Grade Point Average

The Grade Point Average (GPA) is the average of the grades obtained in all courses, weighted by the unit value of each course. If enrolled in more than one program, there will be a Program GPA for each, calculated using the final grades for the courses associated with each program.

The University of Adelaide has two Grade Point Average Calculation types for Course Entry degrees:

  1. Honours programs (one-year Honours programs)
  2. Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs (excluding one year Honours programs)

Specific calculations are applied depending on your program of study. Select the relevant option to view full details.

A GPA may be used to rank students seeking admission entry to another program by academic merit, or for awarding scholarships, prizes, or other merit-based awards, such as the University Medal.

  • 1. Honours GPA (one year Honours only)

    Honours program final grade (from 2016)

    The overall honours program final grade is calculated using a weighted average mark (WAM) for students commencing their 1 year honours program from 2016.

    The WAM is calculated using the marks and units assigned to all courses completed within the program, except where a course has been dropped with the outcome of withdraw not fail. Where a course has been dropped with the outcome of withdraw fail, a mark of zero is assigned for the WAM calculation process.

    If a course is failed then repeated and passed on the second attempt, the marks and units for both attempts are included in the WAM calculation.

    Step 1
    The mark for each course is multiplied by the units:

    Course Mark Units Marks X units
    Course 1 82 6 492
    Course 2 75 6 450
    Course 3 69 3 207
    Course 4 85 9 765
    Totals   24 1914

    Step 2
    The total mark x units is then divided by the total units to calculate the WAM:

    Add total mark x units; Add units Divide total marks x unit by total units Honours program WAM

    Total mark x units: 492 + 450 + 207 + 765 = 1914

    Units: 6 + 6 + 3 + 9 = 24

    		 1914 / 24 = 79.75

    Program GPA

    The Program GPA is the average of the grades obtained in all courses in the honours program, weighted by the unit and point value of each course.

    Only courses studied at the University of Adelaide are included in the GPA.

    The program GPA will appear on official academic transcripts for students who commenced their programs from 2002 onwards.

    Other uses of GPA

    The GPA may be used to rank students seeking admission to another program by academic merit, or for awarding scholarships, prizes or other merit awards, such as the University Medal.

    How to calculate your honours program GPA

    Program GPAs are calculated for honours programs in a similar manner to all other programs, however a mark range is used to determine the point values assigned to each course as follows:

    No. of points Mark range
    7 80 – 100
    6 70 – 79
    5 60 – 69
    4 50 – 59
    1.5 0 – 49
    0 Withdraw Fail (WF), Fail No Submission (FNS), Not Awarded
    Not Included Withdraw Not Fail (WNF), Continuing (CN), Result Pending (RP), Withheld (WH)

    Example enrolments and marks

    Course Mark Units Point value
    Course 1 82 6 7
    Course 2 75 6 6
    Course 3 69 3 5
    Course 4 85 9 7

    Step 1
    The number of units assigned to each course is multiplied by the number of points to give the number of course grade points for each course:

    Course Units Point value Units X point value
    Course 1 6 7 42
    Course 2 6 6 36
    Course 3 3 5 15
    Course 4 9 7 63
    Totals 24   156

    Step 2
    The total number of course grade points are then divided by the total number of units to calculate the Program GPA:

    Add course grade points; Add units Divide total course grade points by total number of units Honours program GPA

    Course grade points: 42 + 36 + 15 + 63 = 156

    Units: 6 + 6 + 3 + 9 = 24

    		 156 / 24 = 6.5

    Calculation for Bachelor of Engineer (Honours)

    All undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) programs have embedded honours with a program duration of at least four years. Students in these programs will have their program GPA calculated using the Non-Honours GPA calculation rules - this will appear on their academic transcript. Their Honours Grade is separate and will be calculated upon completion of their program - more information can be found on the Engineering Honours Calculation page.

    Download the grade point average for honours (pdf file) programs.

  • 2. Non-honours GPA

    Program GPA

    The program GPA is the average of the grades obtained in all courses in the program, weighted by the unit value of each course. Students enrolled in more than one program will have a separate GPA for each, calculated using the final grades of the courses associated with each program. Only courses studied at the University of Adelaide are included in the GPA with the exception of language courses undertaken at Flinders University between 2002 and 2005.

