Grade converter
Convert your grade for 17 countries
Get your German grade with the official modified Bavarian formula — and see where the same grade sits in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and 11 more countries. Everything is calculated in your browser.
Checked against official and university sources: October 2026
Grade converter
Example0–10 (10 is best, 5 is the lowest pass)
Your grade in
gut (good)
Official
KMK formula
1 + 3 × (10 − 8.2) / (10 − 5) = 2.080 → 2.0
8.2 in Spain — across Europe and the US
An estimate: the same place on each country’s scale. Universities there use their own rules.
United States · GPA 2.92
Central Europe
- GermanyOfficial formulagut (good)
- AustriaGut (good)
- Switzerlandout of 6
- Polanddobry plus (4.5)
Western Europe
- Netherlandsvery good (8+ is rare)
- Belgium/20out of 20
- France/20très bien
English-speaking
- United Kingdom%First class
- Ireland%First class honours (H1)
- United StatesGPA out of 4.0
On this page
How the conversion works
The idea · all countries
Every grading scale has a lowest pass and a best grade. The converter finds where your grade sits between them — 8.2 in Spain is 64% of the way from 5 to 10 — and puts it at the same place on another country’s scale:
position = (yours − pass) / (best − pass)
new grade = pass + position × (best − pass)
pass — the lowest passing grade
So 64% becomes 16.4 out of 20 in France, 25.7 out of 30 in Italy and 78% in the UK. Sweden, Norway and Denmark get the nearest grade on their scale.
Germany · the only official formula
Universities and uni-assist use the modified Bavarian formula of the Kultusministerkonferenz (15 March 1991, as amended on 12 September 2013) — the same idea for a scale where 1.0 is best and 4.0 the lowest pass:
grade = 1 + 3 × (Nmax − Nd) / (Nmax − Nmin)
Nmax best · Nmin lowest pass · Nd yours
Given to one decimal and cut, not rounded: 2.38 becomes 2.3. Spain 8.2: 1 + 3 × (10 − 8.2) / (10 − 5) = 2.08 → 2.0.
Country by country
Each country’s scale, its lowest pass — and how its universities actually treat a foreign grade.
Central Europe
Germany
1.0–4.0 (1.0 is best, 4.0 is the lowest pass)
Official rule: the modified Bavarian formula of the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK). uni-assist and most universities use it; the result is cut to one decimal without rounding.
Austria
1–5 (1 is best, 4 is the lowest pass)
No national formula for foreign grades — each university assesses your degree. Ask the admissions office of your programme.
Single grades are whole numbers; averages have decimals.
Switzerland
1–6 (6 is best, 4 is the lowest pass)
No national formula — universities assess foreign degrees individually.
Universities grade in quarter or half steps.
Poland
2–5 (5 is best, 3 is the lowest pass)
Universities assess foreign degrees and set their own rules for averages.
Grades go in half steps; some universities also give 5.5.
Western Europe
Netherlands
1–10 (10 is best, 5.5 is the lowest pass)
Universities set their own rules, often based on Nuffic country descriptions. Some, like Wageningen, no longer convert foreign grades at all.
A 5.5 is rounded up to a 6 and counts as a pass. 9 and 10 are given very rarely.
Belgium
0–20 (20 is best, 10 is the lowest pass)
No national formula — universities assess foreign degrees individually; distinctions differ between universities.
France
0–20 (20 is best, 10 is the lowest pass)
No national formula — universities (and Études en France for many countries) assess your file individually.
Grades above 16 are rarely given.
Southern Europe
Spain
0–10 (10 is best, 5 is the lowest pass)
Official route: the Ministry's “declaración de equivalencia de nota media”. It uses tables for each country, not a linear formula — so your official Spanish average can differ from this estimate.
Bands set by Real Decreto 1125/2003; Matrícula de Honor is a distinction from 9.0.
Italy
18–30 (30 is best, 18 is the lowest pass)
Some universities convert foreign grades linearly into 18–30 — the same method as this estimate; others use their own tables.
“30 e lode” counts as 30 in averages. The final degree mark is out of 110.
Portugal
0–20 (20 is best, 10 is the lowest pass)
No national formula — universities assess foreign degrees individually.
Nordic countries
Sweden
A–F (A is best, E is the lowest pass)
University Admissions in Sweden assesses foreign degrees; there is no grade formula for Master's admission.
