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Class GradeCALCULATOR

CMU GPA calculator

Carnegie Mellon calls its GPA the QPA, or quality point average, and undergraduate grades carry no plus or minus: A is 4.0, B 3.0, C 2.0, D 1.0 and R (failure) 0.0. Courses carry units instead of credit hours (three units equal one traditional semester credit hour; the catalog’s example is a 9-unit course), and each grade’s quality points are multiplied by the course’s units. R is the only grade that counts as zero; P, N, O (audit), W, I and AD (transfer or exam credit) are non-factorable and stay out of your QPA, though five of the colleges use an incomplete’s default grade when they judge academic standing. If you repeat a course, every grade stays on your transcript and every grade counts in your QPA.

CMU’s points: A 4.00, B 3.00, C 2.00, D 1.00 and so on.

Example courses. Change them to yours, or

Include your earlier GPA

Quality points are the more exact input when the displayed GPA has already been rounded. Do not include these same units again in the course rows.

Raise my GPA: what would it take to reach a target?

These are future units beyond the courses and earlier record entered above.

Pass/fail or a retake: what would change?

Whether a pass/fail course leaves the GPA and whether a retake replaces the old grade are your school’s rules; the table below shows CMU’s.

One grade higher: which course moves your GPA most?

Each line raises one course by one grade on the grade points above and leaves the others as entered, so a course that carries more credit moves the GPA more. A course you haven’t finished can be marked “Planned” in its ⋯ menu: the GPA so far then leaves it out, and the projection counts it at the grade you chose. A grade already on your transcript changes only under your school’s retake or grade-change rules.

Compare with a GPA line (dean's list, scholarship, good standing)
Course groups and equal weights

Set a course's group or term, or mark it planned, in its ⋯ menu. Groups are just your labels: they don’t apply AMCAS or other application-service GPA rules.

Import courses from a transcript or spreadsheet

Copy the courses from your unofficial transcript, degree audit or a spreadsheet and paste them here, one course per line with its grade and credits. Term headings such as “Fall 2025” keep the courses in their terms. Your grades stay in this browser.

Save my courses or compare versions

Nothing is sent to us. Untick the box to forget them.

To compare plans, save the courses as they are now as a version, change them, and save again. Versions stay in this browser until you delete them.

Open a file you saved with “Save the versions to a file”, in this browser or another. It is read in your browser and sent nowhere.

Carnegie Mellon’s rules checked in its 2026–2027 Undergraduate Catalog. Sources are at the bottom of the page.

Grade points at Carnegie Mellon

Carnegie Mellon multiplies each course’s grade points by its units, adds them up and divides by the units that count. Enter your courses above with these points already set.

Carnegie Mellon University letter grades and grade points
GradeGrade points
A4.00
B3.00
C2.00
D1.00
R0.00

From Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, Undergraduate Academic Regulations.

What W, pass/fail, incomplete, retakes and transfer credit do at Carnegie Mellon

A course left out of the GPA adds no points and no units. In the calculator, choose its code or “Not counted”; a code that counts as zero lowers the GPA like a failing grade.

How Carnegie Mellon counts each code
CodeWhat it meansIn the Carnegie Mellon GPA
RFailureCarries 0.0 quality points, but its units still count as factorable, so it pulls your QPA down: in the catalog’s own example a 10-unit R adds 0 quality points and 10 units to the total. Science, Tepper, Fine Arts and Dietrich do not count R units as completed when they check your progress. Rule
IIncompleteNon-factorable, so it stays out of your QPA. Your instructor must name a default letter grade, and you must finish the work by the end of the following semester or the registrar records the default grade. Engineering, Computer Science, Tepper, Fine Arts and Dietrich use that default grade when deciding your academic standing. Rule
P / NPass / no passYou may take a free-elective course pass/no pass; A through D work becomes a P with the units, and below-D work an N with no units. Neither gets quality points or enters your QPA. The choice is irreversible after the deadline (the HUB lists the Monday after 10 weeks of classes for fall and spring), and a course switched to P/NP that counts toward a general education, major or degree requirement will need to be repeated. Rule
WWithdrawalNon-factorable. A course dropped by the drop deadline disappears from your record; after that deadline a withdrawal, signed off by your advisor, leaves a W. The HUB gives the Monday after 10 weeks of classes as the fall and spring deadline, while the University Policies page says the end of the 10th week of class. For financial aid progress a W counts as attempted units with zero completed. Rule
VouchersLate drop or late P/NPUndergraduates get three vouchers over their career, one per semester at most, to drop a course or switch it to pass/no pass after the deadline, up to the last day of classes. A voucher can’t be used once a W has been assigned or to drop below 36 units. Rule
OAuditNon-factorable. Auditing gives you no academic credit and no pass/fail or letter grade. Rule
ADTransfer or exam creditNon-factorable: credit for work at another institution or by examination never enters your Carnegie Mellon QPA. Rule
A−, B+ and other ±Grades from graduate-level coursesIf you take a graduate-level course as an undergraduate, any plus or minus is automatically converted to the plain letter grade on the undergraduate scale. Rule
Repeated courseYou took the same course againNothing is replaced. When you repeat a course, all grades are recorded on your transcript and all are calculated in your QPA, whether the first grade was passing or failing; the catalog adds “including pass/fail,” which the University Policies page does not. To repeat a course you already passed you need approval from your dean or department head, and only one set of units counts toward graduation. In the College of Fine Arts the dean decides, when approving the repeat, whether the new or old grade is used for honors. For financial aid, only one repeat per previously passed course counts toward your enrollment status. Rule
Transfer creditGrades from another collegeCourses from other schools appear on your transcript without a grade and are not used for your QPA, academic actions or honors; only courses taken through the Pittsburgh cross-registration program (PCHE) bring their grades into your QPA. A course must be taken for a grade and earn a C− or better to transfer (pass/fail marks count only if the transcript key shows C− or better). You must complete at least 180 units at Carnegie Mellon. Colleges add limits: BXA asks for a C (2.00) or above, B or above at a community college, and at most five courses after you enroll; Dietrich caps transfer at 180 units, apart from PCHE cross-registration and approved study abroad or exchange programs. For financial aid progress, accepted transfer credit counts as both attempted and completed. Rule

