ECTS Credit Calculator: Convert US, UK and ECTS Credits and Study Hours

How it works

ECTS ≈ US semester credits × 2 · US quarter credits = semester credits × 1.5 · ECTS = UK credits ÷ 2 · ECTS = study hours ÷ hours per ECTS (25–30) · study hours = ECTS × hours per ECTS

ECTS credits, used across the European Higher Education Area, measure total student workload: a full-time academic year is 60 ECTS, or 1,500 to 1,800 hours of work, so one credit is 25 to 30 hours (this calculator uses the 27.5-hour midpoint unless you change it). A bachelor’s degree is 180 or 240 ECTS and a master’s 90 or 120. US semester credits count instruction time: by the federal definition, one credit is one hour of class plus at least two hours of out-of-class work each week for about 15 weeks, so a 15-credit semester is a full load. Most universities convert 1 US semester credit to 2 ECTS (30 ECTS = 15 US credits), and 1 semester credit equals 1.5 quarter credits. Some schools use a lower ratio of about 1.5 to 1.67 because a US credit is roughly 45 hours of work; you can set the ratio under More options. In England, one UK credit is 10 notional hours and a year is 120 credits, so two UK credits equal one ECTS. The results are estimates for planning study abroad, Erasmus exchanges or transfers. The receiving university’s registrar always makes the final decision, and it may round each course separately.

Worked example

A 15-credit US semester × 2 = 30 ECTS, which is a standard full-time European semester (50% of a year). That equals 22.5 US quarter credits or 60 UK credits. At 27.5 hours per ECTS, 30 × 27.5 = 825 hours of total study for the term. Going the other way, a 7.5-ECTS course is 7.5 ÷ 2 = 3.75 US semester credits.

Sources: European Commission: ECTS Users’ Guide 2015 (workload) · European Commission: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System · QAA: Higher Education Credit Framework for England · 34 CFR 600.2: Definition of a credit hour · SmartCGPA: ECTS credit calculator (conversion examples)

Frequently asked questions