ECTS credits

Academic performance credits are awarded based on a student’s quantitatively defined workload. Credits are awarded when a particular learning outcome or a specific competence has been achieved.

• The ECTS is based on the principle that 60 credits represent the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. Accordingly, 30 credits can be awarded per semester. A three-year Bachelor’s degree would be equivalent to 180 credits, while a two-year Master’s programme would require 120 credits to be earned.
• Saarland University assumes a workload of 30 hours for one ECTS credit point, which is equivalent to 1800 hours of study per academic year.
• Academic workload is not restricted to time spent in lectures and taught classes, but expressly includes such activities as extended essays, term papers, literature and bibliographical research, project work, final-year theses. An academic year is assumed to comprise about 45 weeks of work.
• Credits are only awarded when the student has satisfied all the requirements of a particular unit or module. Credits will not be awarded for simply attending lectures or classes.

General framework

There are no rigid rules for defining the workload and there is no standard way of converting between student workload and contact hours per week. The following aspects should be taken into account when trying to estimate the average student workload:

• Teaching arrangements:  seminar, lecture, problem-solving / exercise classes, practical or lab sessions, etc.
• Student activities: literature / bibliographical research, extended essays/ term papers, preparation of class summaries, preparation of student presentations, group work, etc.
• Assessment methods: written examinations, essays, papers and other written assignments, tests, etc.