Vietnam grade
to Germany
Vietnam → German grade calculator
This is not an estimate. It applies the Modified Bavarian Formula set by the German Conference of Education Ministers — the same calculation uni-assist and German universities use.
One thing you must check first: what is the lowest passing mark at your Vietnamese university?
Vietnam has no single passing mark. German universities confirm it per institution, and it changes your result by up to 0.4. Check your transcript or your university’s regulation.
Converting Vietnam grades for study in Germany
Applying to a German university with a Vietnamese transcript means translating your average into the German 1.0–5.0 scale. Germany is the one destination on this site with an official method for that, so this page applies the formula instead of estimating a band. There is no single “Vietnam → Germany” table: your result depends on your university’s lowest passing mark, which is why the table below has two columns rather than one.
How this is calculated — and why it is not an estimate
Most grade conversions on this site are planning estimates, because the destination country has no official method. Germany is the exception. The Conference of Education Ministers (KMK) sets a formula, and German universities and uni-assist apply it:
X = 1 + 3 × (Nmax − Nd) ÷ (Nmax − Nmin)
Nd is your average. For Vietnam the calculator uses Nmax = 10, which reproduces DHBW’s published tables at every anchor point we tested — but strictly the two Eckwerte are not read off your transcript at all. The KMK resolution’s Anlage sets them “gem. BV der ZAB”: they are the values the Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen publishes for each country in anabin. We have not been able to read Vietnam’s, so treat the output as the arithmetic German universities apply rather than a figure the ZAB has confirmed. The German scale runs 1.0 (best) to 4.0 (lowest pass), with anything above 4.0 a fail.
The one variable: your university’s passing mark
Vietnam has no single minimum passing mark, and this is where most conversions go wrong. DHBW publishes two separate Vietnam tables — one for universities where 4.0 is the lowest pass, one for universities where it is 5.0 — and names which institutions it has confirmed for each.
| Your average | If Nmin = 4.0 | If Nmin = 5.0 |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| 8.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| 7.5 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| 7.0 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| 6.5 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| 6.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
Up to 0.4 German grades apart on the same Vietnamese mark. German admission cut-offs are commonly 2.5 or 3.0, so this decides cases. Check which applies to you before relying on any number.
Truncated, not rounded
The KMK resolution states that the result is determined to one decimal place and “es wird nicht gerundet” — it is not rounded. A result of 2.68 becomes 2.6, not 2.7. Most online converters round, which can flatter your grade by 0.1 at exactly the wrong moment. This calculator truncates, and reproduces DHBW’s published tables at every anchor point we tested.
What this does and does not cover
- Binding conversions come from uni-assist, which processes most international applications to German universities. This calculator shows you the same arithmetic in advance.
- The KMK resolution governs school-leaving certificates for bachelor’s admission. For a Vietnamese bachelor’s degree going to a German master’s, universities apply the same formula under their own examination regulations.
- Some universities adjust Nmax where top marks are rarely awarded in the source country. That is an institutional variation, not the KMK standard.
- Percentile-rank transformation does not apply to degrees — KMK section 4(2) states that study periods are converted with the formula alone.
How the Germany system works
uni-assist evaluates foreign qualifications for most German universities and converts your grade with the modified Bavarian formula. Lower is better — 1.0 is the top mark.
Sources
The formula, its inputs and the caveats on this page are read from the following.
- KMK resolution of 15.03.1991, as amended 19.07.2012 — the Modified Bavarian Formula and its rules. Read in full. Source of the formula itself, of the instruction that the result is determined to one decimal place and “es wird nicht gerundet”, and of the fact that Nmax and Nmin are the ZAB’s published Eckwerte rather than values taken from a transcript.
- DHBW — Notenumrechnung Vietnam — a German university’s two published Vietnam tables, one for institutions where 4.0 is the lowest pass and one for 5.0, naming which it has confirmed for each. The calculator on this page reproduces these at every anchor point tested.
- FPT University — Quy chế đào tạo đại học chính quy (Điều 19) — the university’s own regulation making the 10-point scale its official one, which is why FPT appears here as a 5.0 passing-mark example.
- MOET Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDĐT — the Vietnamese regulation behind the cohort rules referred to below.
Vietnam’s Nmax and Nmin as set by the ZAB are held in anabin and we have not been able to read them; the page says so where it matters. uni-assist or the university issues the binding conversion.
Is it competitive?
Most Germany master's programmes look for the equivalent of a US 3.0+ (an upper-second / good average), with competitive and funded programmes wanting more. Convert first, then check each programme's stated minimum. For a credit-weighted multi-course result, use the WES iGPA calculator.
Which Vietnamese rules apply to your transcript depends on when you enrolled. MOET Circular 08/2021 took effect on 3 May 2021 and applies to intakes admitted after that date; earlier intakes fall under the superseded regulations. Institutions on the year-based (niên chế) system do not calculate a 4-point GPA at all. See how Vietnamese grading works before relying on any conversion — and note that a widely-circulated conversion table converts the wrong thing, giving a different grade for most marks.