How Higher Education Works in Europe by Country: Degrees, Universities and the Academic Year
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Oct 08, 2026
TL;DR
Side-by-side degree structure, language, academic year and grading scale for 39 European countries, from the UK's Bachelor's 3 years (4 in Scotland) to Spain's Grado 4yr/240 ECTS and Switzerland's Scale 1-6, each linking to its full country guide.
This hub lines up higher education guides for 39 places across Europe, from Albania to the United Kingdom, each broken down by degree structure, language of instruction, academic year and grading scale. The spread across that table is wide. The United Kingdom runs a Bachelor's 3 years (4 in Scotland) with a Taught Master's 1 year, while Spain's Grado runs 4yr/240 ECTS and can stretch to 5-6yr/300-360 for regulated professions. Grading scales diverge just as sharply: France uses a 20-point scale where pass is 10/20, Switzerland a Scale 1-6 where 4 is minimum pass and 6 is top grade, and the Netherlands a 1-10 scale where 10 highest and 6 minimum pass, while Sweden reports grading Not standardized, often pass/fail.
Degree structure is the column to check first since bachelor's and master's lengths set the shape of everything else in a study plan. A dash in the grading column, as in Poland's and Turkey's rows, means that country's guide does not state a scale. Academic year start months and semester patterns vary too, so the table is worth scanning before assuming any one calendar applies elsewhere. Each country name links through to its full guide, with sources and further detail beyond what fits in a single row here.
Compare by country
| Country | Degree structure | Language of instruction | Academic year | Grading scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Bachelor 3-4 years, 180-240 ECTS; Master 2 years, 120 ECTS | Albanian main teaching language; private unis add English tracks | Two semesters, starts Sept/Oct, ends June/July | — |
| Austria | Bachelor 3-4 years 180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2 years 60-120 ECTS | German default; bachelor mostly German, Master has more English | Winter sem Oct 1-Feb 28/29; summer sem Mar 1-Sep 30 | — |
| Belgium | Bachelor 180 ECTS/3 yrs; Master 60-120 ECTS/1-2 yrs; Doctorate 4+ yrs | Dutch (Flanders) or French (French Community); Masters add English | Two semesters, mid-Sept to late June; exams Jan & June | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bachelor 3-4 yrs 180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs 60-120 ECTS; PhD 3 yrs 180 ECTS | Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian mainly; some private unis fully English | Two semesters, each worth 30 ECTS | — |
| Bulgaria | Bachelor 4 yrs 240 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs 60-120 ECTS | Bulgarian main at public unis; English concentrated in medicine, business, CS | Two semesters, ~32 teaching weeks total | 6-point scale: 6 excellent, 5 very good, 4 good, 3 minimum pass |
| Croatia | Undergrad 3-4 yrs 180-240 ECTS; Graduate 1-2 yrs 60-120 ECTS; PhD 3 yrs 180 ECTS | Croatian mainly; English medicine programs in major cities, growing tracks | Two semesters: winter Oct-Jan, summer Feb-June | 5-point scale: 5 highest, 1 fail, 2 minimum to pass |
| Cyprus | Bachelor 4 years, 240 ECTS; Master 120 ECTS | Greek at public (bachelor); growing English masters; private mostly English | Two semesters: Sept-Dec and Feb-May/June | — |
| Czechia | Bachelor 3 yrs (up to 4) 180 ECTS; Master 2 yrs 120 ECTS | Czech mainly (free); large unis also run paid English programs | Runs Oct 1-Sep 30, winter and summer semesters | — |
| Denmark | Bachelor 3 yrs 180 ECTS; Master 2 yrs 120 ECTS; PhD 3 yrs 180 ECTS | Danish mainly for bachelor; growing English options, common at masters | Runs Sept 1-Aug 31; autumn starts Sept, spring starts Feb | 7-point scale: 12,10,7,4,02,00,-3; 02 lowest pass, 12 highest |
