800 XP and is 15 years older. As might be imagined, most people don't want to hang around the Great School for 15 years. [Even with an 18 intelligence, it takes 10 years to get a degree by study alone]. As a result, many people never get a degree. Especially given that this schedule assumes you never, ever take a semester off for any reason whatsoever. Those who do are helped by the fact that the Great School only actually requires you attend one semester of classes per year to remain a registered student after your third year. They spend the other 2 semesters a year adventuring and/or doing spell research. (Or even doing something unrelated to magic, strange as that may seem)
Qualifying to enter the Great School:
If you are illiterate [mostly just barbarians in 3e], they won't take you, period, even if all the Princes line up and do a conga line on your behalf. The one exception to this is the recipient of the Beggar's Scholarship, who gets taught the basics of reading during the period before his scholarship begins at the start of the next year.
Year 1: The Work Your Butt Off Year (Apprentice)
Incoming new students are assigned to a master, who will be their slave driver for the year. Masters make an especial point of treating noble children like dung until they learn their first spell, as most of them are used to special treatment they don't deserve, and their snooty behavior tends to drive Masters crazy. You are required to fetch and carry, clean the master's chambers, copy books, cook food, and generally live like a servant, except that you're paying to do it. You also get lectured daily on whatever topic your master thinks are appropriate, whether it interests you or not. If he chooses to spend the day ranting about Master Tompkins, too bad, you had best listen or get your butt kicked for being a brat. There will be a test.
Winter Session:
Your master teaches you basic magical theory, and tries to teach you how to cast Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, and Read Magic. You MUST successfully learn Read Magic to pass your end of semester exams, and you must learn one of the others, and a third spell of your choice (Or more commonly, of your master's choice. Kindly masters often teach Filth's Bane or Spirit of Servitude to help you with chores. Cruel ones teach you something useless, like a spell to change your urine color. [Keep in mind you have to demonstrate the spells you've learned during exams] It is acceptable to learn a spell given you as a gift or purchased yourself.) You also attend 1 class of your choice given by another teacher. You must take a final exam in that class at the end of the semester.
Summer Session:
Your Master continues to train you in magical theory and other topics of his choice. You also are taught the rest of the zero level spell list, and at the end of the semester, you must demonstrate mastery of two first level spells. Specialist wizards gain their specialization benefits as the result of the studies of this semester. You also take one class of your choice given by another teacher.
Fall Session:
During this semester, your Master teaches you the art of spell research. You must either develop your own version of a standard first level spell or create a unique one and be able to cast it in order to earn your First Year Certificate. You also take one class of your choice given by another teacher.
Second Year (Journeyman)
Assuming you got your First Year Certificate and didn't have to be held back, your master now treats you as a respectable servant instead of his personal dog. You still spend a lot of time doing work for him, but you now have the first day of each week off from classes and duties. He teaches you at least one spell per semester, and you must develop one spell per semester yourself in order to pass your Session Exams. You also take classes dealing with:
Glantrian Government [Winter Session]
Use of Magic in Public Life [Summer Session--this basically involves being put to work around the city doing magic in a variety of business and personal contexts]
Glantrian Law [Fall Session]
To earn your Second Year Certificate, you must develop a unique spell, demonstrate the ability to cast second level spells, and demonstrate how to develop two standard spells from scratch. You also must pass the 'Society Exam', which tests your knowledge of Glantrian society, government, and law.
Third Year (Junior)
Your Master now only pimpslaps you when you deserve it. You are only required to study five days a week and you do only minimal chores, mostly for the school instead of your master. Many students use their two days off casting spells for hire to earn spending money. You spend this year mastering magical lore and researching spells. Each semester, you learn a spell from your master, and develop one yourself. To get your Third Year Certificate, you must demonstrate your ability to cast three spells of your own design, of which at least two must be second level, and you must pass a magical lore exam [Knowledge (Arcana) skill test].
The non-magical curriculum consists of a variety of classes intended to help you comport yourself as befits a gentleman (or lady). There are no final exams in these classes; they're simply for your own good. As a result, many students skip them.
