Grading & Your GPA

Graduate coursework in the College is typically graded on an A, B, C, D, or F (+/-) scale. The graduate GPA is calculated on a 4.0 scale. To be calculated into your graduate GPA, a course must meet all of the following:

• You must be enrolled as either a degree seeking, non-degree seeking or certificate seeking graduate student at the KU Lawrence, Edwards or Leavenworth campuses.

  • Courses taken at the KU Medical Center or KU Law School do not factor into your graduate GPA.

• The course must be numbered 500 level or above.

  • Courses that are 499 or below will display on your transcript, but the grade assigned will not factor into your graduate GPA.

• If you are enrolled in an undergraduate program or a program at the KU Med Center or Law School at the same time as your KU graduate program, you must register for coursework under the appropriate corresponding graduate line.

• P/F (pass/fail), S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory), Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) and I (Incompletes) do not calculate into the graduate GPA; however, Incompletes revert to Fs after one calendar year if they are not cleared, at which point the F grade is included in the graduate GPA. 

The SP/LP/NP grading scale is restricted to thesis and dissertation hours, as well as those research courses approved by Graduate Studies as equivalents. All departments in the College are required to have a policy in place that governs the consequences of a student receiving LP or NP for one or more semesters.  SP/LP/NP It is the preferred scale for the grading of these courses in the College. Please see the College’s policy on the Grading of Thesis and Dissertation Hours for more information.

You are required to maintain a 3.0 (B average) cumulative GPA to remain in good academic standing with the University. If your GPA drops below 3.0, you will be placed on academic probation.