Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) GPA Calculator

LUMS grades courses on relative performance: a student's letter grade reflects how their cumulative performance compares with the rest of the class, not a fixed percentage cut-off. The handbook states the principle directly — “Grading at LUMS is based on relative performance” — while allowing that for some courses absolute grading is used, in which case the course outline says so.

Two grades sit outside the curve. A+ and F are absolute grades; the grades between them (A through D) may be awarded on the basis of relative performance. The top and bottom of the scale are therefore fixed points, and it is the middle of the distribution where the comparison with the cohort does its work.

Course grades are based on cumulative performance in the instruments defined in the course outline — typically quizzes, assignments, projects, class participation and examinations. The instructor sets the weightage carried by each instrument and publishes it in the course outline. Grades are finalised by the course instructor and then posted in Zambeel by the Office of the Registrar.

Alongside the graded letters, LUMS uses four administrative grades that carry no numeric equivalent. P (Pass, under the Pass/Fail policy) contributes earned credits without affecting the CGPA; W (Withdrawn) has no numeric equivalence, and the credit hours of a withdrawn course do not count toward the credit hours taken in the semester; I (Incomplete) is awarded when a student has completed 90% of the directed course work and converts to an F if the remainder is not submitted within the stated deadlines; and T marks credits that have been approved and transferred to LUMS.

LUMS reports a Semester GPA for each term and a CGPA across the whole programme, both weighted by credit hours. For the Semester GPA, the numeric equivalent of each letter grade is multiplied by that course's credit hours to give its grade points; the grade points for all courses taken in the semester are added together, and the sum is divided by the total credit hours taken that semester. The CGPA follows the same procedure, applied to every course taken since joining the undergraduate programme.

A third average appears at graduation: the SCGPA (Specialization CGPA), shown on the transcript and calculated from major cores, major electives and free electives in the area of the major.

• Withdrawn (W) courses are excluded. A W has no numeric equivalence, and the credit hours of a withdrawn course do not count toward the credit hours taken in the semester — so it neither adds grade points nor enlarges the divisor.
• An F does count. Unless it is repeated and replaced, a failed course counts toward the Semester GPA, CGPA and SCGPA, yet its credit hours count toward neither the graduation requirement nor the successfully completed credit hours for the semester.
• Repeats replace. Both attempts stay visible on the transcript, but only the best grade is included in the term and cumulative averages, and the credits of a repeated course count once toward successfully completed credit hours.
• A Pass (P) grade earns credit without affecting the CGPA, whereas a Fail under the same Pass/Fail policy counts negatively toward the CGPA with no credit given for the course.
• Every one of these averages is based on grades attained at LUMS. Grades for courses transferred from another institution are excluded from the Semester GPA, CGPA and SCGPA.

To remain in good academic standing, a LUMS student must maintain a minimum CGPA of 2.00 at the end of each regular semester and throughout their studies.

Academic warning is issued on either of two triggers: a Semester GPA below 2.00 in any regular semester, regardless of the CGPA; or a CGPA that is below 2.50 but above 2.00. A warning is a signal rather than a sanction — but the handbook is clear that a student may be placed on probation without receiving a warning beforehand.

Probation follows when the CGPA falls below 2.00 at the end of any regular semester. If the CGPA remains below 2.00 for two consecutive regular semesters (Fall and Spring), the student is separated from the programme. Recovering to a CGPA of 2.00 or above restores good academic status. Academic standing decisions are taken only at the end of regular semesters.

The rules are stricter in the first year and allow more room afterwards:

• First year — a Semester GPA below 2.00 means the student is advised to reduce their workload and may not take more than 14 credit hours. A CGPA below 2.00 at the end of the Fall semester places the student on probation for the Spring semester; if the CGPA is still below 2.00 after Spring, separation is immediate.
• Subsequent years — probation may be extended over a maximum of two regular semesters. LUMS tracks a Probation Semester GPA (PSGPA), the cumulative average since probation began. A PSGPA of 2.50 or above at the end of the first probation semester extends probation by one further semester even while the CGPA is still below 2.00; if the CGPA remains below 2.00 at the end of that second probation semester, the student is separated.
• Core courses — a student has a maximum of two attempts to clear an F in a core course. Failing such a course a third time results in separation from the university.

Students separated on academic grounds may apply for readmission, and may be readmitted only once. Readmitted students remain on academic probation for the rest of their time at LUMS, must obtain a Semester GPA of at least 2.50 in their first regular semester back, and must then hold a CGPA of 2.00 at the end of each regular semester. Courses previously passed with C+ or above are credited on readmission: those credit hours count toward the graduation requirement, but their grades are not included in the CGPA or the specialization GPA.

