Grading System

UW–Madison uses a 4.00 grading scale (A=4.00, AB=3.50, etc.). Grades are assigned only by instructors and are electronically reported by letter grade. Plus and minus grades are not used.

Students should check with individual professors about grading scales for specific courses.

All courses taken as a graduate student that are numbered 300 and above in which a student receives a grade of A, AB, B, BC, C, or S will count toward the Graduate School’s minimum credit requirement.  Courses with grades of P (“in progress”) fulfill the Graduate School’s minimum credit requirement only if they are research courses.  Courses taken under the 300 level, or for audit, pass/fail; or in which a  student receives grades of D or F do not count.

For courses listed as research, the only permissible final grades are P (Progress), S (Satisfactory), or U (Unsatisfactory). If a P grade is assigned, it will remain until the faculty member assigns a grade of S or U. All previously assigned P grades in research courses will revert to an S or U upon assignment of the final grade. Research courses (even with grades from terms earlier than Summer 1999) do not count in a student’s GPA. Research courses are traditionally reserved for graduate students; however, other students (Law, Medical, Undergraduate, etc.) occasionally enroll for a research course. In these cases, the student’s college can decide to have the course count in the GPA with an academic action submitted to the Office of the Registrar.

To convert UW–Madison Law School numerical grades to the Graduate School’s grading scale, the Graduate School uses the following scale:
85-100 A
83-84 AB
77-82 B
75-76 BC
72-74 C
67-71 D
65-66 F

International equivalencies may be available in the Wisconsin Directory of International Institutions.

See Grade Point Average (GPA) RequirementPermanent Incomplete (PI) GradeProgress (P) Grades, Grading System and GPA Calculation