Required Work Load & Credits*


Undergraduate Programs

  • At UTDT, undergraduate degrees are full-time and fall into two categories: Licenciaturas (4 years in length) and Professional degrees in Architecture and Law (5 years in length)
  • The academic year runs from March to December and is divided into two 19-week semesters (including mid-terms and final exams). The University observes a summer break from late December to early March and a winter break during the last week of July.
  • European students in the first year of their Master’s program are encouraged to take 4th-year Licenciatura courses and 5th-year Law and Architecture courses.
  • Most upper-level undergraduate courses meet twice per week for 2 hours each session (68 contact hours per semester). Some first-year courses meet three times per week for 2 hours (102 contact hours per semester).
  • A full-time course load for exchange students is 3–4 courses per semester (exceptionally, up to 5).


ECTS Credit Conversion:

Students are expected to dedicate at least 2 hours of independent study per contact hour per week.. Therefore,  when calculating ECTS credits, students should add contact hours + study hours and divide that number by the number of study hours that the home university considers to make up 1 ECTS (eg. 68 contact hours + 136 study hours = 204 hours. 204/27 hours needed for 1 ECTS =  7.5 ECTS). 

Thus:

  • 68 contact hours + 136 study hours = 204 total hours ÷ 27 = 7.5 ECTS
  • 102 contact hours + 204 study hours = 306 total hours ÷ 27 = 11.3 ECTS


Graduate Programs

  • UTDT Master’s degrees are part-time and completed usually within 18 months. Programs are organized into 8–9 week modules, though some offer shorter intensive courses.
  • Classes are typically held weekdays from 7 to 10 or 10:15 pm. In some programs (e.g., the Executive MBA), students attend courses every fortnight, with sessions on Fridays and Saturday mornings.
  • Graduate courses have between 12 and 33 contact hours. 
  • A full-time load for graduate students is up to 5 courses per module/trimester.


ECTS Credit Conversion:

Students are expected to devote at least 4 hours of independent work per contact hour. Therefore,  when calculating ECTS credits, students should add contact hours + study hours and divide that number by the number of study hours that the home university considers to make up 1 ECTS (eg. 12 contact hours + 48 study hours = 60 hours. 60/27 hours needed for 1 ECTS =  2.2 ECTS). 

Thus:

  • 12 contact hours = 2.2 ECTS
  • 15 contact hours = 2.8 ECTS
  • 24 contact hours = 4.4 ECTS
  • 27 contact hours = 5.0 ECTS
  • 30 contact hours = 5.6 ECTS
  • 33 contact hours = 6.1 ECTS

This information applies exclusively to incoming students.