How to Calculate GPA and CGPA (with Examples)
· 5 min read
A step-by-step guide to quality points, semester GPA and cumulative CGPA, and why simply averaging your semester GPAs can be wrong.
Step 1: Convert each grade to grade points
Your university's grading scale turns a letter grade into points — for example A = 4.0, B+ = 3.33. Scales differ between universities, so check your student handbook.
Step 2: Work out quality points
Multiply each course's grade points by its credit hours. A 3-credit course with an A (4.0) earns 12 quality points; a 4-credit course with a B+ (3.33) earns 13.32.
Step 3: Semester GPA
Add the quality points and divide by the total credit hours. If you earned 32.66 quality points across 9 credit hours, your GPA is 3.63.
Step 4: Cumulative CGPA
Multiply your previous CGPA by the credit hours it covers to get your previous quality points. Add this semester's quality points, then divide by the total credit hours.
Example: a previous CGPA of 3.20 over 60 credits gives 192 quality points. Adding 32.66 gives 224.66 over 69 credits — a CGPA of 3.26.
A common mistake
Averaging semester GPAs only works if every semester had the same number of credit hours. Otherwise, weight each semester by its credits — which is exactly what a CGPA calculator does.