How grading works at UNC-Chapel Hill
UNC-Chapel Hill's Office of the University Registrar sets one grading system for undergraduates: letter grades of A, B, C, D and F. Pluses and minuses are added selectively rather than to every letter — B and C can take either a plus or a minus, A can only take a minus (there is no A+), and D can only take a plus (there is no D-). See the Grade Scale Reference above for the exact grade points attached to each letter.
These are, in the Registrar's own words, "the only authorized grades to be used on the Official Class Roll and Grade Report Form." Graduate students, and students in the School of Law, the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, the Adams School of Dentistry, and the School of Medicine, are graded under separate systems that this calculator does not cover — see the FAQ below.
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Undergraduate Grade Points" section — verified Aug 2026
Which UNC grades count toward your GPA
Not every grade or notation on a UNC transcript carries weight in the grade point average.
- Temporary grades don't count while they're open. AB (Absent from Final Examination) and IN (Incomplete) "do not affect grade point average" as long as they remain outstanding.
- Excluded outright. Courses graded (or noted) LP, PS, SP, BE, W, or PL "are ignored in establishing the quality point average."
- Notations, not grades. NR marks a course whose grade hasn't been recorded yet (for example, a late instructor submission), and NE marks a course that isn't graded at all, such as a placeholder or zero-credit listing. Neither is a grade and neither carries points.
If an AB or IN is never resolved, the Registrar automatically converts it to F* after a fixed deadline (the last day of final exams in the following term).
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Undergraduate Grade Points" and "Undergraduate Grade Definitions" sections — verified Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Can I save my semesters and track my CGPA at UNC?
How do I convert SGPA to CGPA at UNC?
Can I add past semester GPAs without entering every course?
Is my CGPA tracker data sent to your servers?
Is this University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) GPA calculator free?
Does UNC-Chapel Hill give A+ or D- grades?
No, for either. UNC's plus/minus rule is asymmetric by design: "Minus may be assigned to an A, and plus may be assigned to a D." So A can only be lowered to A-, and D can only be raised to D+ — there is no A+ and no D- anywhere in UNC's undergraduate scale. B and C are the only letters that take both a plus and a minus.
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Undergraduate Grade Points" section — verified Aug 2026
Do graduate, Law, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Medical students at UNC use the same GPA scale as undergraduates?
No — each has its own separate grading system. Graduate students use an H/P/L/F scale that the Registrar describes as "unique in that it cannot be converted to the more traditional ABC grading scale," and graduate students "do not carry a numerical GPA" at all. The School of Law uses its own numerical scale (0.1 increments from 4.2 down to 2.0 for a pass, effective August 2025). The Eshelman School of Pharmacy's professional (PharmD) track uses H/HP/P/LP/L/F with no quality points assigned. The Adams School of Dentistry (DDS) grades A through F on its own qualitative standard with no published point table. The School of Medicine "records their own grades and houses the transcripts" separately. This calculator uses the general undergraduate A-F/4.0 scale.
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Graduate Grades Definitions," "Law School Grade Points," "Pharmacy Professional Program," "Dentistry Professional Program," and "Medical School" sections — verified Aug 2026
What happens if an Incomplete (IN) or Absent (AB) grade at UNC is never resolved?
It automatically becomes an F*. Both AB ("Absent from final examination, but could have passed if exam taken") and IN ("Work incomplete") are temporary grades that don't affect your GPA while they're outstanding. But the Registrar automatically converts either one to F* once the deadline passes — the last day of final exams in the following term for undergraduates — unless the student makes up the exam or the incomplete work before then.
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Undergraduate Grade Definitions" section (AB, IN, F*) — verified Aug 2026
How does UNC's Pass/Fail grading option work?
Students who elect the Pass/Fail option receive PS (pass) when the instructor's letter grade would have been A through C, or LP (low pass) when it would have been C-, D+, or D — instructors aren't told which students elected Pass/Fail, so they assign the regular letter grade and the Registrar converts it. An F earned under Pass/Fail still counts as hours attempted, the same as any other F. Neither PS nor LP affects your grade point average; only the underlying F, if earned, would.
The LP grade began as a COVID-era accommodation (Fall 2020, Spring 2021) and was later "approved as a permanent grade." Before Fall 2020, Pass/Fail used only PS, covering the full A-through-D range.
Source: Explanation of Grading System — "Undergraduate Grade Definitions" section (PS, LP) — verified Aug 2026