Carnegie Mellon GPA lines

These are Carnegie Mellon’s published undergraduate lines, each with the other conditions its catalog sets. Your college or program may set its own, higher lines.

Published GPA lines at Carnegie Mellon
GPA lineWhat it meansAlso required
2.00 semester and 2.00 cumulative QPAGood academic standingEngineering, Science, Computer Science, Tepper, Fine Arts and Dietrich each set both lines, plus progress rules; Science, Tepper, Fine Arts and Dietrich also require completing 80% of attempted units in a semester. Falling short brings an academic action. Full rule
Semester QPA of 1.5 or belowStraight to academic warning in Tepper, Fine Arts and DietrichIn Tepper this applies if you’re not already on academic concern, in Fine Arts if you’re in good standing. In Dietrich a semester QPA between 1.51 and 1.99 brings a notice of academic concern instead. Full rule
Semester QPA below 2.00 while on warningSuspension (Engineering)In Science, Computer Science and Dietrich, missing the standards after a semester on warning ordinarily leads to suspension (two semesters is typical in Engineering and the minimum in Science). Science and Dietrich students return on final academic warning, and Engineering drops students who fall short again after returning. Full rule
2.0 cumulative QPAGraduation minimumIf your first-year grades pull your cumulative QPA below 2.0, the requirement becomes 2.0 for all courses after the first year, but the QPA on your final transcript still includes every grade. Some programs set higher QPA requirements. Full rule
3.75 semester QPA, 36 factorable unitsDean’s List in Engineering and Tepper; Dean’s List with High Honors in Science and Computer ScienceNo incomplete grades that semester in any of the four. Full rule
3.50 semester QPADean’s List in Science and BXAScience requires 36 factorable units and no incompletes; BXA requires 36 graded units with no pass/no pass grades, incompletes or “no grades.” Full rule
3.50–3.74 semester QPA, 45+ factorable unitsDietrich Dean’s List, with Honors3.75 or higher on 45+ units is Dean’s List with High Honors; on 36 to 44 units, 3.75 or higher is Dean’s List with Honors. Students with an incomplete at grading time generally aren’t eligible. Full rule
Top 35% of eligible students in each schoolCollege of Fine Arts Dean’s ListEligibility requires at least 36 factorable units and no conditional, missing or failing grades in core classes. Full rule
3.5 cumulative QPAGraduation with University HonorsThe university says colleges select honorees on cumulative QPA (typically when it is greater than 3.5) and/or faculty recommendation; Science, Dietrich and BXA state 3.5 or better. In Science it is awarded automatically after seven semesters or at certification for graduation. Full rule
3.25 overall QPABXA Intercollege HonorsAlso requires a completed BXA Capstone Project with an A in 62-401 and 62-402 and a public presentation of the research. Full rule
1.75 cumulative (first year), 2.00 (upperclass)Satisfactory academic progress for financial aidYou must also complete 80% of the units you attempt; W and incomplete units count as attempted, not completed. Reviewed once a year, at the end of spring. Full rule

To see how far you are from one of them, enter it under “Compare with a GPA line” in the calculator, or as your target in the target GPA planner.

A worked example

Carnegie Mellon never replaces a grade in your QPA, and every grade is weighted by units. Say your first semester is a 12-unit course with an A, a 12-unit B, a 9-unit C and an R (failure) in a 10-unit course. Your QPA is (4 × 12 + 3 × 12 + 2 × 9 + 0 × 10) ÷ 43 = 102 ÷ 43 ≈ 2.37. You retake the 10-unit course and earn a B. Both attempts stay on your transcript and both count, so your cumulative QPA becomes (102 + 3 × 10) ÷ (43 + 10) = 132 ÷ 53 ≈ 2.49, not the 132 ÷ 43 ≈ 3.07 you’d see if the B replaced the R.

The calculator gives an estimate from the grades you enter. Your official GPA is the one on your Carnegie Mellon academic record.

Sources: Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, Undergraduate Academic Regulations; Carnegie Mellon University, University Policies, Grading; Carnegie Mellon University, The HUB (University Registrar’s Office), Course Adds, Drops, Withdrawals & Voucher Elections; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, College of Engineering; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, Mellon College of Science; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, School of Computer Science; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, Tepper School of Business; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, College of Fine Arts; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, The Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Carnegie Mellon University, Undergraduate Catalog 2026–2027, BXA Intercollege Degree Programs; Carnegie Mellon University, Student Financial Services, Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (revised Feb. 16, 2026).