Calculate your MIT GPA on MIT's official 5.0 scale: unit-weighted grade points, one-decimal rounding, the Pass/No Record first term and the repeated-subject rule.
| Grade | Units |
|---|
MIT weights every subject by its unit value and rounds the official GPA to one decimal place. Enter only letter-graded subjects — P, S, I and NR carry no grade points.
| Grade | Grade points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 5.0 | Exceptionally good performance |
| B | 4.0 | Good performance |
| C | 3.0 | Minimally acceptable for graduate work; credit awarded |
| D | 2.0 | Passing — but not for freshmen in some subjects |
| F | 0.0 | Failing; the subject must be repeated for credit |
| O | 0.0 | Absent from a required final or project; treated as an F until resolved |
| P | — | Pass — no grade points, not in the GPA |
| S / SA | — | Satisfactory — not in the GPA |
| I / NR / OX / T / J | — | Incomplete or continuing work — excluded until a final grade arrives |
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| 12u A + 12u B + 12u B + 9u A | 4.5 / 5.00 |
| 12u A + 12u A + 12u B | 4.7 / 5.00 |
| 12u A + 12u C + 12u B | 4.0 / 5.00 |
| 12u B + 12u C + 12u D | 3.0 / 5.00 |
MIT reports on a 5.0 scale, not a 4.0 scale. An A is worth five grade points and each step down is worth exactly one less, so a 4.0 at MIT is not a straight-A record — it is roughly a B+ average. When you quote a MIT GPA to anyone outside the Institute, say which scale it is on.
Three differences catch people out: grade points are weighted by units rather than credits, the official figure is rounded to one decimal place, and the entire first term is excluded because it is not letter-graded.
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| First-year fall term and IAP | Graded Pass/No Record — the term generates no GPA at all |
| Second-semester first-year subjects | Graded A/B/C/No Record — a D or F becomes a No Record that does not appear on the transcript |
| Plus and minus modifiers | They appear on internal grade reports only. They are not on the transcript and do not affect the GPA |
| P, S, SA, I, OX, T, J, U | No grade points, so nothing enters the calculation |
| Doctoral thesis units graded SA | Excluded entirely |
| Master's thesis units | A maximum of 24 units is used in the GPA |
If you repeat a subject, MIT counts it every time. The earlier attempt is not removed. A failed 12-unit subject retaken for an A contributes 0 + 60 quality points across 24 units, which is the same as a straight C in a single 24-unit course.
The practical consequence: repeating a subject repairs the credit and the knowledge, not the GPA. The arithmetic always remembers the first attempt, so the only way to lift a damaged average is to earn high grades in substantial amounts of new work.
The 5.0 scale, the letter-to-point mapping, the unit-weighted formula, the one-decimal rounding rule, the Pass/No Record first term and the treatment of repeated subjects all come from MIT's published guidance on calculating GPA, as printed in the Registrar's materials and the Institute's graduate handbooks.
MIT uses a 5.0 scale for both undergraduate and graduate students. A is worth 5.0 grade points, B is worth 4.0, C is 3.0, D is 2.0 and F is 0.0. A 4.0 at MIT therefore signals roughly a B average, not perfection.
The first-year fall term and the Independent Activities Period are graded Pass/No Record, so they generate no grade points at all. A formal GPA begins once letter grades are issued, which is normally from the spring term of first year onward.
No. MIT uses plus and minus modifiers on internal grade reports, but they are not officially part of your grades, they do not appear on the transcript and they do not affect any reported grade point average.
Every letter-graded attempt counts. The earlier attempt is not replaced, so a repeat adds both the new grade points and the units to the denominator. Repeating a subject improves your credit record more reliably than your average.
To one decimal place. If the hundredth digit is 5 or above the tenth rounds up, so 4.75 becomes 4.8 while 4.74 becomes 4.7. Use the unrounded figure while you are planning and round only at the end.