Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) GPA Calculator

USM evaluates every course on a 12-point letter scale it calls Purata Nilai Gred (PNG) — Grade Point Average — running from A down to F, each letter carrying a fixed grade value that never changes regardless of which course or School awards it.

USM's own confirmed regulations do not print a fixed marks-to-grade percentage band anywhere alongside this table (cross-checked against a second, independent School's own handbook, which shows the identical 12-row table but likewise no percentage band). Course examiners award the letter grade directly based on a student's combined coursework and examination performance, rather than the University publishing one universal percentage cut-off table.

A student who receives C- or below in a course may repeat it to improve the grade. A student who receives C or above may never repeat that course, even to raise the grade further.

USM reports a semester average (PNG) and a cumulative average (PNGK), both weighted by each course's credit units on USM's 0.00–4.00 grade-point scale: each course's grade value is multiplied by its credit units, those products are summed across the semester (or, for PNGK, across every semester/session since joining the University), and the total is divided by the total credit units registered over the same period.

USM additionally tracks a second cumulative figure, PNGK-AT, calculated the same way but counting only a student's Core ('Teras') courses — both PNGK and PNGK-AT must independently clear USM's graduation floor (see below).

USM's own confirmed regulations do not state a formula for converting PNGK to a percentage.

Falling below PNG 2.00. A student whose semester PNG is 2.00 or above is given Pass status and continues normally. A student whose PNG is 1.99 or below is placed on Probation. Three consecutive probation sessions (tracked as P1, P2, then FO) end a student's studies at USM — unless their cumulative PNGK has climbed back to 2.00 or above, in which case they are allowed to continue.

Barred from an examination. A student barred from sitting an exam (for unpaid fees, unsatisfactory coursework completion, or no valid exam slip) is given grade X for every component of that course, which counts toward PNG/PNGK as a fail and carries a separate disciplinary penalty on top.

Absence from an examination. Missing an exam without an accepted reason (for example, not collecting the exam slip, misreading the timetable, or attending without a valid excuse) results in grade F*, also counted toward PNG/PNGK. Missing an exam for a reason the University Examination Council formally accepts (typically a medical certificate from a recognized clinic) instead results in grade DK ('Dengan Kebenaran' / With Permission), which is excluded from the PNG/PNGK calculation entirely.

Supplementary exam / long-break make-up course (KSCP). Reserved for final-year students who would otherwise graduate, capped at three courses. Students graded X or F* in a course are not eligible and must repeat the course in a later session instead.

USM sets two independent CGPA floors for graduation: a PNGK of 2.00 or above for the overall study plan, and separately a PNGK-AT (Core-courses-only average) of 2.00 or above.

Beyond the CGPA floors, a student must also meet every credit requirement of their own programme (total credits, and credits within each of the Core, Minor, Elective, and University-course components), and score at least a grade C (or grade value 2.00) in a fixed list of University-compulsory courses regardless of overall PNGK — typically Bahasa Malaysia, two English-language courses, Ethics & Civilisation Appreciation, Philosophy & Current Issues, the Entrepreneurship core course, Critical Thinking, and Professional Ethics (the exact list varies slightly by programme).

Dean's Certificate (Sijil Dekan). A separate USM School's own student handbook (regular full-time programme) states that students who achieve a PNG of 3.50 or above for a minimum of 14 registered course units in a semester are awarded a Dean's Certificate for that semester.

USM Gold Medals. The same handbook describes University-wide gold medals awarded to outstanding final-year students across USM (for example, the Chancellor's Gold Medal, for the best-performing final-year student university-wide), alongside further named gold medals, book prizes, and Merit Prizes that individual Schools and endowments offer to their own top-performing students.

USM distinguishes two separate mechanisms:

• Credit exemption (Pengecualian Unit/Kredit) — a number of units granted to a student for prior study elsewhere, excusing them from having to take the equivalent USM course; the student then only needs to complete the remaining unit total for graduation. Grades or passes obtained at USM (not the exempted institution) are what count toward PNGK for graduation purposes.
• Credit transfer (Pemindahan Kredit) — recognition of units a student earned while concurrently following courses at another recognized higher-education institution during their USM studies, subject to Dean approval and equivalence review.

Both mechanisms are handled case-by-case by the student's own School and are subject to University-wide caps on how many units may be exempted or transferred toward a single degree.