Quick Answer
Italian universities grade individual exams on an 18–30 scale, where 18 is the minimum passing grade and 30 (or “30 e lode,” 30 with honors) is the highest. Final degree marks use a separate 66–110 scale, where 110 e lode is the top honor and requires unanimous approval from the thesis committee. Unlike Switzerland’s ETH Zurich or EPFL, no single Italian body publishes an official set of descriptor bands (Sufficiente, Buono, Ottimo, etc.) — these are common usage, not a national standard, so you’ll see slightly different cutoffs from different sources. There is no official Italy-to-US GPA conversion table published by any government body either; US universities’ study-abroad offices publish their own institution-specific charts, and credential evaluators like WES convert transcripts course-by-course.
Italian Grading Scale at a Glance
- Individual exams: 18–30 scale (“trentesimi”), used consistently across Italian public universities
- 18 is the minimum passing grade; there is no recorded grade below 18 — a failed attempt simply isn’t entered on the transcript
- 30 e lode (30 with honors) sits above a standard 30, awarded at the professor’s discretion; it counts as 30 in any weighted average
- Final degree mark (Laurea): separate 66–110 scale, with 110 e lode as the highest honor, requiring unanimous committee approval
- Students can refuse a passing grade and retake the exam for a higher score — a feature unique to the Italian system
The 66–110 Degree Scale
Grade Lookup Tool
Why No Single GPA Number
A Real US Conversion Example
WES Conversion
Reporting Your GPA
FAQs
Understanding the Italian 18–30 Exam Scale
Italian university exams are graded on a scale from 18 to 30, known informally as “trentesimi.” A grade of 18 is the minimum passing mark; anything below it is not recorded on the transcript at all — the student simply retakes the exam at a later session (an “appello”), with no academic penalty beyond lost time. This is a meaningful structural difference from Switzerland’s or the US’s numeric scales, where a failing grade is still entered on the record.
Above a standard 30, professors can award “30 e lode” (30 with praise, sometimes written “30 con lode”) for exceptional performance. It’s a real distinction that appears on the transcript, but for GPA-averaging purposes it’s counted as a 30 — it doesn’t push the numeric average above 30.
One more structural quirk worth knowing: Italian students can decline a passing grade they’re unhappy with and retake the exam for a better one. Only the grade a student accepts ends up on the official transcript.
| Italian Grade (18–30) | Commonly Used Descriptor |
|---|---|
| 30, 30 e lode | Eccellente / Ottimo (Excellent) |
| 27–29 | Distinto / Molto Buono (Very Good) |
| 24–26 | Buono (Good) |
| 21–23 | Discreto (Fair) |
| 18–20 | Sufficiente (Minimum Pass) |
| Below 18 | Not recorded — retake required |
Unlike Switzerland’s ETH Zurich or EPFL, no single Italian ministry or university consortium publishes an official national descriptor table. These bands reflect common usage across Italian universities and grade-conversion resources — individual professors and institutions apply them informally, and you may see slightly different cutoffs elsewhere. Always confirm against your own transcript or diploma supplement.
Good to know: Italian grading culture is generally considered conservative — grades of 28–30 are treated as genuinely excellent rather than routine, and 30 e lode is relatively rare even among strong students. This is cultural context for reading a transcript, not a formal statistic, so treat it as background rather than a hard rule.
The Separate 66–110 Final Degree Scale
Your final degree classification (voto di laurea) is not the same as your exam average — it uses its own 66–110 scale, and this is where a lot of confusion happens for people applying a direct percentage read to an Italian transcript. The base score is calculated as: (weighted exam average ÷ 30) × 110. The thesis committee then adds bonus points — the exact range varies by institution — based on thesis quality, academic record, and time to completion, up to the 110 maximum. “110 e lode” is the top distinction and requires the committee’s unanimous approval, similar in spirit to how ETH Zurich gates its own top honors.
Italian Grade Lookup Tool
This tool shows your grade’s common descriptor and one illustrative example of how a US institution has converted Italian university grades in the past. It does not generate an official GPA — see the sections below on why that number can’t be produced by a simple formula, and how to get an official conversion.
