Credit System in Germany

German universities use the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credit system. All course modules, dissertation preparation and work placements are taken into consideration when calculating ECTS credits.

  • Students can usually earn 30 ECTS credits per semester and 60 in total for an academic year.
  • As one ECTS credit in Germany generally represents 25-30 hours, 180 ECTS credits equal around 3 years worth of study, which is usually the duration of a bachelor's degree. 
  • The amount of credits needed for a Master's can vary, depending on the university and subject, but is usually in the region of 180-240. 
  • The German grading system is based on the GPA system. Germany uses a 1 to 6 (or 5) point grading system to assess the academic performance of students. 1 being very good performance and 6 being unsatisfactory performance.