Credit system and grading table

The University of Humanistic Studies uses the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which is used by all universities in the European Union. One ECTS credit equals a study load of 28 hours; 60 ECTS credits represent one year of full-time study.  The Bachelor’s and Master’s programme in Humanistic Studies each take three years of study (180 ECTS), while the Master's programme in Care Ethics and Policy takes one full year of study (60 ECTS).

Grading system 

Grading systems and ‘grading culture’ differ from one country to another. The Dutch grading scale, from primary school to university level, ranges from 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). At the University of Humanistic Studies, the final marks are rounded to one decimal place. A 5.5 is a pass. Although the scale runs from 1.0 to 10.0, the grades 9.0 to 9.9 are not often awarded and 10s are extremely rare. The marks are defined as follows:

Diploma Supplement

Sometimes a ‘V’ is awarded instead of a mark to indicate that the requirements for a particular subject have been fulfilled. If the requirements haven't been fulfilled you will be awarded an 'O'.

Grading tables

To help foreign universities interpret the value of our grades we publish our grading tables: a table for Bachelor’s courses and a table for Master’s courses. The grading tables show which percentage of all passing grades in the three most recent academic years were (rounded-off) awarded a 5.5, a 6.0, a 6.5, etc.