Fourth Year and Beyond (Senior):
Those who possess a Third Year Certificate now need only attend one semester of classes per year in order to remain a registered student. Most students typically spend one semester per year on spell research, another one on private business and adventuring, and spend the Fall session actually taking classes. Students who actually plan to use university facilities during a session they're not taking classes must still pay tuition, but can then conduct spell research for free with those facilities. Those who do take classes are free to attend whatever classes they want, and usually also have a weekly session with their Master in which they discuss their progress in whatever independent study or research they are conducting.
At some point, the student must demonstrate mastery of three third level spells, one of them developed by himself. This earns him an Intermediate Certificate, sometimes called a D-Level Certificate [First through Third Year Certificates are often called A, B, and C level respectively].
Later, you earn your Expert Certificate [aka E-Level] by demonstrating mastery of three fourth level spells.
Finally, at some point down the line, the student becomes ready to create a fifth level spell [achieves ninth level]. He must demonstrate it, and two others he has learned, which then earns him a Graduation Test Ticket. Possession of such enables him to take the Graduation Test. The test essentially consists of a small solo dungeon adventure designed by his Master and a committee of four other Masters he has studied under. If he passes, he gains a GD (Gentleman's Degree), and may now call himself a Gentleman and qualify to eventually become a Glantrian noble, if he can muster the strength in Parliament. If he fails, he is probably dead, although if someone brings him back to life, he can try again next semester.
For most Glantrians, the GD is the last degree they will ever earn, and indeed, many students never actually get past their Third Year Certificate.
Graduate Studies:
It is often said that no one ever really graduates from the Great School. Once you get your GD, you are considered registered for life, and may freely come and go, although you must pay tuition for any semester in which you take classes. You can also choose to teach, which eats up your time, but brings in money you need to help pay that tuition.
Your tuition in Graduate studies is determined by what level of spells you can cast: [Graduate tuition is calculated by the school on the basis that the student will be studying every day that classes meet, thus 98 days a session]
5th level: 4410 GP/Session
6th level: 5390 GP/Session
7th level: 6370 GP/Session
8th level: 7350 GP/Session
9th level: 8330 GP/Session
Those who teach part time while studying can teach either a half-load of classes (This consumes two of your study days a week and eats half your tuition), or a full-load of classes (This eats up four days of study time a week, and pays all your tuition. But it also guarantees you'll be studying until the cows come home).
Graduate studies are largely self-directed as advised by your 'Advisor', who must have an appropriate Masters or Arch-Masters degree in order to serve in that capacity. They basically involve a lot of research and reading, at the end of which, you either make something or write a really long paper which will then be carefully stored so that it will last forever, even though no one will want to read it later except to prove you wrong, most likely.
There are two tiers of Graduate degrees: Master and Arch-Master of [Fill in Subject here]. The average Master's student has a 16 intelligence [If he doesn't, he may be here a really looong time earning the extra intelligence he needs to cast sixth level spells and graduate...]
In game terms, to earn your Masters, you must earn 5,376 Study XP and demonstrate the ability to cast sixth level spells. This takes an average student 2 years of study if they're working as a half-load teacher, not counting the time it takes to get to where you can cast sixth level spells. [The XP for that is usually earned through adventuring and other means, as you'd be studying a very looooong time to earn it by pure study, especially if you teach too]
Available Subjects include:
Arcane Science (Specialty in one of the Eight Schools of Magic, Magical Art, Magical Item Creation, Public Uses of Magic)
*Business (Specialty in Business Management, Manufacturing with Magic, Trade. This degree is also available to mundaners, although in their case, it is called an 'Associate Degree in Business', as they can't cast spells to get a proper masters. In fact, 90% of those who get this degree are mundaners)
Humanities (Specialty in Art, Foreign Languages, History, Music, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Politics)
Jurisprudence (Specialty in Foreign Law, Glantrian Law, Law Enforcement)
Natural Philosophy (Specialties: Alchemy, Animal Studies, Astrology, Math, Plant Studies, Supernatural Creatures)
Planar Studies(Specializing in a specific plane or category of Extra-Planar creatures)
Stewardship (No particular official specialties. This is designed for nobles who want to become more efficient rulers. It is available as an area of study for Mundaners who don't mind shelling out cash. As with Business, they make up the bulk of the students in this and can get only an 'Associate Degree')