About the ECTS Credit Converter
This ECTS credit converter translates study credit between the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, UK (CATS) credits and US semester or quarter credit hours. It is based on what each system counts as one full-time academic year: 60 ECTS credits, 120 UK credits, and — in the US convention used by most transfer offices — 30 semester or 45 quarter credits.
Use it when planning a semester abroad, checking whether a European master’s module will transfer to a US degree, or explaining a UK transcript to an employer or university overseas. The calculator also estimates the student workload behind the credits (one ECTS credit is 25–30 hours of work) and how much of a full-time year the credits represent.
The ECTS and UK ratios come from official guidance; the US side is a convention rather than a law, because each US college decides how much transfer credit to award. Some registrars use a less generous ratio, so you can change the number of US semester credits per full-time year if your registrar uses a different equivalence.
With the default inputs, the converted credits is 15. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the ects credit converter
- 1Enter the number of credits you want to convert.
- 2Choose the credit system you are converting from and to.
- 3Adjust the US credits per full-time year if your college uses a different ratio.
- 4Read the converted credits and the equivalents in every system.
- 5Check the workload estimate to compare course intensity.
Formula and method
All conversions go through ECTS using the credits each system assigns to one full-time academic year. The European Commission defines 60 ECTS credits as a full year of study, and the ECTS Users’ Guide puts one credit at 25–30 hours of student work (1,500–1,800 hours a year). The UK Quality Assurance Agency’s credit framework states that, in everyday practice, two UK credits are equivalent to one ECTS credit, matching 120 UK credits per year.
There is no official US–ECTS ratio. Most US registrars treat a full-time year as Y = 30 semester credits, so one semester credit ≈ 2 ECTS, and a quarter credit is two-thirds of a semester credit (45 per year). Change Y if your institution uses a different equivalence. Workload multiplies ECTS by the hours per credit h you choose.
- Y
- US semester credits per full-time year (default 30)
- h
- Workload hours per ECTS credit (25–30)
Worked examples
A 30-ECTS semester abroad
30 ECTS is half of the 60-credit full-time year, so it equals 15 US semester credits, 22.5 quarter credits or 60 UK credits. At 25 hours per ECTS credit that is about 750 hours of study.
A UK year of 120 credits in ECTS
Two UK credits equal one ECTS credit, so 120 UK credits — a standard full-time year — equal 60 ECTS credits and 30 US semester credits.
45 US semester credits to UK credits
With 30 US credits per year, 45 US semester credits are 1.5 years of study: 45 × 2 = 90 ECTS, which is 90 × 2 = 180 UK credits.
Quarter credits to ECTS with 30-hour credits
12 quarter credits are 12 × 2/3 = 8 semester credits, or 16 ECTS. At 30 hours per ECTS credit the workload is 16 × 30 = 480 hours.
Frequently asked questions
How many US credits is 1 ECTS?+
By the most common convention, 1 ECTS equals 0.5 US semester credits, because 60 ECTS and 30 US semester credits each represent a full-time year. Your US college makes the final transfer decision.
How many ECTS credits is a UK degree?+
A UK bachelor’s degree with honours of 360 credits equals 180 ECTS, and a 180-credit taught master’s equals 90 ECTS, because two UK credits count as one ECTS credit.
How many hours is one ECTS credit?+
One ECTS credit represents 25 to 30 hours of total student work, including lectures, seminars, independent study and exams, so a 60-credit year is about 1,500–1,800 hours.
How many ECTS credits is a semester?+
A full-time semester is normally 30 ECTS credits, half of the 60 credits in a full-time academic year. A trimester is usually about 20 ECTS.
Will my university accept the converted credits?+
Not automatically. Credit transfer depends on matching course content and level, and each institution sets its own policy, so get written approval (often a learning agreement) before you study abroad.