College Credit Converter (US Credit Hours ↔ ECTS ↔ UK CATS)
Studying abroad, applying to overseas grad school, transferring credit to a domestic university — different countries use different credit systems and the numbers don't compare directly. This calc applies the Bologna Process ECTS Users' Guide 2015, UK QAA Quality Code and American Council on Education (ACE) / World Education Services (WES) transfer ratios to convert instantly among US Semester Credit Hours (SCH), US Quarter Credit Hours (QCH), European ECTS and UK CATS — and reports the full-time academic-year fraction (60 ECTS = 30 SCH = 120 CATS = one year) along with estimated total student workload hours (lectures + tutorials + self-study + assessment). Shareable URL — useful for admission officers, registrars, study-abroad advisors and applicants preparing SOPs.
Enter a valid number of credits (0–10000).
Equivalents in other systems
US Semester Credit Hours (SCH)
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European ECTS
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UK CATS
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US Quarter Credit Hours (QCH)
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Sources: Bologna Process ECTS Users' Guide 2015, UK QAA Quality Code Credit Framework, American Council on Education / WES credit-transfer conventions.
Formula
1 US SCH = 2.0 ECTS = 4.0 UK CATS = 1.5 US QCH 1 US QCH = 1.33 ECTS = 2.67 UK CATS = 0.67 US SCH 1 ECTS = 0.5 US SCH = 2.0 UK CATS = 0.75 US QCH 1 UK CATS = 0.25 US SCH = 0.5 ECTS = 0.375 US QCH full-time year = 60 ECTS = 30 US SCH = 120 UK CATS = 45 US QCH
- · Sources: Bologna Process ECTS Users' Guide 2015 §2.3 defines 60 ECTS = 1 full-time year = 1,500–1,800 student work hours; UK QAA Quality Code Credit Framework 2021 defines 1 CATS = 10 notional learning hours and 120 CATS = 1 UK undergrad year; American Council on Education (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service and World Education Services (WES) Academic Credentials Evaluation use the 2:1 (ECTS:SCH) transfer ratio.
- · US Semester vs Quarter system: (1) **Semester** — academic year split into fall + spring (15 weeks each), typical full-time = 15 SCH/semester × 2 = 30 SCH/year. Used by most US 4-year universities (Harvard, Stanford, UCLA semester since 2018, etc.); (2) **Quarter** — academic year split into fall + winter + spring (10 weeks each, plus optional summer), typical full-time = 15 QCH/quarter × 3 = 45 QCH/year = 30 SCH/year equivalent. Representative schools: UC system (excluding UC Berkeley which moved off in 1983), Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Washington, Caltech.
- · ECTS workload definition: 1 ECTS = 25–30 hours of total student work (not lecture-only — includes tutorial, lab, reading, coursework, exam prep, final exam). Workload definition varies by country: Germany commonly uses 30 hr/ECTS, France 25 hr/ECTS, Netherlands 28 hr/ECTS. This tool uses the 25–30 hr range.
- · UK CATS workload: 1 CATS = 10 notional learning hours (QAA standard). 120 CATS Level 4 = first-year undergrad, 120 CATS Level 5 = second-year, 120 CATS Level 6 = final-year + honours = 360 CATS total for a BA/BSc. A Master's adds 180 CATS Level 7 = 180 CATS = 90 ECTS. Scotland uses SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework) where 1 SCQF credit = 1 CATS.
- · Transfer ratio caveat: the 2:1 (ECTS:SCH) used here is ACE / WES's **broad transfer convention**, not an exact hours-based equivalent. By hours alone (1 SCH ≈ 45 hr ÷ 1 ECTS ≈ 27 hr → 1.67:1), the ratio is slightly lower — but ACE rounds up to 2:1 because in practice US SCH workload is heavier than spec (lab + self-study intensive). The receiving institution has final discretion.
- · Advanced cases: (a) **PhD coursework**: US PhD programs typically require 30–60 SCH coursework + dissertation; EU EHEA doctoral level (3rd cycle) is usually 0 ECTS (research-based, no credits); (b) **Pass/fail courses**: count credits but not GPA — international transfer may reject; (c) **Audit credits**: don't count; (d) **Summer / accelerated courses**: same ratio but higher contact-hour density.
- · Tool assumptions: (1) standard credit-system mappings; (2) values shown to 2 decimal places; (3) grade conversion (A → 1.0 / Distinction → "Sehr gut" etc.) is *not* included — use a separate grade-conversion table; (4) WES, Scholaro, IQAS etc. provide institution-specific assessments — this tool is a ballpark estimate.
Frequently asked
My US degree is 120 SCH — how many ECTS is that?
120 US Semester Credit Hours × 2 = **240 ECTS** — equivalent to four EHEA full-time academic years (60 ECTS/year). This aligns the US 4-year bachelor's with the European 3-year bachelor's + 1-year master's (180 + 60 = 240 ECTS) — the first cycle + part of the second cycle. **Caveats**: (1) most European 1-year master's programs accept US 4-year bachelor's (120 SCH) without a bridging year; (2) for European PhD (third cycle) you need first-cycle 240 ECTS + master's 60–120 ECTS, so US BA holders typically need a European master's first; (3) some conservative German / Dutch universities use a 1.5:1 ratio (120 SCH = 180 ECTS) — uncommon, applied at specific institutions only.
US Semester vs Quarter — 15 QCH in a quarter program equals how many SCH?
15 US Quarter Credit Hours × (2/3) = **10 US Semester Credit Hours**. The math: (a) Semester = 15 contact weeks/term × 2 terms = 30 weeks/yr; (b) Quarter = 10 contact weeks/term × 3 terms = 30 weeks/yr — same yearly contact, but each quarter term is more intensive; (c) 1 SCH = 1 contact hr/wk × 15 weeks = 15 hr; 1 QCH = 1 contact hr/wk × 10 weeks = 10 hr → ratio 1 SCH : 1 QCH = 15 : 10 = 1.5 : 1. Practical application: (1) transferring from a quarter school (e.g. UCB) to a semester school (e.g. UCLA semester) — 15 QCH × 3 = 45 QCH/yr = 30 SCH/yr — net credit is preserved; (2) standard full-time tuition is 12–15 SCH/semester or 12–18 QCH/quarter (varies by institution).
Is a UK 1-year master's (60 ECTS) viewed as insufficient by US admission committees?
Yes and no — depends on the program. **The actual conversion**: a UK 1-year taught master's is 180 CATS = 90 ECTS (not 60 — 60 ECTS is the EU 1-year taught master; UK packs more CATS because of the dissertation and intensive learning hours) = 45 US Semester Credit Hours, equivalent to 3 US semester full-time loads. **How US admissions perceive it**: (a) **PhD applications**: most US PhD programs treat UK 1-year master's as equivalent to a US 2-year master's — they weigh research output (publications, thesis quality) more than credit count; (b) **Professional / second master's applications**: mostly accepted, but a few US programs (JD / LLM, specific MBA cycles) consider 1-year master's too short and recommend supplementary GMAT or additional research experience; (c) **WES evaluation**: WES confirms UK 1-year master's + 3-year UK bachelor's = 240 ECTS = US 4-year bachelor + 1-year master = full eligibility for US PhD admission. **Practical**: if your UK master's included a dissertation and supervised research, US committees typically accept it; if it was pure coursework, supplement with research experience to be competitive.
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