Tanzanian grading system
In Tanzania, university courses are graded A (70–100%, 5 points) to E (below 35%, 0 points), and C (40–49%) is the lowest pass; a cumulative GPA of 4.4 or more earns a first class bachelor's degree. Degree classes: 0.0 to 5.0, lowest pass 2.0. A-level (ACSEE) grades: A to F (0 to 100%), lowest pass S.
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Between B+ and A
Very good or excellent: your institution’s rule on rounding decides which grade goes on your record. C is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits.
University grades: A to E
Bachelor's degree courses at Tanzanian universities, under the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) standard. Universities grade independently, so an individual university's scale can differ from the TCU standard.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | excellent | 70–100% | Pass |
| B+ | very good | 60–69% | Pass |
| B | good | 50–59% | Pass |
| C | satisfactory | 40–49% | Pass |
| D | weak (fail, supplementary examination) | 35–39% | Fail |
| E | poor (fail, course repeated) | 0–34% | Fail |
Degree classes: 0.0 to 5.0
Bachelor's degrees in Tanzania, classed by cumulative GPA under the TCU standard.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| First class | first class | Pass |
| Upper second | upper second class | Pass |
| Lower second | lower second class | Pass |
| Pass | pass | Pass |
| Below 2.0 | below the lowest class | Fail |
A-level (ACSEE) grades: A to F (0 to 100%)
The Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (Form Six), set by the National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA).
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | excellent | 80–100% | Pass |
| B | very good | 70–79% | Pass |
| C | good | 60–69% | Pass |
| D | average | 50–59% | Pass |
| E | satisfactory | 40–49% | Pass |
| S | subsidiary pass | 35–39% | Pass |
| F | fail | 0–34% | Fail |
Tanzanian grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Tanzanian 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 Tanzania
- A D in a university course is a fail that can be cleared by a supplementary examination, while an E means repeating the course.
- Postgraduate courses set the bar higher: A, B+ and B pass, and a C leads to a supplementary examination.
- Certificate and diploma programmes use a separate TCU scale: A for 80–100%, B for 65–79%, C for 50–64%, D for 40–49% and E below 40%.
Sources: Tanzania Commission for Universities, Handbook for Standards and Guidelines for University Education in Tanzania; Wikipedia, Grading systems by country: Tanzania; National Examinations Council of Tanzania, Candidates' Item Response Analysis Report on the ACSEE 2023: General Studies.