The ECTS - European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System - was developed by the European Commission in order to provide common procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements and transferring them from one institution to another.

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the objectives of a specific programme/course unit. These objectives should ideally be specified in terms of learning outcomes and competences to be acquired.

From the beginning, Universidade do Minho (UMinho) recognised the importance of ECTS and correct implementation of its tools. In 1994/1995, UMinho participated in the ECTS pilot project in the subject area of History and since 1995/1996 ECTS has been extended to all study areas represented. Following the creation of new degree courses UMinho made some effort to offer these new areas and respective units the opportunity to introduce the system in a gradual and systematic way. In 2004, Universidade do Minho had its ECTS Label application approved, integrating the first 11 institutions awarded with this important quality seal. At national level, UMinho is the only higher education institution holding both ECTS and Diploma Supplement Labels.

It is important to highlight that, as far as UMinho is concerned, ECTS is compulsorily used in all student mobility activities, having been extended to the cooperation with the third countries.

With this Information Package, in Portuguese and English, UMinho wishes to provide all partner Higher Education Institutions (Academic Staff and Students), as well as its current and future students with relevant information on the institution, its education offer and general practical information in order not only to promote the necessary transparency for the organization of any mobility period, but also to help the students who intend to choose UMinho as their home and/or host institution in their decision.