Zimbabwean grading system
Zimbabwean universities mark in percentages: at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), 75% and above is a first, 65–74% an upper second (2.1), 60–64% a lower second (2.2), 50–59% a pass, and below 50% a fail. ZIMSEC A-level passes run from A (5 points) down to E (1 point).
Example · Credit-weighted average of 3 courses
Upper second division
A pass: 65–74% of the marks. 50% is the lowest pass.
3 courses, 15 credits. Your institution’s own rules on rounding or cutting off decimals decide the grade on your record.
University grades: 0 to 100% (1, 2.1, 2.2, pass)
Modules and bachelor’s degree classes at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). The same scheme grades each module and the whole programme; the MBBS degree is not classified this way.
| Grade | Meaning | Marks | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | first division | 75–100% | Pass |
| 2.1 | upper second division | 65–74% | Pass |
| 2.2 | lower second division | 60–64% | Pass |
| Pass | pass | 50–59% | Pass |
| Fail | fail | 0–49% | Fail |
A-level grades: A to F
The Zimbabwe General Certificate of Education (ZGCE) Advanced Level, set by the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC). Each pass grade carries the points shown. An O is a subsidiary pass, counted as a pass at O level in that subject; an F is not shown on the certificate.
| Grade | Meaning | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| A | highest pass | Pass |
| B | pass | Pass |
| C | pass | Pass |
| D | pass | Pass |
| E | lowest pass | Pass |
| O | subsidiary pass (O-level standard), not an A-level pass | Fail |
| F | fail | Fail |
Zimbabwean grades and a US GPA
This page gives no US equivalents for Zimbabwean 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 Zimbabwe
- At NUST the degree class takes every part of the programme into account, with each part weighted as the programme’s own regulations set out.
- At NUST a student who fails more than half of a year’s modules, or whose overall mark is below 35% (40% in the Faculty of Medicine), must leave the programme.
- NUST grades postgraduate diplomas and coursework master’s degrees as distinction (80% and above), merit (70–79%), credit (60–69%) and pass (50–59%); below 50% is a fail.
- ZIMSEC’s national O-level pass rate counts candidates who pass five or more subjects with grade C or better, and NUST asks for at least five O-level passes, including English language and mathematics.
Sources: National University of Science and Technology, General Academic Regulations; Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, Instructions and Guidelines on the Provisional Results for the ZGCE Advanced Level Examinations; Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, Release of the 2024 November Ordinary Level Examination Results.