| Estonia | Bachelor 3-4 yrs 180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs 60-120 ECTS | Estonian mainly for bachelor; English common at masters & doctoral | Two semesters: autumn Sept-Jan, spring Feb-June | A (highest pass) to F (fail); numeric scale at some schools |
| Finland | Bachelor 3 yrs 180 ECTS (uni); Master 2 yrs 120 ECTS (uni) | Finnish or Swedish mainly; English grown fast, esp at Master's | Two semesters: autumn late Aug/Sept-Dec, spring Jan-May/June | — |
| France | Licence 3 yrs 180 ECTS; Master +2 yrs 120 ECTS (300 total) | French mainly; English growing at business/engineering schools & masters | Two semesters: Sept-Jan, Feb-May/June | 20-point scale; pass 10/20, excellent above 16/20 |
| Germany | Bachelor 6-8 semesters (180-240 ECTS); Master +2-4 semesters (60-120 ECTS) | German mainly; English-taught common at master level | Winter semester Oct-Mar; summer semester Apr-Sep | 1.0 (excellent) to 5.0 (fail) |
| Greece | Bachelor 4 years/240 ECTS; Master 1-2 years | Greek mainly; more English-taught options at postgraduate level | Runs Sep-Jun; winter and spring semesters | 0-10 scale, 5 pass, 10 top grade |
| Hungary | Bachelor 3-4 years; Master 2 years, 120 ECTS | Hungarian mainly; many English-taught programmes for international students | Autumn Sep-late Jan; spring Feb-Jun | 1-5 scale, 5 excellent, 1 fail |
| Iceland | Bachelor 3 yrs/180 ECTS (4 yrs/240 for some); Master 1-2 yrs, 60-120 ECTS | Icelandic at undergraduate level; master's increasingly fully in English | Autumn late Aug/Sep-Dec; spring Jan-May | — |
| Ireland | NFQ Level 8 Honours Bachelor 3-4 yrs; Master 1-2 yrs; PhD 3-4 yrs | English mainly; some Irish-medium programmes at Gaeltacht colleges | Sep/Oct-May; two semesters | Honours classes: First, Second Upper/Lower, Third |
| Italy | Bachelor 3 yrs/180 credits; Master +2 yrs/120 credits | Italian mainly (B2 required); growing English-taught programmes | First semester Sep/Oct-Jan; second Feb/Mar-Jun | 30-point scale, 18 pass, 30 e lode top |
| Kosovo | Bachelor 3-4 yrs/180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs/60-120 ECTS | Albanian mainly at public universities; private ones run English-taught tracks | Two semesters: Oct-Jan, then Feb-Jun | 5-10 scale, 6 pass, 10 top |
| Latvia | Bachelor 3-4 yrs/180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs/60-120 ECTS | Latvian mainly; growing English-taught bachelor's and master's programmes | Starts Sep, ~40 weeks; autumn and spring semesters | 10-point scale, 4 lowest pass, 10 max |
| Lithuania | Bachelor 4 years; Master 2 years | Lithuanian for state-funded places; many English-taught bachelor's/master's | Sep-Jun; autumn and spring semesters | — |
| Luxembourg | Bachelor 180-240 ECTS; Master 60-120 ECTS; total min 300 ECTS | French & German lean bachelor; master's/PhD shift toward English | Starts 15 September; two semesters | 0-20 scale, pass at least 10/20 |
| Malta | Bachelor 3 years/180 ECTS; Master 1-2 further years | English mainly; Maltese not needed to study | Starts October, runs to June; two semesters | — |
| Moldova | Bachelor 3-4 yrs/min 180 ECTS; Master 1-2 yrs/90-120 ECTS | Romanian mainly; growing English-taught tracks for international recruits | Opens Sept, closes end of August; two semesters | — |
| Montenegro | Bachelor 180 ECTS, 3 years; Master 120 ECTS, 2 years | Mostly Montenegrin; some private/international programs teach partly or fully in English | Starts Sept 2025, ends Sept 2026; 2 semesters of 14 weeks each | — |
| Netherlands | WO bachelor's 3yr/180 ECTS, HBO bachelor's 4yr/240 ECTS; master's 1-2yr/60-120 ECTS | Dutch common at bachelor's; English widespread, especially at master's/research universities | Starts late Aug/early Sept, ends Jun/Jul; 2 semesters | 1-10 scale; 10 highest, 6 minimum pass |
