Credit and grade conversion

Please ensure you familiarise yourself with the Credit and Grade Conversion Policy and the information available at Learning Agreement and Credits and Module Abroad.

Transcripts from host universities

At the end of your exchange, your host university will prepare a transcript of your results. Some partners send this directly to the Global Office; others may issue it to you. It is vital that the University of St Andrews obtains the original transcript as soon as possible after your exchange period, so please ensure you follow any host university procedure to enable this (some institutions will require you to sign a release form). If you have any outstanding debts at the host institution, it is unlikely that your transcript will be released until these have been cleared.

If the Global Office does not receive your transcript by 1 September for full year and semester two placements or by 15 February for semester one only placements, this may result in a delay with the conversion and publication of your grades.

NB: if you are studying at a German or Austrian institution for the full year or for semester two, we understand that the semester will not finish in time to meet the 1 September deadline.  Most transcripts should be available from your host institution by October.  This may result in a later publication of your grades.  If you are studying at a French institution in semester one only, there may also be a delay with receiving your transcript by the 15 February deadline.  This may result in the delayed publication of your grades.

St Andrews transcripts

Module titles from our overseas partners will not appear on your St Andrews HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Report) transcript. However, the St Andrews HEAR transcript will indicate that you spent a year or semester abroad at the host university, and will contain the converted credits and grades achieved overseas. The University of St Andrews converts both credits and grades, and uses them in degree classification to acknowledge the integral nature of the Study Abroad programme. You will also be issued with a copy of your transcript from the host university, which can be used in conjunction with your St Andrews transcript to contextualise your year abroad.

Grade conversion process

Grades are converted in Schools, using the standard conversion tables below. The conversions are then submitted to the Associate Deans for approval of the methodology used. The partner institution's grades are taken as accurate and application of the standard conversion rate is expected by the Associate Deans (undergraduate students) or the Associate Provost Education (postgraduate taught students). Any departures from the standard conversion rates are exceptional and must be fully explained and justified by the School. The Associate Deans or Associate Provost Education will not approve conversions that are not fully justified.

Submission of supporting evidence 

Where an overseas marking band covers more than one St Andrews grade, the default conversion will be the lower of the St Andrews grades. For higher grades within the band, supporting information and further evidence will be required; please refer to the Policy on Credits and Grade Conversions for further information, especially the section on Converting Grades.

Any evidence you wish to be considered in the conversion process, such as class ranking information or references from class tutors, must be submitted to your Study Abroad Coordinator in your School by the end of Week 2 of the semester immediately following your Study Abroad period. Evidence submitted after Week 2 may not be considered in the conversion process.  Please do not submit evidence to the Global Office. 

Publication of results and appeals 

If you study abroad for semester one only, results will be available before the end of semester two, and the precise dates will be published in Institutional key dates. 

If you study abroad for the full academic year or for semester two only, results will be available in semester one of the following academic year, normally around mid-November.  This includes students who study abroad for the full year at two different host institutions. One again precise dates will be published in Institutional key dates.

You will also be notified of the grade publication date by email.

It is from the publication date that the normal deadline and procedures for appeals will be applied. In any exceptional cases where an individual's results are reported later, the appeal window will start from the date the results go live.

Please contact your Study Abroad Co-ordinator should you have any questions about the grade conversion process.

Why does the University convert grades?

St Andrews demonstrates best practice by having one of the most developed and rigorous conversion systems in the UK.  The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a tool of the European Higher Education Area for making studies and courses more transparent. It helps students to move between countries and to have their academic qualifications and study periods abroad recognised. It is a central tool in the Bologna Process which aims to make national education systems more comparable internationally. The Bologna Process supports the conversion of grades as part of the study abroad experience and St Andrews strives to embed this practice within our operations   ECTS allows credits taken at one higher education institution to be counted towards a qualification studied for at another. ECTS credits represent learning based on defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.  When establishing a new partner, we also determine the number of credits which students should take while studying there to ensure that the workload is equitable to that at St Andrews.

Undergraduate conversion tables

The conversion tables below have been compiled in relation to the University's specific institutional partnerships in each country listed, and the conversion of grades from those institutions back into the St Andrews reporting scale on completion of a Study Abroad placement by a St Andrews student.

The tables follow a standard format, displaying the partner institution / country grading scale against the St Andrews common reporting scale. Each conversion table is effective from the date specified on that table.

(For grade conversions from the University of Hong Kong, please refer to the United States conversion table.)

Postgraduate taught conversion tables

Inbound students

If you are a student at an overseas institution and are studying in St Andrews as part of an exchange or study abroad programme, you should seek advice from your home institution about policy on the conversion of credit and grades awarded at St Andrews.

Joint degree programmes