NUS GPA Calculator

What This GPA Means for You

Your NUS GPA decides your honours classification, scholarship and exchange eligibility, and how competitive you are for graduate school — all on a 5.00 scale, not the US 4.0.

NUS-specific read

At NUS, A+ and A are both 5.00 — so the climb happens lower down.

NUS uses a Unit-weighted 5.00 system. Because the top two grades tie at 5.00, you can't out-score a perfect record — the fastest gains come from lifting B and C grades in heavier courses. Your GPA is also where honours is decided, so the bands below are the real targets.

Use the exact 5.0–0.0 NUS grade points and each course's Units.
Leave out any course you have S/U-ed — it doesn't count in the GPA.
Chasing First Class (Highest Distinction)? Model future semesters, not just this one.

NUS GPA signals

4.50

Highest Distinction

The modern name for First Class Honours.

4.00

Distinction

A strong, scholarship- and grad-school-competitive band.

S/U

Excluded

S/U-ed courses never enter your GPA.

How to Raise This NUS GPA Fastest

The fastest move is the highest-Unit course where one realistic grade step lands — lifting a B to A- in a 4-Unit course beats perfecting a 2-Unit one.

Fastest move

Enter your NUS grades and Units to see the best upgrade.

Once you add at least one course, this section finds the grade bump that lifts your GPA the most.

Current--

One upgrade--

Lift--

Entered-course GPA

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Best one-step bump

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If that course reaches A

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Tip: heavier (4-Unit) courses move your GPA faster than 2-Unit ones.

1

Target the heavy course

Find the highest-Unit course sitting below your target grade — that's where the leverage is.

2

Upgrade one realistic step

B→B+ or B+→A- on the 5.0 scale is usually more reachable than jumping two grades.

3

Use S/U wisely

If an eligible early course went badly, S/U-ing it removes the drag entirely — but you only get a limited pool of Units.

NUS GPA: Quick Overview

The National University of Singapore grades on a 5.00-point scale. Each course earns a letter grade worth a fixed number of grade points (A+ and A = 5.00, down to F = 0.00), and your GPA is the Unit-weighted average of those points across every graded course. A heavier 4-Unit course therefore pulls your GPA more than a 2-Unit one.

One naming note that confuses a lot of searches: from 1 August 2023, NUS renamed three things — CAP became GPA, Modular Credits (MCs) became Units, and modules became courses. The maths is identical; only the labels changed. So your old "CAP out of 5" and your new "GPA out of 5.00" are the same number. This page mirrors the current system: the calculator weights each grade by its Units, the planner finds the fastest lift, and the sections below cover the rules that quietly shape your result — the honours bands, the S/U option, and how to read a 5.0 GPA against a US 4.0.

NUS Grade Points (5.00 Scale)

Grade	Grade point	Meaning
A+	5.00	Excellent (does not exceed A)
A	5.00	Excellent
A-	4.50	Very good
B+	4.00	Good
B	3.50	Good
B-	3.00	Above average
C+	2.50	Average
C	2.00	Pass (S/U threshold)
D+	1.50	Sub-pass
D	1.00	Sub-pass
F	0.00	Fail

Maximum GPA is 5.00. A+ carries the same 5.00 as A — it flags exceptional work but cannot lift your GPA above a perfect 5.0. There is no C− or D− on the NUS scale.

Where Your GPA Lands: The NUS Honours Bands

NUS prints an honours classification on your degree, and it's set purely by your cumulative GPA. Here's the whole 5.0 ruler at a glance.

Pass

2.00

Honours

3.00

Honours (Merit)

3.50

Honours (Distinction)

4.00

Highest Distinction

4.50

Perfect / ceiling

5.00

Bars are scaled to the 5.00 maximum. Honours bands apply to four-year Honours programmes.

Classification	Cumulative GPA	Old name
Honours (Highest Distinction)	4.50 – 5.00	First Class Honours
Honours (Distinction)	4.00 – 4.49	Second Upper (2:1)
Honours (Merit)	3.50 – 3.99	Second Lower (2:2)
Honours	3.00 – 3.49	Third Class
Pass	2.00 – 2.99	Pass

NUS retired the "First Class / Second Upper" labels for the Distinction-style names for most cohorts, but the mapping above is how employers and grad schools read them. The exact band boundaries can vary slightly by faculty and cohort — confirm with your faculty.

The S/U Option: NUS's GPA Safety Net

This is the most NUS-specific rule on the page, and the one most worth understanding early. After you see your grade, you may declare the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) option on an eligible course. When you do, the letter grade disappears from your GPA entirely — it's replaced on the transcript by:

S (Satisfactory) — assigned when your grade was C (2.00) or higher.
U (Unsatisfactory) — assigned when your grade was D+, D, or F.

An S/U-ed course still earns its Units toward graduation (if Satisfactory), but it is not computed in your GPA. The catch: the pool is limited — it's primarily a first-year cushion (historically up to 32 MCs / Units of eligible courses), so spend it on the genuinely bad grades, not on a B you're mildly annoyed about. When you use this calculator, simply leave any S/U-ed course out — the number you get will then match what NUS shows.

