Written by Christian Chinonso
Founder, LearnViaHub | Academic Credential & International Student Research
✓ Last checked: 18 October 2026
Quick answer
There is no official conversion from Dutch grades to US GPA. The Netherlands grades from 1 to 10, and the pass mark is 6 at Utrecht and Groningen Law but 5.5 at Erasmus University’s ESSB, so check your own institution.
As a rough guide, a Dutch 8 corresponds to an A, a 7 to a B or B+, and a 6 to a B− or C on the Nuffic table of 2009. Nuffic itself warns that grades should be matched by how often each grade is given, not by position. Evaluators and universities use their own methods.
Use the calculator below for your credit-weighted average and an indicative range, then confirm with the university or evaluator that will read your transcript.
Dutch grade calculator
Add each course with its ECTS credits and grade. The tool gives your credit-weighted average and an indicative US range. It is an estimate for planning, not an official conversion.
Dutch grade calculator
Work out your credit-weighted average on the 1 to 10 scale, or look up an indicative Dutch range for a US grade.
Average = total of (grade × credits) ÷ total credits, cut to two decimals (not rounded up). Letter ranges follow our reading of the Nuffic 2009 table, which is one organisation’s opinion from 2009 data, not an official rule; the 4.0 range uses the common A 4.0, A− 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3.0, B− 2.7, C+ 2.3, C 2.0, D 1.0 convention, which universities do not all share. Evaluators and universities use their own methods.
Indicative only. These ranges come from the StudyPath guide, a secondary source, and are not an official conversion. A Dutch 9 or 10 is rare, so the top of the range stops at 8.5. A Dutch programme looks at the grades and the grading distribution of your own school.
The 1 to 10 scale and pass marks
Dutch higher education grades on a scale from 1 to 10, where 10 is outstanding and 1 is very poor (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences). The lowest passing grade depends on the institution, so we list what we could confirm.
| Institution | Pass mark | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Utrecht University | 6 | 6 is the lowest passing grade; grades are absolute, not curved (Utrecht) |
| University of Groningen, Faculty of Law | 6 | 6 passes, 1 to 5 fail; most assessments use whole grades, but a thesis or seminar may use half grades such as 6.5 (Groningen) |
| Erasmus University, ESSB | 5.5 | 5.5 passes; 1.0 to 5.4 fails (Erasmus) |
| Nuffic (2009 note) | 6 | “The pass mark for a single subject is 6” (Nuffic) |
Erasmus describes 10 as outstanding, 9 as very good, 8 as good, 7 as more than satisfactory and 6 as satisfactory. Which rule applies to you is set by your own institution and programme, so check your examination regulations.
How the weighted average works
Utrecht describes a weighted average calculated from grades and credits (Utrecht). The method is: multiply each grade by its credits, add the results, and divide by the total credits.
Formula: average = Σ(grade × credits) ÷ Σcredits
Worked example
| Course | Grade | Credits | Grade × credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 8.0 | 6 | 48.0 |
| B | 7.0 | 6 | 42.0 |
| C | 6.5 | 3 | 19.5 |
| D | 6.0 | 9 | 54.0 |
| E | 7.5 | 6 | 45.0 |
| Total | 30 | 208.5 |
The weighted average is 208.5 ÷ 30 = 6.95. The simple average of the five grades is 7.00, which is higher, because the 6.0 carries the most credits. Your university may cut or round the final figure differently, so use its own rule for official results.
