The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard for measuring and comparing academic credit earned at higher education institutions across Europe, first piloted in the late 1980s under the Erasmus programme before being adopted more widely as part of the Bologna Process. It assigns a credit value to each course based on the workload required to achieve its learning outcomes, allowing students' study and examination results to be recognized when they transfer between institutions in different countries.
Facts
Classification
Policy TypeAssessment or Standards Policy 1 Education LevelBachelor or Equivalent (ISCED 6) 1 Education LevelMaster or Equivalent (ISCED 7) 1 Education LevelDoctoral or Equivalent (ISCED 8) 1 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
How many ECTS credits make up a year of study and a bachelor's or master's degree?
Sixty credits equal a full year, a bachelor's degree is 180 or 240 credits, and a master's degree is usually 90 or 120.
According to the European Commission, 60 ECTS credits are the equivalent of a full year of study or work. A first cycle (bachelor's) degree consists of either 180 or 240 ECTS credits, and a second cycle (master's) degree usually equates to 90 or 120 ECTS credits. The use of ECTS at the third cycle, or doctoral level, varies.
Sources
1. European Commission, European Education Area: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)
European Commission, European Education AreaPage text
ECTS credits represent learning based on defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.
Learning outcomes paragraph
ECTS credits represent learning based on defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.
Adoption paragraph
ECTS has been adopted by most of the countries in the European Higher Education Area as the national credit system and is increasingly used elsewhere.
Credit transfer paragraph
ECTS allows credits taken at one higher education institution to be counted towards a qualification studied for at another.
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