How grading works at Penn State
Penn State grades are assigned by the instructor based on their professional judgment of a student's scholastic achievement, using a nine-letter scale that runs from A down to F. Penn State does not award an A+, and does not use C-, D+, or D- either — see the Grade Scale Reference above for the exact grade-point value attached to each letter.
This is the same scale used for both undergraduate and law courses. Law students may additionally elect pass/fail or credit/no-credit grading for individual courses, but those symbols carry no grade-point value of their own and simply sit outside the GPA calculation rather than replacing it.
Instructors are required to notify students in writing, on or before the first class meeting, of the basis on which grades in that course will be assigned.
Source: Policy 47-20 (Basis for Grades) and Policy 47-60 (Definition of Grades) — verified Aug 2026
How repeated, deferred, and missing grades affect your Penn State GPA
Repeating a course. You may repeat a course only if you earned a grade lower than C, and only for a maximum of two attempts. Every attempt still appears on your transcript, but for up to 12 repeated credits, only the most recent grade is used when your cumulative GPA is calculated. Courses designated as "repeatable" (where you're expected to take the course more than once, such as independent study) are not subject to this rule.
Deferred grades (DF). If you can't finish a course's work on time, your instructor may approve a deferred grade, giving you up to ten weeks from the final grade-reporting deadline to complete it. If the DF isn't resolved in that window, it is automatically changed to an F by the Registrar's Office and factored into your semester and cumulative GPA. A DF still on your transcript blocks graduation.
No grade (NG). If an instructor hasn't submitted a grade and no deferral was requested, an NG appears on your record. If it isn't resolved within five weeks of the grade-reporting deadline, it is automatically changed to an F as well.
Withdrawing from a course. If you stop attending a course without officially dropping it, you receive a grade of F. An official University withdrawal is instead recorded as W for each course.
Source: Policy 47-80 (Repeating Courses), 48-40 (Deferred Grades), 48-50 (No Grade), 48-20 (Failure to Complete a Course) — verified Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Can I save my semesters and track my CGPA at Penn State?
How do I convert SGPA to CGPA at Penn State?
Can I add past semester GPAs without entering every course?
Is my CGPA tracker data sent to your servers?
Is this Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) GPA calculator free?
Does Penn State award an A+ grade?
No. Penn State's Faculty Senate policy defines exactly nine quality letter grades — A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, and F — with no A+, and also no C-, D+, or D-. An A is the highest grade attainable, worth 4.00 grade points.
Source: Policy 47-60 (Definition of Grades for Undergraduate Courses and for Law Courses) — verified Aug 2026
Do Penn State law students use a different GPA scale?
No — law courses are graded on the same nine-letter scale as undergraduate courses. The only difference is that a law course may additionally be elected for pass/fail (P) or permanently designated credit/no-credit (CR/NC) grading; those symbols "do not have grade-point equivalents and do not impact grade-point averages," so they sit outside the GPA rather than replacing its scale.
Source: Policy 47-60 and Policy 47-40 (Grading System) — verified Aug 2026
Does Penn State's medical program use the same grading scale?
No. Medical doctorate courses are graded separately: Phase I (pre-clinical) is Pass/Fail, and Phase II/III (clinical) courses are graded Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, none of which carry the grade-point values used for undergraduate and law courses. Penn State's Physician Assistant program uses its own five-level numeric scale (Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail) that is also distinct from the general scale.
Source: Policy 47-45 (Grading System for Medical Courses) — verified Aug 2026
What happens if I repeat a course at Penn State?
You can repeat a course you earned less than a C in, up to two attempts total. Both grades stay on your transcript, but for up to 12 repeated credits, your most recent grade is what counts toward your cumulative GPA — the earlier attempt is not averaged in for those credits.
Source: Policy 47-80 (Repeating Courses) — verified Aug 2026
What is a deferred grade (DF) at Penn State?
A DF is a placeholder your instructor can approve when you can't finish a course's work on time. You get up to ten weeks from the final grade-reporting deadline to complete the outstanding work. If it's still not resolved after that, the Registrar's Office automatically converts the DF to an F, which then counts toward your semester and cumulative GPA. A DF still showing on your transcript will prevent you from graduating.
Source: Policy 48-40 (Deferred Grades) — verified Aug 2026
What is an XF grade at Penn State?
XF is a course failure assigned only through Penn State's academic integrity process, for violations like plagiarism or cheating. It carries the same grade-point consequence as whatever failing grade would otherwise apply to that course (F under the standard letter scale, or the equivalent failing mark under a satisfactory/unsatisfactory or credit/no-credit course).
Source: Policy 47-40 (Grading System) and Policy 49-20 (Academic Integrity) — verified Aug 2026
Is Penn State's grading policy the same at every campus?
Yes. The grading scale and grade-point equivalents are set by University Faculty Senate legislation that governs Penn State as a whole, not University Park alone — the same policy suite explicitly provides for approvals from "the dean, appropriate associate dean, or academic officer of the student's commonwealth campus," confirming it covers students across Penn State's Commonwealth Campuses under one set of rules.
Source: Policy 48-40 (Deferred Grades), within the 47-00/48-00/49-00 Grades policy suite — verified Aug 2026
Can Penn State students take a course satisfactory/unsatisfactory instead of for a letter grade?
Yes, within limits. Baccalaureate candidates may take up to 12 credits, and associate-degree candidates up to 6 credits, under the satisfactory/unsatisfactory (SA/UN) option, with no more than two such courses per semester and none in General Education courses. A conventional grade of A through C is recorded as SA (satisfactory achievement or better); D or F is recorded as UN. Once you select this option for a course, you generally cannot switch back to a conventional grade after 21 calendar days.
Source: Policy 49-60 (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory—Baccalaureate and Associate Degree Candidates) — verified Aug 2026
