Upon Return - Study Abroad

Since credit and grading systems differ among countries and between universities, the credits and grades you obtain with external courses (including minors etc.) needs to be converted in order to fit in the WU credit and grading system.

Visit the page of the Examining Boards for more information on Conversion of external credits and grades. However, a description is written below as well. Since credit and grading systems differ among countries and between universities, the results you obtain with external courses (including minors etc.) will need to be converted in order to fit in the credit and grading system used by Wageningen University. Credit conversion The European Union agreed upon a study load ranging from 1500-1800 hours per year as being the standard. Like most universities in the European Union, Wageningen University uses ECTS credits. Credits from elsewhere are converted to ECTS credits via the information provided by your host institution and if necessary obtained/verified via other authorities, such as NUFFIC.

Grade conversion

The European Union agreed upon a common system for grade conversion: the ECTS grading table. Grading tables show how many students received a given grade in a given field of study at an education institution and enable a fair conversion of grades. The Examining Board compares the grading table from your host university with the grading table specific for your study programme at Wageningen University to determine your Wageningen University grade. Fictive example In country X at university Y, you receive an A (or a 10). If the grading table of university X shows that 30% of the students pass courses with this score or a higher score, you should get the grade that corresponds with the top 30%-point of the Wageningen University grade table, meaning your grade will be converted to an 8. For a visual explanation watch the 3-minute video ‘ECTS grading Tables’ provided by the European Commission.

Conservative grade conversion

The Examining Boards of Wageningen University convert grades conservatively in order to maintain the high quality standard of the diplomas decreed by Wageningen University. This means that when a grade translates into a range of for example 8-10, the grade will be converted into 8, 8.5 or perhaps 9. Only when there is additional information, such as a remark ‘with distinction’, or when you can prove that an examination was taken without any errors, may the Examination Board decide to convert into the higher end of the range.