Organisation of studies
Theory and practice
Higher education in a Haute Ecole closely combines practice and theory, and at ECAM this is done on the basis of the following breakdown:
- Course: ~ 60%
- Exercises: ~20%
- Practical work: ~20% .
Practical work is carried out in laboratories supervised by teachers.
Teaching activities in an academic year are spread over 2 semesters, with an average of 26 hours per week.
Teaching activities for the first semester begin on 15 September and end at Christmas. Second-semester teaching begins in late January and ends in mid-May.
Activities start at 8.30am at the earliest, and usually finish around 4.30pm (sometimes around 6pm). Some half-days are free, and on some days activities start after 8.30am.
Activities are organised with the students' interests in mind.
A few examples: the elimination from the timetable of ‘forks’ (major dead periods) between two teaching activities, or, during examination sessions, the even distribution of tests over the whole period.
First-session exams are held at the end of each term (in January and June). Some examinations may be held during term time. The second session begins at the end of August.
ECTS credits
A year of study generally represents 60 ECTS. The number of ECTS per course is based not only on the number of hours in the course but also on the other tasks that the student must complete (library research, report writing, examinations, etc.). This means that some courses have the same number of hours but a different number of ECTS.
Spreading
Students' previous studies and/or professional experience can be recognised in their course programme through bridges and exemptions.