A grade point average (GPA) is calculated for all undergraduate students, as well as those students in the Fuqua School of Business, the Law School, the Divinity School, and, for students matriculating in Summer 2004 and after, the Graduate School, Engineering Management, and the Sanford School of Public Policy. Graduate School and Engineering Management students who matriculated prior to Summer 2004 do not carry a GPA.

There are two types of GPAs: semester and cumulative.

The semester GPA is calculated using the courses taken in the semester in question. The cumulative GPA is a summary of all Duke courses taken over a student's career. Transfer course grades are not included in any GPA calculations, but interinstitutional courses, including those taken as part of the Robertson Scholars program, are included. To calculate a GPA you need to know the course grade, the course credits or semester hours associated with that course, and the values associated with each grade in that school. Duke University does not calculate GPA within any major, minor, or certificate.

Grade Point Equivalents by School
Undergraduate (Trinity & Pratt) and Divinity School
4.04.03.73.33.02.72.32.01.71.31.01.00.00.0
A+AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-FU
A+AA-B+BB-C+CC-D+DD-FU
The Graduate School, Engineering Management, and the Sanford School
4.04.03.73.33.02.72.32.01.70.00.0
A+AA-B+BB-C+CC-FNC
A+AA-B+BB-C+CC-FNC
A+AA-B+BB-C+CC-FNC
School of Nursing
4.03.73.33.02.72.32.00.00.0
AA-B+BB-C+CFNC
Fuqua School of Business
4.03.53.02.50.0
SPHPPLPF
School of Law

The Law School assigns numerical grades for each course, and those numerical grades are used as the grade point values in GPA calculations.

Calculating GPA

To calculate a GPA you must first multiply the number of course credits/semester hours for each course by the grade point values associated with the grade received in that course. Then add all of those totals together and divide that sum by the total number of course credits/semester hours. For a semester GPA, as well as the cumulative GPA, use all regularly graded courses in the GPA calculation. Do not average semester GPAs in order to calculate the cumulative GPA. When a course is taken on the Credit/No Credit, Pass/Fail, or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading basis, no grade, including the failing grade, is used in the GPA calculation.

All GPAs are truncated to three decimal points.

GPA Calculation Examples

 GradeCrs Credits Grd Pts  
ECON 101DB1.0x3.0=3.0
FRENCH 101B+1.0x3.3=3.3
MATH 111LA-1.0x3.7=3.7
LIT 201A+1.0x4.0=4.0
MUSIC 104-6B0.5x3.0=1.5
TOTAL 4.5   15.5
SEMESTER GPA: 15.5/4.5=3.444
 GradeSem Hrs Grd Pts  
BME 567A-3.0x3.7=11.1
BME 542B+3.0x3.3=9.9
BME 565LB3.0x3.0=9.0
BME 711SA1.0x4.0=4.0
BME 717SB-3.0x2.7=8.1
TOTAL 13.0   42.1
SEMESTER GPA: 42.1/13.0=3.238
 GradeSem Hrs Grd Pts  
DECISION 520QP3.0x3.0=9.0
DECISION 611CHP2.0x3.5=7.0
MANAGEMT 730SP3.0x4.0=12.0
MGRECON 780LP3.0x2.5=7.5
TOTAL 11.0   35.5
SEMESTER GPA: 35.5/11.0=3.227
 Grade Sem Hrs  
LAW 1103.2x4.5 ==14.4
LAW 1403.8x4.5 ==17.1
LAW 1603.4x1.5 ==5.1
LAW 1703.9x4.5 ==17.55
TOTAL15.0   54.15
SEMESTER GPA: 54.15/15.0=3.610