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ECTS Credit Converter

Convert between ECTS credits, US semester and quarter credits and UK CATS points using ratios you control, plus study hours and an editable grade table.

30
ECTS credits
15
US semester credits
22.5
US quarter credits
60
UK CATS points

Notional study hours

At 25–30 hours per ECTS credit, 30 ECTS represents roughly 750–900 hours of total student workload — lectures, seminars, private study and assessment combined.

Conversion ratios (edit to match your institution)

The ECTS Users' Guide defines a full-time academic year as 60 credits and 1,500–1,800 hours of workload, which is where the 25–30 hours per credit range comes from. Everything else is convention rather than law, which is why every ratio here is a field you can change.

Grade band table

C
ECTS grade
C
US letter
Lower second (2:2)
UK classification
Minimum %ECTS gradeUS letterUK classification

These bands are a starting point, not an official equivalence. The old ECTS A–F grading scale was defined by the statistical distribution of a cohort rather than by percentages, and the 2015 ECTS Users' Guide replaced it with institutional grade-distribution tables. Always check the receiving institution's own conversion policy.

Every conversion here runs on numbers you control, in your browser — nothing about your transcript is uploaded, and the page keeps working offline.

What is the ECTS Credit Converter?

An ECTS credit converter translates European ECTS credits into US semester or quarter credits and UK CATS points. The common working ratio is 2 ECTS to 1 US semester credit and 1 ECTS to 2 CATS points, and 1 ECTS represents 25 to 30 hours of total student workload.

  • Four systems converted in every direction: ECTS, US semester, US quarter and UK CATS
  • Every ratio is an editable field, not a hardcoded assumption
  • Notional study hours shown as a range, following the ECTS 25–30 hours per credit definition
  • Editable percentage-band table mapping to ECTS letters, US letters and UK classifications
  • Add, remove and reset grade bands without touching any code
  • Copyable summary of the full conversion for an application or transcript request

How to use the ECTS Credit Converter

  1. 1

    Enter the number of credits and choose the system they are measured in.

  2. 2

    Read the equivalent ECTS, US semester, US quarter and UK CATS figures in the summary tiles.

  3. 3

    Adjust the conversion ratios if your institution uses different ones.

  4. 4

    Set the study-hours range per ECTS to see the notional workload the credits represent.

  5. 5

    Type a percentage into the grade-band lookup, and edit the band table to match the scale you are converting from.

About the ECTS Credit Converter

Credit systems do not line up neatly, so any conversion is a convention rather than a law. The usual working ratios are two ECTS to one US semester credit, one and a half quarter credits to one semester credit, and two UK CATS points to one ECTS — which is why 60 ECTS, 30 semester credits and 120 CATS all describe a single full-time academic year.

This converter uses those defaults but exposes every ratio as a field, because institutions genuinely differ and a credit-transfer office will hand you their own numbers. It also converts credits into notional study hours: the ECTS Users' Guide defines a full-time year as 60 credits and 1,500 to 1,800 hours of workload, which is where the 25 to 30 hours per credit range comes from.

Grade conversion works the same way — a percentage-band table you can edit rather than a fixed national assumption, because there is no official mapping between percentage marks, ECTS letter grades, US letters and UK classifications. Everything runs in your browser; nothing about your transcript is uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

How many US credits is one ECTS credit?

Half a US semester credit, using the standard working ratio — so 30 ECTS in a semester is about 15 US semester credits, and 60 ECTS in a year is about 30. Quarter-system institutions multiply the semester figure by 1.5.

How many hours is one ECTS credit?

Between 25 and 30 hours of total student workload, counting lectures, seminars, independent study and assessment. That comes from the ECTS definition of a full-time year as 60 credits and 1,500 to 1,800 hours.

What are CATS points and how do they relate to ECTS?

CATS is the UK Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme. A full-time UK year is 120 CATS and the same year is 60 ECTS, so the working ratio is two CATS points to one ECTS credit.

Is there an official ECTS grade conversion table?

No. The old ECTS A–F scale was defined by the statistical distribution of a cohort rather than by percentages, and the 2015 ECTS Users' Guide replaced it with institutional grade-distribution tables. The band table here is a common starting point that you should replace with the receiving institution's own policy.

Will my university accept these conversions?

Treat them as a planning estimate. Credit-transfer decisions are made by the receiving institution, often course by course, and they may apply their own ratios — which is exactly why every ratio here is editable.

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