Northwestern
GPA calculator
Northwestern GPA
How Northwestern University calculates GPA
Northwestern University calculates GPA as a credit-weighted average: multiply each course’s grade points by its credits, add them up, and divide by total credits. The detail that matters is the grade scale.
The Northwestern grade scale — what makes it specific
A+ rule: On the Northwestern scale, there is no A+ — A = 4.0 is the top grade, and there are no plus or minus grades at all.
Failing grade: Northwestern University uses "F" for a failing grade (0.0).
Repeated courses & grade replacement
All attempts remain on the record and all grades count toward the cumulative GPA; credit is awarded only once, for the highest-graded attempt.
Latin honors at graduation
Northwestern University awards Latin honors by rank in the graduating class, not by a fixed GPA, so the GPA that earns each honor moves from year to year.
| Honor | Requirement |
|---|---|
| summa cum laude | top 5% |
| magna cum laude | next 8% |
| cum laude | next 12% |
University-wide (undergraduate schools); GPA cutoffs implementing the percentages are set each spring quarter and not published.
Dean’s List
Northwestern University names students to its Dean’s List at a term GPA of 3.70 with no fewer than three courses taken for a regular letter grade.
Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences only; other Northwestern undergraduate schools (McCormick, Communication, Medill, SESP, Bienen) set their own criteria.
Sources
Every figure on this page was read on one of these pages, all published by Northwestern University itself. Nothing here comes from a ranking site or an aggregator.
- catalogs.northwestern.edu — Latin honors.
- weinberg.northwestern.edu — Dean’s List.
- catalogs.northwestern.edu — grading scale and GPA calculation.
Good to know
Northwestern runs on the quarter system, and Latin-honors cutoffs are recalculated each spring by percentile (top 5/8/12% of the graduating class) rather than published as fixed GPA numbers.
Every figure here was read from Northwestern’s own registrar or catalog. Where a rule is set by an individual college rather than the institution, the page says so instead of presenting one college’s number as everyone’s.
Need to plan ahead? Use the target GPA planner to find the grades you need, or the final grade calculator for a single class. International student? See CGPA to US GPA (WES).