An academic credit (CFU, Credito Formativo Universitario, or ECTS, European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a unit of measurement (1 CFU=25 hour) used to determine the workload required of a student to complete a course or a training activity. Each course has its own workload expressed in credits.
For instance, a 6-credit course is equivalent to an average effort of 150 hours, approximately 60 of which are dedicated to taught activities and the rest is for individual study. Other training activities which are not directly related to a course (for instance, theses, final projects, internships…) are also measured in credits.
Full-time students are required to complete an average workload of 60 CFU per academic year.
Students earn their credits (CFU) by passing exams or other assessments.
Credits are also used to measure the overall workload required to earn the final degree. Students must earn 120 credits in order to get a second-level (Master's) degree.
The overall number of credits includes the Thesis and the internship (if any).