Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) is used by many <a href="/facts/University/skaJt2Io">universities</a> in the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> to monitor, record and reward passage through a modular degree course and to facilitate movement between courses and institutions. One UK <a href="/facts/Course_credit/5oJqoQtp">credit</a> is equivalent to the learning outcomes of 10 notional hours of study, thus a university course of 150 notional study hours is worth 15 credits, and a university course of 300 notional study hours is worth 30 credits. A full academic year is worth 120 credits and a full calendar year (normally only at postgraduate level) 180 credits. CATS schemes in use in <a href="/facts/Higher_Education/6GjdtJap">Higher Education</a> in the UK include CATS (England & Northern Ireland), SCOTCAT (Scotland), the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales credit framework (Wales), the <a href="/facts/Learning_and_Skills_Development_Agency/zTEP3FyN">Learning and Skills Development Agency</a> credit framework and <a href="/facts/Open_College_Network/IJ3NCjt5">Open College Network</a> credits.
Credits are associated with a level at which the learning took place. At universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, this will be one of Levels 4 to 8 on the <a href="/facts/Framework_for_Higher_Education_Qualifications/y4svkGNW">Framework for Higher Education Qualifications</a> (FHEQ), representing the first, second and third year of a bachelor's degree (levels 4 – 6), master's level (level 7) and doctoral level (level 8). In Scotland this will be at one of level 7 to 12 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), representing the first, second, third and fourth year of a bachelor's degree (levels 7 – 10), master's level (level 11) and doctoral level (level 12).
Typically, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a <a href="/facts/Bachelor%2527s_degree/s739u69z">bachelor's degree</a> with <a href="/facts/Honours_degree/Psddz71z">honours</a> requires 360 credits, with at least 90 at level 6 of the FHEQ; an ordinary bachelor's degree requires 300 credits with 60 at level 6; a <a href="/facts/Foundation_degree/r6tVwnuv">foundation degree</a> requires 240 credits with 90 at level 5; an integrated <a href="/facts/Master%2527s_degree/lQ5hT1cH">master's degree</a> requires 480 credits with 120 at level 7; a postgraduate taught master's degree requires 180 credits with 150 at level 7; and a professional <a href="/facts/Doctorate/hb3AGQ6A">doctorate</a> requires 540 credits with 360 at level 8. Degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science are not normally credit rated, nor are <a href="/facts/PhD/paJumdN8">PhDs</a> or master's degrees by research. In Scotland, a bachelor's degree with honours requires 480 credits, with at least 90 at level 9 of the SCQF and 90 at level 10; an ordinary bachelor's degree requires 360 credits with 60 at level 9; an integrated master's degree requires 600 credits with 120 at level 11; a postgraduate master's degree requires 180 credits with 150 at level 11; and a doctoral degree requires 540 credits with 420 at level 12. "Fast track" two-year bachelor's degrees at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Buckingham/kuguRjYI">University of Buckingham</a> make use of the full calendar year to fit a 360 credit course into two years.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme open-in-new

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme