University of Alberta GPA Calculator

Since 2003, the University of Alberta has used a four-point letter-grading system for calculating Grade Point Averages (GPA). Grade points reflect judgements of student achievement in a class: instructors mark in terms of raw scores, rank the work in order of merit, and assign an appropriate letter grade to each piece of work.

The scale runs from A+ / A (4.0) down to F (0.0) across 12 letter grades: A+ (4.0), A (4.0), A- (3.7), B+ (3.3), B (3.0), B- (2.7), C+ (2.3), C (2.0), C- (1.7), D+ (1.3), D (1.0), F (0.0).

The Registrar publishes this same 12-grade scale in two versions — one labelled for graduate students, one for undergraduate students — that assign identical grade-point values to every letter. The only difference between the two is the descriptive band label: the graduate version groups C through F together as "Failure"; the undergraduate version instead labels D+ "Poor" and D "Minimal Pass," reserving "Failure" for F alone.

Non-numerical grades and remarks at the University of Alberta

Alongside the 12 letter grades, the University of Alberta records several non-numerical final grades that carry no grade-point value: CR (completed requirements), NC (failure, no grade point value assigned), IN (incomplete), IP (course in progress, assigned to Part A of a two-term or one-term A/B course), IP* (withdrew from or failed a course in progress), W (withdrew with permission), AE (aegrotat standing), AU (registered as an auditor), AW (registered as an auditor and withdrew), and EX (exempt).

A separate set of numbered remarks (1–9) can be appended to a letter grade — for example, to note that a mark of zero was recorded for a missed final exam or missed term work, that a deferred exam or re-examination was granted, that credit was withheld, or that a disciplinary sanction applied.

The University of Alberta's retired 9-point grading system (pre-2003)

Before September 2003, the University of Alberta graded on a 9-point scale instead of letters: 9 (Outstanding), 8 (Excellent), 7 (Very Good), 6 (Good), 5 (Satisfactory, a passing grade), 4 (Minimally Acceptable, a passing grade), and 3/2/1 (Unsatisfactory, failing). These grades are still retained on student records for terms prior to September 2003.

The Registrar's companion "Grade Comparison Guide" maps the old 9-point grades to today's letter scale for transcript-interpretation purposes: 9→A+/A (4.0), 8→A- (3.7), 7→B+ (3.3), 6→B- (2.7), 5→C (2.0), 4→D+ (1.3), and 3/2/1→F (0.0).

Academic standing regulations and categories are determined by each Faculty individually, not centrally by the Office of the Registrar — students are directed to contact their own Faculty for their specific requirements.

As a one-time historical exception, grades issued for courses taken in Winter 2020 (a COVID-19-disrupted term) were excluded from admission GPA calculations for students applying to a University of Alberta program, whether the grade came from the U of A or elsewhere; a grade of CR from that term still counted toward admission credit requirements, while a grade of NC did not. Grades earned during the Augustana Campus's January 2020 term (which began and ended before the COVID-19 disruption) were not part of this exception and counted toward GPA calculation as usual.