An undergraduate degree at LUMS requires a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least 2.00 across all LUMS courses satisfying the degree requirements, together with the credit-hour total for the programme and completion of all the requirements of at least one major.

• BA-BSc (Honours) — at least 130 credit hours.
• BS — 130 to 136 credit hours.
• B.A.-LLB (Honours) — 162 credit hours.

These must be taken over a minimum of 8 regular semesters of 16–18 weeks, with summer semesters not counted toward that minimum; the B.A.-LLB (Honours) programme requires a minimum of 10 regular semesters. A student may remain enrolled for a maximum of six consecutive calendar years in the BA-BSc (Honours) and BS programmes, and seven years in the B.A.-LLB (Honours) programme, measured from the date of admission.

The student must also be in good academic and disciplinary standing and not involved in any kind of investigation. Graduation tracking makes the standing requirement explicit: students must be in good academic standing to fulfil the graduation requirements, and cannot graduate while on academic probation. Because credit hours from withdrawn courses and from courses carrying an F count toward neither the graduation requirement nor successfully completed credit hours, a failed core course has to be repeated before a student can graduate.

LUMS recognizes academic achievement at three points: at the end of each regular semester, at the end of each academic year, and at graduation.

Graduation honours are awarded on the final CGPA:

• Graduation with High Distinction — CGPA of 3.8 and above; noted on the transcript, with a plaque and certificate.
• Graduation with Distinction — CGPA of 3.6 to 3.79; noted on the transcript, with a plaque and certificate.
• Graduation with High Merit — CGPA of 3.30 to 3.59; noted on the transcript only.
• Graduation with Merit — CGPA of 3.10 to 3.29; noted on the transcript only.

Medals. The National Management Foundation (NMF) Gold Medal for overall first position goes to the student with the best academic record, holding the highest CGPA within the range 3.90 to 4.00; the Silver Medal for overall second position requires the second-highest CGPA, which may not be less than 3.60. A gold medal is also awarded in each area of specialization, to the student with an SCGPA of 3.85 or higher and a CGPA of 3.60 or higher. Ties are broken by extending the CGPA to six decimal places, then by the number of A+ grades earned in 3–4 credit hour courses, and then by the number of A grades.

Dean's Honour List. A student is placed on the semester Dean's Honour List after successfully completing at least 16 credit hours in a regular semester with a Semester GPA of 3.60 or above — Fall and Spring only, as the Summer semester does not qualify. The credit-hour condition does not apply in the final semester before graduation. End-of-year placement requires at least 32 credit hours across the two regular semesters of an academic year, reduced to 30 credit hours for first-year students, with a CGPA of 3.60 or higher. Both are noted on the transcript; the annual award adds a University ceremony and a certificate.

Two conditions apply across all of these awards: repeated courses do not count toward honours and awards at any point in the degree, and Pass/Fail courses are not converted back into letter grades when honours are computed — though their credits do count toward the Dean's Honour List credit-hour requirement.

Credits transfer to LUMS; grades do not. Where credit is granted for a course taken at another institution, the credit hours count toward the graduation requirement and toward major or minor requirements, but the grades obtained are not used in computing the CGPA at LUMS. Transferred course grades are not shown on the transcript and count toward neither the Semester GPA, the CGPA, nor the SCGPA; the transcript marks such credits with a T.

The volume of transferable credit is capped. Of the 130 credit hours required to graduate, at least 72 must be completed at LUMS, and a maximum of 58 credit hours may be transferred in, with the Admissions Committee deciding the limit in each case. A transfer student must still graduate within a maximum of six consecutive calendar years from the date of admission, and that window is reduced by one calendar year for every 30 credit hours transferred.

• Only B and above is eligible. Courses graded below B at the previous institution do not transfer. For external incoming students, courses taken at LUMS transfer at grade C and above.
• Equivalence is assessed, not assumed — departments evaluate the course outline against an equivalent LUMS course, classroom contact hours and assignment rigour. A course with overlapping but not identical content transfers as a TC (Transferred Course) and counts toward free electives.
• Where the two institutions assign different credit-hour values to a course, the lower of the two is transferred; courses evaluated with fractional credit hours are rounded to the nearest whole number.
• Pass/Fail graded courses are not transferred at all.
• On an exchange programme, the same B-and-above rule applies, and the maximum credits transferable in one semester equals the credits a student is allowed to take in a semester at LUMS.

One deliberate exception exists. Although transferred grades are excluded from the CGPA in general, when a student qualifies for the End of the Year Awards, awards at the time of graduation or top positions, the grades of transferred courses are taken into consideration against the CGPA/SCGPA requirement of 3.60 or above — so that the University's award criteria are applied on the same basis for everyone.