Many courses use Pass with distinction / Pass / Fail (VG, G, U) instead — with only two pass levels the German formula can't be applied.
Denmark
7-step scale: 12, 10, 7, 4, 02 (02 is the lowest pass)
Universities convert foreign grades to the 7-step scale themselves, often via the ECTS letters (A = 12 … E = 02).
Single grades are 12, 10, 7, 4 or 02; averages have decimals.
Norway
A–F (A is best, E is the lowest pass)
Universities convert foreign averages to Norwegian letters with their own tables.
Finland
0–5 (5 is best, 1 is the lowest pass)
Universities assess foreign degrees individually; some Master's programmes rank applicants by grades.
English-speaking
United Kingdom
0–100% (40% is the lowest pass)
Universities say which grade from your country counts as a 2:1 or a First — check the “international entry requirements” page of your programme.
The class band matters more than the exact mark.
Ireland
0–100% (40% is the usual lowest pass)
Universities compare your degree with an Irish class (most Master's ask for a 2.1 or equivalent) using their own country tables.
Many taught Master's programmes require 50% to pass a module. The class band matters more than the exact mark.
United States
GPA 0–4.0 (4.0 is best, D = 1.0 is the lowest pass)
US universities don't convert by formula: they evaluate your transcript course by course, often through a credential evaluator such as WES.
Many graduate programmes ask for at least 3.0. Some German universities treat C (2.0) as the lowest pass for US grades — then your German grade comes out lower.
Why other countries are an estimate
The other 16 countries have no national formula for foreign grades: universities compare your degree with their own tables or assess your file as a whole.
Spain
Issues an official “declaración de equivalencia de nota media” based on tables for each country — the Ministry states that no linear formula is used.
The Netherlands
Grades above 8 are rare, so a straight line from the top of your scale can overstate your grade. Wageningen no longer converts foreign grades at all.
EU · ECTS Users’ Guide
Since 2015 recommends comparing grade distribution tables — how often each grade is given — instead of matching scales.
So the numbers for other countries show where your grade sits on their scale — some Italian universities use exactly this method. Use them to understand your position, and check the rules of your programme before you apply.
Questions
Is this conversion official?
For Germany, yes: the modified Bavarian formula is set by the Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) and used by uni-assist and most universities. Some universities publish their own tables, and the university's own calculation always decides. For the other countries the result is an estimate — they use their own tables or assess each file individually.
Should I put the converted grade in my motivation letter?
Give your real grade and its scale first — for example “a GPA of 3.6 out of 4.0”. You can add the German equivalent in brackets if the programme is in Germany. Readers abroad may not know your scale, so one plain sentence explaining it helps more than a converted number.
My scale has only pass with distinction and pass. Can I convert it?
Not with the German formula: it doesn't work when a scale has only two passing levels. Universities then look at your transcript or ask for a grade distribution from your university.
What German grade do I need for a Master's?
It depends on the programme. Some set a minimum grade, others rank all applicants by grade, and many look at the grades of relevant modules too. Check the admission rules of your programme.
Which lowest pass grade should I use for a US GPA?
The usual lowest pass is D = 1.0, which this converter uses. Some German universities use C = 2.0 for US degrees, which gives a lower German grade. If your university states its method, enter your scale under “Another country”.
Sources
- HU Berlin: KMK resolution 1991/2013
- Germany: TUM — Bavarian formula
- Austria: Universitätsgesetz 2002, § 73 (RIS)
- Switzerland: ETH Zurich grading (MSU exchange guide)
- Netherlands: Erasmus University — Dutch grading system
- France: ICES — French grading system
- Belgium: IHECS — grading scale
- Spain: Ministry of Universities — equivalence of average grades
- Italy: Milano-Bicocca — grade conversion
- Portugal: UFV — table of grade equivalences
- Ireland: Trinity College Dublin — marks and classes
- United Kingdom: Prospects — UK university grades
- Sweden: Stockholm University — grades
- Denmark: Ministry of Higher Education — 7-point grading scale
- Norway: University of Stavanger — conversion of results
- Finland: University of Helsinki — grades and assessment
- Poland: SGH Warsaw — grading scale
- United States: Uni Hamburg — grade converter
- Wageningen University: conversion of external credits