Why There’s No Single “Correct” US GPA Number
1. Descriptor Bands Aren’t Nationally Standardized
Unlike Switzerland, where ETH Zurich and EPFL publish matching official grade bands, Italy has no single ministry-issued descriptor table. “Buono,” “Distinto,” and similar labels are common usage, and different universities, professors, and conversion resources place the numeric cutoffs slightly differently.
2. No Centralized Italy-to-US Conversion Authority
There’s no official Italy-to-US GPA formula published by a Italian or US government body. Italy’s Ministry of University and Research does publish a conversion formula through the universitaly.it portal, but it runs in the opposite direction — it’s used to translate foreign grades into the Italian 18–30 scale for students coming into Italian universities, not the reverse.
3. Institution-Specific Charts Aren’t Universal
Some US universities’ study-abroad or credit-transfer offices, and some engineering/graduate departments, publish their own conversion charts for Italian grades (see the example below). These are real and usable as a reference point, but they apply to that institution’s own credit system — not to every US institution.
A Real US Conversion Example
UC Irvine’s Engineering Graduate Programs publish a default grade-conversion table for Italian applicants as part of their international GPA calculator. It’s a useful concrete example of how one US institution handles the conversion — not a universal standard:
| Italian Grade | UC Irvine US GPA Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 30 | 4.0 |
| 28 | 3.6 |
| 27 | 3.5 |
| 25 | 3.0 |
| 24 | 2.9 |
| 20 | 2.0 |
Source: UC Irvine Engineering Graduate Programs international GPA calculator. This chart applies specifically to UC Irvine’s own review process — your target university’s admissions or study-abroad office may use a different scale entirely, and intermediate grades (e.g. 29, 26, 23) aren’t separately listed in the source table.
How WES Converts Italian Grades
Most US universities, scholarship programs, and immigration processes that require a numeric GPA from an Italian transcript point applicants to a NACES-accredited credential evaluation service, most commonly World Education Services (WES). WES evaluates Italian credentials from both older-style degree programs and Bologna-reformed (3+2) programs, converting each grade individually and weighting the results by credit hours (CFU) to produce a final GPA — it does not apply one fixed formula across every transcript.
- Report type: A “Course-by-Course” evaluation — not a basic “Document-by-Document” report — is what produces a converted GPA. Confirm which type your target program requires.
- Cost and timeline change over time — check wes.org directly for current pricing rather than relying on a fixed figure.
- Apostille/authentication: Italy is a Hague Apostille Convention member, so Italian academic documents can generally be apostilled if a program requires authenticated copies.
- The result from any pre-evaluation calculator, including the one on this page, is a planning estimate only — not an official evaluation.
How to Report Your Italian GPA on US Applications
1. Report Your Original Grades First
Don’t self-convert to a 4.0 scale unless the application specifically asks for a US-equivalent GPA. Note which scale you’re reporting — 18–30 exam average, or 66–110 final degree mark — since they’re not interchangeable.
2. Include Your Grading Scale Explanation
Italian transcripts (certificato degli esami sostenuti) don’t always spell out the scale explicitly for a foreign reader — attach a brief explanation or the diploma supplement wherever the application allows supporting documents.
3. Get a Formal Evaluation If Required
Many US graduate programs and scholarships — including some competitive, merit-based ones — require a WES or equivalent NACES-member evaluation rather than a self-reported conversion.
4. Don’t Round Up
If your evaluated GPA falls in a range, report the figure your evaluator actually gives you — not the top of the band.
Converting other grading systems? See these guides:
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert my Italian grade to a single, official US GPA number?
▼
Is 18 a good grade in Italy?
▼
What’s the difference between the 18–30 scale and the 66–110 scale?
▼
Should I convert my Italian GPA myself for scholarship applications?
▼
Why can students retake an exam they already passed?
▼
Christian Chinonso is the founder of LearnViaHub, with 6+ years of research experience in international education, GPA systems, and study-abroad guidance for international students.Christian Chinonso is the founder of LearnViaHub, with 6+ years of research experience in international education — including GPA systems, scholarships, student financing, and study-abroad guidance — for students worldwide.