| North Macedonia | Academic bachelor 4yr/240 ECTS; professional bachelor 3yr/180 ECTS | Mostly Macedonian; English at several private/international universities | Starts Sept/Oct; 2 teaching blocks (Sept/Oct-Dec, Jan/Feb-May/Jun) | 5-10 scale; 5 fail, 10 excellent |
| Norway | Bachelor's 3yr/180 ECTS; Master's 2yr/120 ECTS | Mostly Norwegian at bachelor's; English far more common at master's level | Autumn mid-Aug-mid-Dec; spring Jan-June (2 semesters) | A-F letter scale; A highest pass, F fail |
| Poland | Licencjat (bachelor's) 3yr; eng. bachelor's 3.5-4yr; Magister (master's) 1.5-2yr after bachelor's | Mostly Polish; growing English-taught programs in engineering, business, medicine, IT | 2 semesters of 15 weeks; winter semester Oct-mid Feb | — |
| Portugal | Licenciatura (bachelor's) 3yr (6 semesters), 180 ECTS; extends to 4yr/240 ECTS in some fields | Mainly Portuguese, particularly at bachelor's level | Starts September, ends June/July; 2 semesters with exams each | 0-20 scale; 10 minimum pass, 16-17+ exceptional |
| Romania | Bachelor's 180-240 ECTS; most fields 3 years (6 semesters) | Mainly Romanian; full English programs at most large universities, plus French/German/Hungarian | Starts early Oct, runs to late Sept; 2 semesters of ~14 weeks each | 1-10 scale; 5 pass, 10 top grade |
| Serbia | Bachelor 3-4yr/180-240 ECTS; Master 1-2yr/60-120 ECTS | Mostly Serbian; growing English-taught tracks in medicine, dentistry, business, engineering | Starts October; teaching runs October-June | 6-10 scale; 10 highest, 6 lowest passing |
| Slovakia | Bachelor's (Bc.) 3-4yr; Master's (Mgr./Ing.) 2-3yr, or 5-6yr combined in medicine/law | Mostly Slovak; English programmes at larger universities in medicine, engineering, IT, business | Starts September; 2 semesters, winter exams in January | Six-point scale A (best) to Fx (fail) |
| Slovenia | Bachelor's 3-4yr/180-240 ECTS; Master's 1-2yr/60-120 ECTS | Slovenian is default by law; English used for some programs/courses | Runs 1 Oct-30 Sept; 2 semesters of ~15 teaching weeks | 1-10 scale; 6 lowest pass, 10 highest |
| Spain | Grado (bachelor's) 4yr/240 ECTS (5-6yr/300-360 regulated); Máster 1-2yr/60-120 ECTS | Spanish (Castilian) is the main language nationwide | Starts Sept/Oct, ends June; 2 semesters with exams each | 0-10 scale: <5 fail, 5-6.9 pass, 7-8.9 very good, 9-10 excellent |
| Sweden | Kandidatexamen (bachelor's) 180 credits/3yr; Magisterexamen (1-yr master's) 60 credits on top | Bachelor's mostly Swedish; hundreds of master's programs taught fully in English | Opens 1 Sept, closes 5 June; 2 semesters (autumn/spring) | Not standardized: pass/fail common, or A-F seven-step scale at some universities |
| Switzerland | Bachelor 3 years (180 ECTS); Master 1.5-2 years (90-120 ECTS) | German/French/Italian by canton; Master's often taught in English | Two semesters: Autumn starts mid-September, Spring starts mid-February | Scale 1-6; 4 is minimum pass, 6 is top grade |
| Turkey | Bachelor's: 4 years (5-6 for medicine/dentistry/vet); Master's: 1-2 years | Turkish main language; many programs (esp. foundation/technical) taught fully in English | Starts September/October, runs to June; fall and spring semesters | — |
| the United Kingdom | Bachelor's 3 years (4 in Scotland); Taught Master's 1 year | English; non-native speakers need IELTS/TOEFL proficiency proof | Starts late Sept/early Oct, runs to June; 2 semesters or 3 terms | Classifications: First, Upper Second (2:1), Lower Second (2:2), Third, Ordinary |
How to use this table
Each row summarises one guide in this series. The figures are the ones quoted in that guide when it was written, and a dash means the guide does not state that item. Open a guide for its sources, the full detail and its latest update date.