The ECTS system (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) was designed to facilitate the comparison and transfer of academic achievements among educational institutions in Europe. ECTS credits are a way of measuring the workload that a student must invest in to successfully master a certain subject or academic program. But how are ECTS points calculated? Let’s look at the ECTS calculator.
Calculate ECTS credits using our ECTS calculator:
ECTS Calculator
ECTS Calculator
What are ECTS credits?
One ECTS credit corresponds to an average workload of 25 to 30 hours of student work, including:
Active teaching: lectures, exercises, seminars.
Self-study: research, writing papers, preparing for exams.
Practical work: laboratory exercises, professional practice, projects.
A standard academic semester usually includes 30 ECTS points, while an academic year is 60 ECTS points.
Key components for calculating ECTS points
To understand how ECTS points are calculated for a course or study program, several factors must be taken into account:
Total workload – The workload includes all the activities that the student needs to perform to achieve the learning outcomes.
This includes:
Time spent on lectures and exercises.
Time for independent study, research and exam preparation.
The time required for the preparation of tasks, projects and seminar papers.
Number of hours per ECTS point – Each country has its own standard for the number of hours corresponding to one ECTS credit. Usually, 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25 to 30 hours of work.
Learning outcomes – ECTS credits are not only a measure of time, but also of the quality of achievement. Learning outcomes define what a student should know, understand or be able to do after completing a course or program.
Formula for calculating ECTS points
To calculate ECTS points for a particular subject, use the following formula:
ECTS credits = Total workload (hours) ÷ Number of hours per ECTS credit
Example:
If the subject requires a total of 150 hours of work, and the standard is 1 ECTS = 25 hours, then:
150 ÷ 25 = 6 ECTS credits.
Example of calculation for one subject
Let’s imagine that the course consists of the following activities:
Lectures: 30 hours.
Exercises: 15 hours.
Preparation for exams: 30 hours.
Essay writing: 25 hours.
Total workload = 30 + 15 + 30 + 25 = 100 hours.
If we use the standard 1 ECTS = 25 hours, then the course includes:
100 ÷ 25 = 4 ECTS points.
Calculation of ECTS points for the entire program
For the entire study program, ECTS points are distributed according to the workload of each individual subject.
Example for a one-year program of 60 ECTS credits:
Subject A: 10 ECTS points (25% of the workload).
Subject B: 20 ECTS credits (33% of workload).
Subject C: 30 ECTS points (50% of the workload).
The total workload of a student during one year should be between 1500 and 1800 hours.
Why is ECTS important?
ECTS credits are not only a tool for measuring students’ workload, but also enable:
Easy transfer of points between institutions: Key for programs like Erasmus.
Study flexibility: Helps in planning individual study programs.
Comparability: Allows students and employers to understand the size and difficulty of study programs.
Conclusion
The calculation of ECTS points is based on assessing students’ workloads, not only on time spent in the classroom. This ensures a fair system of evaluating knowledge and effort, which allows students to plan better and provides educational institutions with a standardized way of evaluating courses and programs.
ECTS credits facilitate academic mobility and make European education systems more transparent and accessible.