The study load is the number of hours typically needed within the framework of a specific study component in order to complete that component successfully. In addition to contact hours and classes, the calculation also includes hours of independent study like mandatory literature reading, visiting exhibitions or participating in excursions, independent studio practice and building up presentations of work for assessments.
Study load is expressed in terms of European Credits (ECs) in a system known as the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
- One study year has a total of 1,680 hours.
- One EC is equal to a study load of 28 hours.
- One year of a full-time programme thus amounts to 60 ECs (60 x 28 hours = 1,680 hours).
A Bachelor’s programme covers four years, each amounting to 60 ECs. The propaedeutic phase comprises 60 ECs, with the main phase covering the remaining 180 ECs. Students must obtain a sufficient number of ECs each year in order to continue the programme, and they must receive all of the programme’s 240 ECs in order to complete the Bachelor’s degree.
The Master’s programme in Type and Media covers one year, amounting to 60 ECs.
The other Master’s programmes cover two years, amounting to 120 ECs.
Credit allocation
All study components in one semester have a combined study load of around 30 EC’s. During the collective assessments, the assessment committee decides which components have been completed successfully (or not) and awards credits for each of these components, or for clusters of strongly related components, accordingly. This means that no grades are given or pass/fail decisions made during the individual reviews.
Please note that due to the different structure of the study programme in the ArtScience department (both Bachelor and Master), the allocation of credits takes place after the collective assessment that is linked to the final presentations made each semester.
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague students participating in foreign exchange programmes receive their credits according to the system used by the host institution. Many countries currently use the ECTS, and for those that do not, a way to convert the credits is formulated.
Prior to the exchange, the policy officer for internationalisation determines the study load of the exchange programme, in cooperation with the head of the department. Credits allocated by the host institution must be formally verified and registered by the assessment committee of the student’s department at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague. This is usually done during the collective assessment at the end of the semester in which the exchange has taken place.
International exchange students studying at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague fall under the protocol of the Academy. Individual arrangements are made in case of credit systems differences.
Students from other institutions (e.g., Leiden University) who wish to take classes at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) require approval from their own institutions, as well as from the Academy. After a positive assessment, these students receive statements specifying the study load of the programme in EC credits.
Prior to the internship, each student draws up an internship plan. Evaluations form part of the internship, and each student is expected to make a presentation and/or write a report at the end of the internship.
Credits are allocated once all conditions have been met. Please also refer to your department’s internship coordinator, who can provide more information on the internship process.
Credits are reserved for the Individual Study Track (IST). The work carried out within the framework of the IST is not always addressed in the collective assessment (e.g., electives at Leiden University or external projects). In such cases, the students are assessed by external parties, but the credits involved must be formally verified and registered by the assessment committee of the student’s department. This is usually done during the collective assessment at the end of the semester in which the IST activities have taken place.
The respective department and IST coach can provide more information on the credit allocation process. As with all other credits, any credits earned through activities in the IST are not allocated until after the collective assessment.