Teaching Loads by Field at Research Universities For computer science tenure-track faculty, the standard teaching load at a major research university in the US is 1-1 (meaning 1 course each of the two semesters).  My understanding is that in math the standard teaching load is 2-1 (two courses one semester, one course the other).

What are the standard teaching loads in other fields (e.g. physics, history, etc.) at major research universities in the US?
There is no standard load; it depends widely on the department, the number of students enrolled, the available number of faculty, and so on. 

Moreover, in some departments, it is possible to fundraise your way out of commitments. For instance, if you bring in X dollars in overhead, you can "buy" out of teaching a class for a semester.

In addition, stating that a load is "1-and-1" can mean different things. In the department where I did my graduate work, professors now co-teach one class per semester, and sometimes offer an elective course on top of that 1-and-1 load.