GPA Calculation Admission GPA: normally calculated on the last 60 credit hours What to include: For a Masters program:

ogram: the last 60 credit hours of an undergraduate degree For a PhD program: maximum 30 credit hours of a masters degree and then the remaining 30 credit hours or more from the last of the bachelors degree, for a total of 60 credit hours All courses listed on a transcript, which have a grade and credit hours assigned, including failing and INC grades, practica, internship, projects, seminars and thesis. See restrictions below. Courses listed as Pass, Completed, Approved (etc.) with credit hours are included in the required 60 credit hours but the calculation is based on a reduced number (ie: 19 courses not 20). Courses completed at another university as a one-term or full-year exchange student. The student must submit a transcript from this university as well. Courses completed after the initial degree (upgrading) - for courses to be included in the GPA calculation they must be 3rd and 4th year courses and a maximum of 5 courses (15 credit hours) can be used. The remaining 45 credit hours would be taken from the Bachelors degree. Qualifying Graduate Student grades used in the calculation must be from 3rd and 4th year courses. The remaining credit hours would be taken from the Bachelors degree.

What to exclude: lab courses physical education courses of any kind (except for students applying to kinesiology) courses with a "W", ILL or IP grade courses completed in a Masters degree are not included in the GPA for a new admission to a Masters degree.

Restrictions: A maximum of 25% of the credit hours per GPA can be used from the following types of courses: practica, internship, thesis, seminars, workshops, and project. For example, a thesis with 40 credit hours can account for no more than 25% of the total GPA, or 15 credit hours out of a total of 60. For Kinesiology applicants. Physical Education courses cannot make up more than 25% of the total credit hours per GPA Courses with Pass/Fail grades (with credit hours) cannot make up more than 25% of the total credit hours per GPA Sequential professional degrees, e.g., BEd, BN and BJ, cannot make up more than 50% of credit hours per GPA 1

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GPA for Admissions The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 for normal admission. In special circumstances, a department may request special consideration in writing explaining why the student might be deemed admissible despite the GPA. Process of Calculating GPAs for Admission Weights o Most transcripts include the weight of each course, usually as a half or full credit o Weights may be 0.5 (half credit) versus 1.0 (full credit); 3.0 (half) versus 6.0 (full); 2.0 and 4.0. o Course weight can usually be confirmed by checking the back of the students transcript Once the course weights are understood, simply count back to determine what comprises the student's last 60 credit hours. o If you don't need all the courses in the earliest term, select the courses with the highest grades for that term. Masters Admissions: o Use the most recent undergraduate transcript. o Count back 60 credit hours. This is roughly the equivalent of the last two years of full-time study. o Classes completed in a previous Masters degree are not included in the GPA for new admissions to a Masters degree. PhD Admissions: o Use the most recent Masters transcript (up to 30 credit hours) plus the undergraduate transcript(s) to a total of 30 credit hours. o If there is no Masters degree, use the most recent undergraduate transcript. Applications received prior to the completion of a previous degree: for example, if a student has four classes in their final term of a previous degree with no grade, o count back 16 courses for the GPA to generate the admission GPA o a final GPA will be calculated once the final transcript is submitted.

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GPA Calculation for Scholarship Competitions When calculating GPAs for scholarships (NSERC, Killam etc.), the GPA is listed as three numbers (the last 30 credit hours, the second last 30 credit hours and a combined total). Use the most recent transcript including the current transcript o count back 60 credit hours. o use the most recent 30 for the first calculation o and the next 30 as the second most recent calculation. The GPA should be based on a combined weight of approximately 60 credit hours in total.

GPA Domestic Transcripts If the grades are in letter form, convert each to a grade point using the following table: A+ 4.3 A 4 A3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3 B2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2 C1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1 D0.7 F 0 INC 0 If the grades are in percentages convert each to a grade point using the following table: eg. Score Grade GPA Equivalent 90-100 A+ 4.3 85-89 A 4 80-84 A3.7 77-79 B+ 3.3 73-76 B 3 70-72 B2.7 67-69 C+ 2.3 63-66 C 2 60-62 C1.7 50-59 D 1 0-49 F 0 3

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Transcripts with both percentage and letter grade, such as Queens and MUN o The conversion used at these universities does not correspond with Dals conversion. o The percentage is first converted to Dals letter grade. o For example, at Queens and MUN all grades between 80 and 100 = A and a GPA of 4.0. Converting to Dals scale, the GPA on the Queens and MUN transcript would be converted as follows: 80 = A- (3.7), 85 = A (4.0), and 90 = A+ (4.3). Calculate the GPA o Multiply each of the grade points by the associated course credit weight o Total the results and total the credit weights. o Divide the results total by the total of the credit weights to get your GPA.

AS AN EXAMPLE: to calculate the GPA of just these four courses: Credit Weight Grade 3 6 3 3 T = 15 B (3.0) B+ (3.3) A- (3.7) B- (2.7) GPA Equivalent 3.0 3.3 3.7 2.7 Final GPA 9 19.8 11.1 8.1 T = 48

Total GPA Value; (3 x 3.0) + (6 x 3.3) + (3 x 3.7) + (3 x 2.7) = 48 Total Credit Weights: 3+6+3+3 = 15 GPA: 48 divided by 15 = 3.2 GPA = 3.2

International Applications
Valuable websites for understanding international grade conversions and educational systems: International Association of Universities (IAU) Online Databases http://www.iau-aiu.net/content/list-heis World Education Services (WES): International Grade Conversion Guide http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/ List of approved Canadian Institutions: http://www.aucc.ca/can_uni/our_universities/index_e.html

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International Transcripts For many international transcripts, the course weights and grading scales are significantly different from those on Canadian transcripts. o Go back 2 full years with international transcripts o Use the course weight and grade for each course with the appropriate conversion chart, provided below, to generate equivalencies on the Dalhousie scale. For international transcripts that do not use full and half credits. o Take the last two full years of a four-year program, o Consider the credits as listed and refer to page 1 of this document for what courses can be included and which to exclude. Some international transcripts do not give weights, but do give a "maximum" grade and the grade achieved. On such a transcript, one grade may be 247 out of 300, and another 445 out of 500. o Use the grades and add up the maximums to determine a percentage for each course, and then use the appropriate conversion chart to equate to Dalhousies scale. Conversion Charts India and Pakistan Their Grading Scale 80-100% 76-79% 70-75% 60-69% 50-59% 45-49% 33-44% 0-32% A+ First Class A First Class A- First Class B+ Upper Second B Upper Second B- Lower Second C Third Class Fail Dalhousie Equivalent GPA 4.3 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 1.7 - 2.3 0.0

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United Kingdom Their Grading Scale 80-100% 70-80% 66-69% 60-65% 56-59% 50-55% 40-49% 0-39% China Their Grading Scale 97-100% A (90-100) 93-96% 90-92% 87-89% B (80-89) 83-86% 80-82% 77-79% C (70-79) 73-76% 70-72% 67-69% D (60-69) F November 2011 63-66% 60-62% 0-59% Dalhousie Dalhousie Equivalent GPA A+ 4.3 A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D DF 4 3.7 3.3 3 2.7 2.3 2 1.7 1.3 1 0.7 0 6 A+ (First Class honours) A (First Class honours) A- (Upper Second) B+ (Upper Second) B (Lower Second) B- (Lower Second) C (Third Class) Fail Dalhousie Equivalent GPA 4.3 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 1.7 - 2.3 0.0