ECTS credits explained
ECTS credits appear on your transcript and in every application file, yet no one ever takes the time to explain what they actually measure. This article answers the question that comes up most often: how many credits do you need to complete a semester, a year or a Grade de Licence, and what are they for once you have them?
In brief
ECTS are the credits of the European Credit Transfer System: a completed semester of study represents 30 of them, a full year brings together 60, and 180 credits correspond to a Grade de Licence, awarded after three years of study following the baccalaureate.
Their main purpose is to have studies completed at another institution recognised, in France as in Europe. At Excelia Business School, the Bachelor in Business is a State-accredited qualification at Bac+3 level that leads to a Grade de Licence.
What do ECTS credits count?
ECTS stands for the European Credit Transfer System: each credit measures a validated volume of study, never a mark obtained in an exam.
In practice, a successfully completed semester of study represents 30 credits, and a full year brings together 60; this count appears on the transcripts of most European institutions, which makes it possible to compare paths followed in different systems.
The number of credits therefore says nothing about your average: it only tells you that a semester or a year has been validated as a whole.
How many ECTS credits for a Grade de Licence?
A Grade de Licence corresponds to 180 ECTS credits, or three years of study after the baccalaureate.
These equivalences are easy to remember once set out together:
- 30 credits: a validated semester of study
- 60 credits: a full year
- 180 credits: a Grade de Licence, awarded after three years post-baccalaureate
The BUT (Bachelor Universitaire de Technologie) illustrates this equivalence: prepared over three years after the baccalaureate, it also gives access to 180 ECTS credits and therefore leads to a Grade de Licence. This is a useful reference point for anyone exploring what to do after a BUT. At Excelia Business School, the Bachelor in Business, a State-accredited qualification at Bac+3 level, follows the same logic: it leads to a Grade de Licence.
180 ECTS credits and a Grade de Licence place a qualification such as the Bachelor in Business at the same level of academic recognition as other higher education courses at Bac+3 level. A dedicated page sets out what distinguishes a Bachelor from a university Licence, for anyone who wants to go further.
What are credits used for when you change institution?
ECTS credits are used above all to have a period of study recognised at another institution: this is the very principle of the European Credit Transfer System.
Subject to passing exams, a period of study followed at a European higher education institution is recognised by the home institution and taken into account towards the French qualification; the host institution provides a transcript for this purpose, certifying the credits obtained.
This is the mechanism that allows you, for example, to complete a semester or a year at a partner university.
Credits, qualification level and applications: what schools look at
In an application file, the number of ECTS credits obtained proves a level reached: it indicates how many years of study you have validated, not the exact nature of the qualification.
This distinction matters, because the recognition of Excelia Business School's qualifications comes from their registration on the RNCP (France's National Register of Professional Certifications), which certifies a certification in its own right: the two pieces of information complement each other, without replacing one another.
This is also what schools look at when a candidate applies via direct entry to a business school after a Licence, a BTS or a BUT: the level of credits validated decides the year of entry, before the application file and motivation are examined. One question remains, which only the detail of a given programme can settle: how many credits does it validate each year? To find out precisely, you can request the brochure that sets out, programme by programme, the credits validated each year.
Frequently asked questions
- What does ECTS stand for?
ECTS stands for the European Credit Transfer System, which allows credits obtained at a higher education institution to be recognised, in France as in Europe.
- How many ECTS credits are needed to obtain a Grade de Licence?
A Grade de Licence corresponds to 180 ECTS credits, obtained after three years of study following the baccalaureate.
- How many ECTS credits does a year of study represent?
A full year represents 60 ECTS credits, and a validated semester represents 30.
- Are ECTS credits recognised throughout Europe?
The system is European: a period of study followed at a European higher education institution is taken into account towards the French qualification, subject to passing exams.
- Do you keep your ECTS credits when you change institution?
Yes: it is the very purpose of the ECTS system to have studies already validated recognised from one institution to another, which makes direct entry to a business school possible.
