Grading system in Canada

Your guide to understanding the grading system in Canada

Canada consistently ranks first when it comes to the most sought-after study locations for overseas students. Candidates are drawn to the nation because of its well-established reputation for educational excellence, great standard of living, friendly locals, and potential employment market.

The varied grading system used across Canada, which is well regarded, plays a significant role in that system. Understanding the grading system used at Canadian universities is always a good idea if you want to do well there. Your guide to the grading schemes used by Canadian universities is provided below:

A variable grading system 

Canada’s 10 provinces do not all use the same grading scheme. Rather, it varies based on where you are, the university you are a student at, or the type of study you have chosen. Grading scale ranges from 4.0-9.0.. Additionally, each region or university may adopt a different version or combination of numerical scores, percentages, and alphabetical grades.

The grading scales

Canada’s most common grading scales vary by university, department, and professor.

Scale 1

Alphabetical grade	Percentage	GPA
A	92-100	4.33
A	88-91	4
A-	85-87	3.67
B+	82-84	3.33

Scale 2

A+	90-100	9
A	88-91	4
B+	75-79	7
B	70-74	6
B-	65-69	5

GPA, credits, and credit hours

The Canadian grading system and the US grading system share several similarities as North American nations. Every course you enroll in during a given semester has a set amount of hours associated with it. Credit hours are semester hours students earn credits for successfully completing a course.

Faculty predetermines course credit hours and lists them in the schedule.. Typically, for a bachelor’s degree you will need to earn 15 credit hours per semester to do well. This may go up to 24 credit hours per semester for masters.