    No GPA is calculated for the following programs: Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and Bachelor of Oral Health. In these programs, academic assessment for all core courses is done on a non-graded basis. In addition, no GPA is calculated for students enrolled in research or non-award programs.
    The program GPA will appear on official academic transcripts for students who commenced their programs from 2002 onwards.

    Other uses of GPA

    The GPA was also used to monitor students’ academic progress, in accordance with the University’s Unsatisfactory Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy (or UAP Policy). Students who studied between the years 2008 to 2015 whose Term GPA for any Semester was 2.8 or less became subject to the requirements of the UAP Policy in place at that time.

    How to calculate your GPA – for non-honours programs

    1. Your GPA is calculated by assigning the following point values to your final grade for each course:

    No. of points Final grade
    7 High Distinction (HD)
    6 Distinction (D)
    5 Credit (C)
    4 Pass (P); Unclassified Pass; Satisfactory (S)
    3 Conceded Pass (CP – grade deleted after 2010)
    1.5 Fail (F); Unsatisfactory; Incomplete Fail (IF – grade deleted after 2008)
    0 Fail No Submission (FNS); Not Awarded
    0* Withdraw Fail (WF)*
    Not included Withdraw Not Fail (WNF); Non Graded Pass (NGP); Continuing (CN); Result Pending (RP)

    *Withdraw Fail (WF)
    For courses enrolled before 1 January 2024 a grade of WF will contribute a value of 0 to your GPA.
    For courses enrolled after 1 January 2024 a grade of WF will NOT be included in the calculation. 

    2. Next, the number of units assigned to each grade is multiplied by the number of grade points to give the total number of course grade points for each course, in each program. For example, for a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program (BARTS) and the Bachelor of Commerce program BCOM):

    Program Course no. Units Grade Grade points Units x grade points
    BARTS 1 3 D 6 18
    BARTS 2 6 C 5 30
    BARTS 3 3 HD 7 21
    BARTS 4 3 P 4 12
    BARTS 5 3 F 1.5 4.5
    BCOM 1 3 C 5 15
    BCOM 2 3 WF 0^ 0^
    BCOM 3 3 WNF - -

    ^WF is only inlcuded in the calculation if the course was enrolled prior to 1 January 2024.

    3. Finally, the total number of course grade points is divided by the total number of unit values of the courses for each program. Based on the above example:

    Bachelor of Arts

    Add total number of course grade points Divide total grade points by total number of unit values Program GPA
    18 + 30 + 21 + 12 + 4.5
    3 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 3    		 85.5 / 18 = 4.75

    Bachelor of Commerce

    Add total number of course grade points Divide total grade points by total number of unit values Program GPA
    15 + 0
    3 + 3    		 15 / 6 = 2.50

    Calculation for Bachelor of Engineer (Honours)

    The Program GPA is the average of the grades obtained in all courses within a 1 year end-on Honours program. All undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) programs have embedded honours with a program duration of at least four years. Students in these programs must calculate their GPA using the non-Honours GPA calculation and will receive a separate honours calculation upon completion of their program.

    Download the grade point average for non-honours (pdf file) programs.

Indicative GPA calculator

This GPA calculator allows you to calculate an indicative program GPA.

Enter the Subject Area and Catalogue Number, Course Units and your final result for each of your courses, and your GPA score will be indicated. You can use your unofficial transcript from Access Adelaide which will have all of your Course details.

Note: All undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) programs have embedded honours with a program duration of at least four years. Students in these programs must calculate their GPA using the Non-Honours GPA calculation (Select 'No' below when using the GPA calculator). Students will receive a separate honours calculation upon completion of their degree.

This is indicative only and is not your official GPA. Your official GPA is available on your official Academic Transcript.

Are you completing an Honours degree?
Your final Honours grade will be based on a Weighted Average Mark calculation. You can translate this into a Honours Final Grade using the Honours Grading description here
Please note:
For courses enrolled after 1 January 2022, a grade of NGP will NOT be included in your GPA.

For courses enrolled before 1 January 2022 a grade of NGP will contribute a value of 4 to your GPA. These courses can be set to a Pass grade for GPA calculation.

For courses enrolled before 1 January 2024 a grade of WF will contribute a value of 0 to your GPA.

For courses enrolled after 1 January 2024 a grade of WF will NOT be included your GPA. These courses can be left out of the indicative calculation.
Course Code Units Grade
Course Code Mark Units
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