The ECTS credit system was developed by the European Commission in order to provide common procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad as part of the Bologna Process.


Each program consists of a certain amount of European Credits (EC’s) that you will need to obtain in order to be able to graduate.

  • One credit represents 28 hours of work.
  • One full year is 60 EC’s; a full Bachelor’s program is 180 EC’s.
  • Each year is divided into courses that you will need to pass; for each separate course you can earn a predetermined amount of EC’s.
  • You can obtain EC’s by meeting the requirements for that specific course, as described by the lecturer. Often this means that you will need to pass an exam, take part in group assignments, or give a presentation.
  • Your final goal is to obtain all EC’s offered in a program; only then can you graduate from the program.