International Admission
Conversion of grades
Picture: Britta Hüning

Grade conversion with the "Bayerische Formel"

This grade conversion guide provides assistance in converting grades on certificates issued abroad. Please note that this is a conversion for orientation only and not a binding indication. The so-called “modified Bayerische Formel” is used for the conversion.

Further information can be found in the "Decision of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the States in the Federal Republic of Germany on the Determination of the Overall Grade for Foreign Higher Education Entrance Certificates" (PDF). (opens in new tab)

Grade coversion

Please enter grades with decimal places with a dot in place of the comma. Example: 2,3 becomes 2.3

  • In the first line, enter the best grade that can be achieved in the grading system of your school or university.
  • In the second line, enter the grade in the grading system of your school or university that would just about pass an examination.
  • In the third line, enter your current overall grade.

If you click on CALCULATE after entering the three grades, the equivalent of your grade in the German system will be displayed. Here, 1.0 is the best grade and 4.0 is the grade that would just about pass an examination.

If your grades are not available as numbers, then you can assign a number to each grading level for conversion.

An example: A grading system evaluates performances with A+, A, B, C, D and E (Fail). Here, A+ is the best grade and D is the worst grade with which a performance still qualifies as a pass. In this case, you can assign ascending numerical values from 1 to the grading system for conversion:

  • A+ corresponds to 1
  • A corresponds to 2
  • B corresponds to 3
  • C corresponds to 4
  • D corresponds to 5
  • E corresponds to 6

In the grade conversion, enter 1 (corresponding to A+) as the best grade at your university and 5 (corresponding to D) as the lowest passing grade. If you then enter the value corresponding to your performance in the original number system as your current overall grade, you will receive your grade in the German grading system.

At TU Darmstadt, grades from 1 to 5 are awarded. For differentiated assessment of the examination performance, the grades can be increased or decreased by 0.3 to intermediate values; the grades 0.7 and 5.3 are excluded.

The grades represent the following assessments of the examination performance:

  • 1.0-1.5 “very good”: an outstanding performance
  • 1.6-2.5 “good”: a performance that is significantly above the average requirements
  • 2.6-3.5 “satisfactory”: a performance that meets average requirements
  • 3.6-4.0 “sufficient”: a performance which, despite its shortcomings, still meets the requirements
  • 4.1 or more “inadequate”: a performance that no longer meets the requirements due to considerable deficiencies.