What is ECTS?

Initially developed as a “credit transfer system” to solve the problems related to the recognition of education received by students at various higher education institutions by other institutions across Europe, the system is now also implemented as a “credit accumulation system” within higher education institutions of the same country.

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a credit system based on the student workload, which is the time required to successfully complete the learning activities planned to achieve the intended learning outcomes of a course.

Student Workload refers to the total amount of time a student needs to devote to successfully complete a course. It includes all learning activities such as attending lectures, participating in practical sessions, seminars, preparing projects, examinations, individual studies, and internships. This workload is calculated by academic staff, taking into account the average effort of a typical student. Incorporating student feedback into this calculation increases the quality assurance and acceptance of the system.

Institutions that adopt the ECTS system essentially use a common academic language, making the workloads of students across different programs comparable. When learning outcomes expressed in terms of knowledge, skills, and competencies are clearly defined and linked to these workloads, the comparability of students from different countries is further enhanced.

Opportunities Provided by ECTS for Institutions

  • Offers detailed information about course contents and curricula.
  • Assists academic staff in matters related to academic recognition.
  • Facilitates the review of course structures, student workloads, and intended learning outcomes.

Determining ECTS Credits for Courses

The ECTS credit value indicates the proportion of a course within the total workload required to complete one full academic year.

  • One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits, and one semester corresponds to 30 ECTS credits.
  • One academic year equals approximately 1,500–1,800 hours of student workload (i.e., 37.5–45 weeks per year).
  • 1 ECTS credit = 25–30 hours of workload.

ECTS credits are not solely based on contact hours but reflect the overall workload of the course.

ECTS Credit Allocation Principles

  • The total number of credits in one academic year must be 60, and in one semester 30.
  • ECTS credits must be given as whole numbers (e.g., avoid values like 1.63).
  • The ECTS credit for a course should not be less than its local credit value.
  • For each student, the total semester workload is calculated over 17 weeks, with a weekly workload of 45 hours, resulting in 765 hours per semester.
  • The average workload per ECTS credit should range between 25–26 hours; in calculations, 25.5 hours per ECTS is used.

Benefits of ECTS

  • Enhances the mobility of students by ensuring comparability in terms of workload and learning outcomes, enabling participation in exchange programs such as Erasmus.
  • Increases the recognition and mobility of graduates in both national and global labor markets, facilitating their employability.
  • The courses taken, grades obtained, and ECTS credits earned by a student are recorded in the Diploma Supplement provided upon graduation, along with information on the program and higher education system.
  • This supplement serves as a recognition document, enabling the graduate to be evaluated alongside others who were assessed under the ECTS framework.

5/26/2025