A Worked NUS GPA Example

Course	Grade	Units	Grade point	Points
CS1101S	A	4	5.00	20.0
MA1521	A-	4	4.50	18.0
GEA1000	B+	4	4.00	16.0
ES2660	B	4	3.50	14.0
Total	—	16	—	68.0

GPA = 68.0 points / 16 Units = 4.25 — squarely in the Distinction band. Lift that 4-Unit B (ES2660) to an A- and you add 4 points: 72.0 / 16 = 4.50, which crosses into Highest Distinction. That single heavy-course step is exactly what the planner above hunts for.

What Counts as a Good GPA at NUS?

On a 5.00 scale the numbers feel different from a US 4.0, so here's the honest read by goal:

4.50+ — Highest Distinction (First Class). Elite; opens scholarships, research, and the most competitive graduate programmes.
4.00–4.49 — Distinction. Strong and broadly competitive for grad school, exchange, and good roles.
3.50–3.99 — Merit. Solid; clears many filters, though the most selective opportunities lean higher.
3.00–3.49 — Honours. A respectable degree classification.
2.00–2.99 — Pass. You graduate, but you'll want to strengthen the story around it.

A useful rule of thumb: 4.00 is roughly the "comfortably strong" line, and 4.50 is the elite cut. Don't try to directly equate a 5.0 GPA with a 4.0 one by multiplying — there is no official linear conversion. If you need a 4.0-scale estimate for an overseas application, use the GPA Converter and state your method.

Common NUS GPA Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Averaging semester GPAs without weighting by Units. A plain mean of two semesters' GPAs can be off by 0.1–0.3 when one semester carries more Units. Always weight by Units (this calculator does).
Including an S/U-ed course. Once you declare S/U, that grade is gone from the GPA — leaving it in inflates or deflates your estimate.
Modelling A+ above 5.0. A+ is worth exactly 5.00, the same as A. There's no climbing past a perfect 5.0.
Treating a 5.0 GPA like a 4.0 GPA. A 4.0 on the NUS scale is a strong Distinction, not a perfect score. Never compare the raw numbers across systems.
Counting CS/CU or W courses. Completed Satisfactorily / Unsatisfactorily and withdrawn courses don't carry grade points — leave them out.

How the NUS GPA Calculator Works

NUS GPA is a Unit-weighted average of grade points. For each course, multiply its grade point by its Units to get the course's points; add the points from every graded course, then divide by the total Units:

GPA = sum(grade point × Units) / sum(Units)

Example: an A (5.00) in a 4-Unit course contributes 20.0 points; a B+ (4.00) in a 4-Unit course contributes 16.0. Across just those two, GPA = 36.0 / 8 = 4.50. Your cumulative GPA combines every graded course you've taken the same way — the figure shown in your EduRec account. For a step-by-step walkthrough, read How to Calculate GPA at NUS.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is NUS GPA calculated?

NUS GPA is the Unit-weighted average of grade points on a 5.00 scale: multiply each course's grade point (A+/A = 5.0 down to F = 0) by its Units, add the results, then divide by the total Units. S/U-ed courses are excluded.

Is NUS GPA out of 5 or 4?

Out of 5.00. NUS uses a 5.00-point scale (the system once called CAP), not the US 4.0 scale. A perfect record is a 5.00 GPA.

What is a good GPA at NUS?

Roughly 4.00+ is comfortably strong and competitive for grad school and scholarships; 4.50+ earns Highest Distinction (the modern First Class Honours). 3.50+ is Merit, and 3.00+ is Honours.

What GPA is First Class Honours at NUS?

A cumulative GPA of 4.50 or above, now called Honours (Highest Distinction). Distinction is 4.00–4.49, Merit is 3.50–3.99, Honours is 3.00–3.49, and Pass is 2.00–2.99.

Did NUS change CAP to GPA?

Yes. From 1 August 2023, NUS renamed CAP (Cumulative Average Point) to GPA, Modular Credits (MCs) to Units, and modules to courses. The calculation is unchanged — only the names are new.

Does an A+ count more than an A at NUS?

No. Both A+ and A are worth 5.00 grade points. The A+ recognises exceptional work on the transcript but does not raise your GPA above 5.00.

How does the S/U option affect my GPA?

An S/U-ed course is removed from your GPA entirely. You receive an S if your grade was C (2.0) or higher, or a U if it was D+, D, or F. The Units still count toward graduation if Satisfactory, but never toward the GPA.

Is this NUS GPA calculator official?

No. It is a free, independent estimator built from NUS's published grading information. Your official GPA is the one shown in your NUS EduRec student record and transcript.

Planning the Rest of Your NUS GPA?

Two free tools take the rest of the math off your plate — see the GPA you need next semester to hit an honours target, and convert your 5.0 GPA for overseas applications.

Target GPA Calculator How to Calculate GPA at NUS

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