GPA Calculator

Calculate a term GPA on the 4.0 scale, weighted by the credit hours of each course.

Draft — figures checked, awaiting an editorial read. Not indexed.

Formula: GPA = Σ(grade points × credits) ÷ Σ(credits). Courses are weighted by credit hours, not counted equally.

Grading scales vary between institutions. This uses the common unweighted 4.0 scale with A+ at 4.0 — confirm against your school's official scale before relying on the result for anything that matters.

What this calculates

This calculates a term GPA on the standard unweighted 4.0 scale, weighting each course by its credit hours. The weighting is the whole point and it is what a simple average of letter grades gets wrong. A four-credit course counts twice as heavily as a two-credit one, so an A in a lab course and a C in a one-credit seminar do not average to a B. Leave any row set to "—" and it is ignored, so the form handles anywhere from one to six courses.

How it works

Each letter grade maps to a grade point value: A is 4.0, A− is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, B is 3.0, and so on down to F at 0.0. Each course contributes its grade points multiplied by its credit hours — the product is called quality points. The GPA is the total quality points divided by the total credits attempted. Note that A+ is treated as 4.0 here, which is the most common convention; some institutions award 4.3 and others cap the term GPA at 4.0 regardless.

Worked example

Four courses: an A in a 3-credit course, a B+ in 3 credits, a B in 3, and an A− in 3. Quality points: (4.0 × 3) + (3.3 × 3) + (3.0 × 3) + (3.7 × 3) = 12 + 9.9 + 9 + 11.1 = 42. Total credits: 12. GPA = 42 ÷ 12 = 3.50. If the B had been in a 4-credit course instead, total credits become 13, quality points 45, and the GPA drops to 3.46 — the same grades, weighted differently.

Common mistakes

Averaging the grade points without weighting by credits, which gives the right answer only when every course carries the same credit hours. Second, assuming your institution uses this exact scale — plenty use a 4.3 maximum, a plus/minus-free scale, or weight honours and AP courses on a 5.0 scale. Third, mixing a term GPA with a cumulative one: cumulative GPA is calculated over every course ever taken, not by averaging term GPAs together.

Common questions

Is A+ worth 4.0 or 4.3?

It depends on the institution. This calculator uses 4.0, the most common convention in the US. Some schools award 4.3, and some cap the reported GPA at 4.0 even where individual A+ grades are worth more.

How do I calculate a cumulative GPA?

Total all quality points and all credits across every term, then divide. Averaging your term GPAs gives a different and generally incorrect number unless every term carried identical credits.