The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard means for comparing academic credits, i.e., the "volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload" for higher education across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).[1] ECTS credits are awarded for successfully completed studies, with the basic definition being that one full academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits; in most cases this corresponds to a typical workload of 1,500 to 1,800 hours, although this can vary as defined by national regulations, giving a correspondence of one credit for each 25 to 30 hours of work. It is the correspondence to the academic year, rather than the hours worked, that is defining.[2] ECTS credits originated within the European Union's Erasmus programme in 1989 as a method of transferring credit earned during study abroad back to students' home institutions; since 2015 it has been part of the EHEA.[3] ECTS originally included a standard ECTS grading scale, intended to be shown in addition to local (i.e., national) standard grades, but this was dropped in 2009 in favour of institutions instead providing a grade distribution table showing the statistical distribution of grades in their national or institutional system.[4] ECTS credits describe the volume of learning, with the level of learning being defined by institutional systems that are referenced to national qualifications frameworks and international frameworks such as the EHEA's Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area and the EU's European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning.[5]
Current systems
[edit]| Country | Credit points per year | Hours per credit point | Credit point name | Status[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 60 | 30 | Pikët ECTS | EHEA member |
| Austria | 60 | 25 | ECTS (also ECTS-Punkte, ECTS credits) | EHEA member |
| Belgium | 60 | 25-30 | ECTS (also studiepunten, crédits, ECTS) | EHEA member |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 60 | 25 | ECTS bodovi | EHEA member |
| Bulgaria | 60 | 25-30 | кредити | EHEA member |
| Croatia | 60 | 25-30 | ECTS bodovi | EHEA member |
| Cyprus | 60 | 30 | ECTS | EHEA member |
| Czech Republic | 60 | 26 | kredity | EHEA member |
| Denmark | 60 | 28 | ECTS-point | EHEA member |
| Estonia | 60 | 26 | ainepunkt (EAP). Currently because many students are still used to the older system the longer name 'euroopa ainepunkt' is more often used for clarity's sake | EHEA member |
| European Union | 60 | 25-30[8] | ECTS credits | EHEA member |
| Finland | 60 | 27 | opintopiste (op) / studiepoäng (Swedish) (lit. study point) | EHEA member |
| France | 60 | 25-30[9] | crédits ECTS | EHEA member |
| Georgia | 60 | 30 | კრედიტები (kreditebi) | EHEA member |
| Germany | 60 | 25-30 | ECTS, Leistungspunkte (LP), Kreditpunkte (KP), Credit Points (CP) or Credits | EHEA member |
| Greece | 60 | 30 | ECTS, Credit Points (CP), Μονάδες Φόρτου Εργασίας (Διδακτικές Μονάδες - Δ.Μ) or Credits | EHEA member |
| Hungary | 60 | 30 | kredit (pont) | EHEA member |
| Iceland | 60 | 25-30 | einingar (units) | EHEA member |
| Ireland | 60 | ECTS | EHEA member | |
| Italy | 60 | 25-30 | crediti formativi universitari (CFU) | EHEA member |
| Latvia | 60 | 30 | ECTS kredītpunkts (1 "Latvian" credit point (kredītpunkts) equals 1.5 ECTS)[10][11] | EHEA member |
| Liechtenstein | 60 | EHEA member | ||
| Lithuania | 60 | 28 | kreditai; ECTS kreditai | EHEA member |
| Luxembourg | 60 | ECTS | EHEA member | |
| Malta | 60 | 25 | ECTS-credits | EHEA member |
| Montenegro | 60 | ECTS-krediti | EHEA member | |
| Netherlands | 60 | 28 | studiepunten (ECTS or EC) | EHEA member |
| North Macedonia | 60 | кредити (ECTS) | EHEA member | |
| Norway | 60 | 25-30[12] | studiepoeng | EHEA member |
| Poland | 60 | 25-30 | punkty ECTS | EHEA member |
| Portugal | 60 | 28 | créditos ECTS | EHEA member |
| Romania | 60 | 30 | credite (SECTS) | EHEA member |
| Russia | 60 | 30 | кредиты | EHEA member |
| Serbia | 60 | 30 | ЕСПБ бодови / ESPB bodovi | EHEA member |
| Slovakia | 60 | 25 | kredity | EHEA member |
| Slovenia | 60 | 25-30 | kreditne točke | EHEA member |
| Spain | 60 | 25-30 | ECTS (also créditos and crèdits) | EHEA member |
| Sweden | 60 | 26.667 | högskolepoäng (Used from July 2007) | EHEA member |
| Switzerland | 60 | 25-30[13] | ECTS-credits, Kreditpunkte (KP) | EHEA member |
| Turkey | 60 | 25-30 | AKTS - kredi[14] | EHEA member |
| Ukraine | 60 | 30 | кредити | EHEA member |
| United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) | 120 (60 ECTS) | 10 (20 hours per ECTS) | Credits. One ECTS credit is equivalent to two UK credits.[15][16] | EHEA member |
| United Kingdom (Scotland) | 120 (60 ECTS) | 10 (20 hours per ECTS)[17] | SCQF credit points. Two SCQF points equal one ECTS point.[17] |
See also
[edit]- Educational policies and initiatives of the European Union
- Bologna Process
- European Higher Education Area
- ECTS grading scale
- Carnegie Unit and Student Hour
- Erasmus Programme
- Academic mobility
References
[edit]- ^ "ECTS Users' Guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. pp. 6, 10.
- ^ "ECTS Users' Guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. pp. 10–11.
- ^ "ECTS Users' Guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. pp. 6–7.
- ^ "ECTS Users' Guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. pp. 39–41.
- ^ "ECTS Users' Guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015. pp. 19–21.
- ^ "ECTS User's guide". Publications Office of the European Union. 2015.
- ^ "Full Members". European Higher Education Area. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- ^ typical values which can vary between national systems, "academic year" is normative
- ^ "Article 8 - Arrêté du 22 janvier 2014 fixant le cadre national des formations conduisant à la délivrance des diplômes nationaux de licence, de licence professionnelle et de master" [Article 8 - Order of 22 January 2014 establishing the national framework for courses leading to the award of national bachelor's, professional bachelor's and master's degrees]. Légifrance (in French). 22 January 2014.
- ^ "Credit point system". Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Law of Higher education (in Latvian)". 1 January 1995. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Norway's education system". studyinnorway.no. Study in Norway.
- ^ "Richtlinien des Hochschulrates für die koordinierte Erneuerung der Lehre an den universitären Hochschulen der Schweiz im Rahmen des Bologna-Prozesses". Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "ECTS and Course Load - Yükseköğretim Kurulu". www.yok.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ "Erasmus Mundus credits" (PDF). University of Salford. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ "Higher education credit framework for England: guidance on academic credit arrangements in higher education in England" (PDF). Quality Assurance Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ a b "SCQF Credit Points" (PDF). Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework. p. 3. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
