PhD Application - Transcript Converter

The majority of German universities use a scale from 1-5 to assess students’ academic performance, with 1,0 being the best and 5,0 being the worst grade, and with 4,0 or above being a passing grade. These five levels are refined with intermediate grades which differ in the decimal place.

< 1,00 exceptional (not given in all departments)
1,00 – 1,50 very good (sehr gut)
1,51 – 2,50 good (gut)
2,51 – 3,50 satisfactory (befriedigend)
3,51 – 4,00 sufficient (ausreichend)
> 4,00 deficient (mangelhaft)

Because grading systems vary significantly across countries and institutions, we ask all applicants with non-German degrees to convert their academic grades (Bachelor’s and Master’s) into the German university grading scale. This allows us to assess all applicants on a comparable basis and determine whether the minimum admission requirements - such as a final grade of 2.3 or better for Master’s programs - are met.

Please use the so-called “Modified Bavarian Formula” to convert your grades to the German system. In order to do so, you need to know three key components of your local grading system:

Maximum grade: The highest achievable grade (e.g., 100%, 10, or 4.0).
Minimum passing grade: The lowest grade required to pass a course (e.g., 40%, 4, or 1.0).
Your obtained grades: Your actual grades in each subject.

The formula to convert your grades to the German system is:

x = German (converted) grade,
Nmax = maximum grade in foreign country's grading system,
Nmin = minimum passing grade in foreign grading system and
Nd = obtained foreign grade (to be converted into German grade).

Nmax = 10
Nmin = 5 (failed would be with grade 4)
Nd = 8

x = ((10 - 8)/(10-5)) x 3+1= ⅖ x 3+1 = 2.2

If the grading system of your university uses letter grades, you can assign a number to each letter grade in ascending order starting with 1 being assigned to the maximum grade.

If your grading system uses A+, A, B, C, D, and E (fail), you can assign numbers the following way:
A+ = 1
A = 2,
B = 3,
C = 4,
D = 5
E (fail) = 6

Nmax = A+ = 1
Nmin = D = 5
Nd = C = 4

x = ((1-4)/(1-5)) x 3 + 1 = ¾ x 3 + 1 = 3.25

A transcript calculator (example in Excel), where you can fill in your information and convert your grades as instructed, can be found below. As part of your application, you will have to upload the completed table in PDF format.