Saudi grading system
In Saudi Arabia, university grades run from A+ (95–100%, best) to F (below 60%), and D (60 to under 65%) is the lowest pass; many public universities count them on a 5-point GPA, others on a 4-point GPA. Grades on the 4-point GPA scale: A+ to F, lowest pass D.
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Between A and A+
Your institution’s rule on rounding decides which grade goes on your record. D is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits.
Grades on the 5-point GPA scale: A+ to F
Bachelor's courses at Saudi universities that report the GPA out of 5, such as King Saud University.
| Grade | On the transcript | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | ممتاز مرتفع | excellent (high) | 95–100% | Pass |
| A | ممتاز | excellent | 90 to under 95% | Pass |
| B+ | جيد جداً مرتفع | very good (high) | 85 to under 90% | Pass |
| B | جيد جداً | very good | 80 to under 85% | Pass |
| C+ | جيد مرتفع | good (high) | 75 to under 80% | Pass |
| C | جيد | good | 70 to under 75% | Pass |
| D+ | مقبول مرتفع | pass (high) | 65 to under 70% | Pass |
| D | مقبول | pass | 60 to under 65% | Pass |
| F | راسب | fail | below 60% | Fail |
Grades on the 4-point GPA scale: A+ to F
Bachelor's courses at Saudi universities that report the GPA out of 4.
| Grade | On the transcript | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | ممتاز مرتفع | excellent (high) | 95–100% | Pass |
| A | ممتاز | excellent | 90 to under 95% | Pass |
| B+ | جيد جداً مرتفع | very good (high) | 85 to under 90% | Pass |
| B | جيد جداً | very good | 80 to under 85% | Pass |
| C+ | جيد مرتفع | good (high) | 75 to under 80% | Pass |
| C | جيد | good | 70 to under 75% | Pass |
| D+ | مقبول مرتفع | pass (high) | 65 to under 70% | Pass |
| D | مقبول | pass | 60 to under 65% | Pass |
| F | راسب | fail | below 60% | Fail |
Saudi grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Saudi grades: we found no table for them on Wikipedia or from an official source, and we do not make one up. A US university reads a foreign transcript itself or through the credential evaluation service it names, and its conversion is the one that counts.
Send your grades as they are, with the scale above. When a form asks for your average, give it on your own scale and say which scale it is: the converter’s average does exactly that, weighted by credits when you enter them.
What to know about grades in Saudi Arabia
- King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University, Imam University and several other public universities count grades on a 5-point GPA; other universities use the same letters and percentages on a 4-point GPA.
- On the 5-point scale an F still counts as 1.00 point, while on the 4-point scale it counts as zero.
- The overall rating of a degree follows the cumulative GPA out of 5: excellent from 4.50, very good from 3.75, good from 2.75 and acceptable from 2.00.
- First-class honours need a cumulative GPA of 4.75 to 5.00 (3.75 to 4.00 out of 4) and second-class honours 4.25 to under 4.75 (3.25 to under 3.75), with no failed course and graduation within the set time.
- At King Saud University, missing 25% or more of a course's classes bars the student from the final exam and the course is failed.
Sources: Wikipedia, Grading systems by country: Saudi Arabia; King Saud University, Regulations of Study and Examinations of Undergraduate Stage and their Executive Rules; King Saud University, معلومات تهم الطالبات (grade table in Arabic); King Saud University, College of Science student guide.