Dutch grades to US GPA: an indicative guide
The best-known reference is a table from Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education. It says its table “reflects the opinion of Nuffic”, is based on 2006 and 2009 data, and that matching grades by position on the scale is wrong; conversion should compare how often each grade is awarded (Nuffic, July 2009). We could only read that PDF through text extraction, so the letters below are our reading and a few cells are uncertain.
| Dutch grade | US letter (Nuffic 2009, our reading) | Common 4.0 values for those letters |
|---|---|---|
| 9 to 10 | A+ | 4.0 |
| 8.5 | A+ or A | 4.0 |
| 8 | A | 4.0 |
| 7.5 | A or A− | 3.7 to 4.0 |
| 7 | B+ (possibly B) | 3.0 to 3.3 |
| 6.5 | B | 3.0 |
| 6 | B− or C | 2.0 to 2.7 |
| 5.5 | D | 1.0 |
| Below 5.5 | F | 0.0 |
The 4.0 column is the common letter convention (A 4.0, A− 3.7, B+ 3.3, B 3.0, B− 2.7, C 2.0, D 1.0), which US universities do not all share, so it is not part of the Nuffic table. Because conversion depends on grade distribution, other sources give lower letters. An example from Inholland, a Dutch university of applied sciences, converts a 7 to a B or C and a 6 to a D at a fictional US university. Treat any single number as a rough estimate.
For a result you can submit, use the evaluation your target university asks for, for example the WES guide where that service is accepted.
US GPA to Dutch grades
Many searchers want the reverse, for example “what is a 3.0 GPA in the Netherlands?”. One secondary source, the StudyPath guide, suggests these ranges. It is not an official conversion and we could not trace how it was derived.
| US grade | Indicative Dutch range |
|---|---|
| A / A+ (about 3.7 to 4.0) | 8.0 to 8.5 |
| A− / B+ (about 3.3 to 3.7) | 7.5 to 8.0 |
| B (about 3.0) | 7.0 to 7.5 |
| C (about 2.0) | 6.0 to 6.5 |
| C− / D (below 2.0) | 5.5 to 6.0 |
On this guide a 3.0 GPA falls around 7.0 to 7.5. A Dutch programme looks at your own grades and your school’s grading distribution, and we did not find a published minimum US GPA for Dutch universities, so we give none. Check the admission page of your programme.
How often each grade is given
Dutch graders use the top of the scale sparingly. Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences publishes a distribution for its own grades, compared against 1,167,258 grades from the previous three years (AUAS).
| Grade | Number of grades | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 11,486 | 1% |
| 9 | 70,849 | 6% |
| 8 | 272,213 | 23% |
| 7 | 459,434 | 40% |
| 6 | 353,276 | 30% |
The table covers grades 6 to 10 at one institution, so it does not describe the whole country. It does show why a 7 is a common grade and a 9 or 10 is rare.
Cum laude
We found no single national cum laude rule. Each institution and programme sets its own criteria, usually an average, a thesis grade and sometimes a time limit. Two examples we could read:
| Programme | Criteria |
|---|---|
| University of Groningen, Faculty of Law | Cum laude: average of 8.0 or more and a thesis of 8.0 or more. Summa cum laude: average of 9.0 or more and a thesis of 9.0 or more (Groningen) |
| TU Delft, Industrial Design Engineering, BSc | Weighted average of 8.00 or more (minor and thesis excluded), thesis of 8.00 or more, and a study length of no more than 3.5 years (TU Delft) |
| TU Delft, Industrial Design Engineering, MSc | Weighted average of 8.00 or more (thesis excluded), thesis of 9.00 or more, and a study length of no more than 2.5 years (TU Delft) |
These two show how much the rules differ. Read the examination regulations of your own programme.
Related guides:
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark in the Netherlands?
It depends on the institution. Utrecht and Groningen Law use 6; Erasmus ESSB uses 5.5. Check your examination regulations.
How do I convert Dutch grades to US GPA?
There is no official conversion. Nuffic’s 2009 table gives letter ranges, for example 8 as an A and 7 as a B+ or B, but it says conversion should compare grade distributions. Use the calculator for a planning estimate and confirm with the university or evaluator.
What is a 3.0 GPA in the Netherlands?
One secondary source places a US B (about 3.0) at around 7.0 to 7.5 on the Dutch scale. It is indicative only.
What is a good grade in the Netherlands?
A 7 is common (40% of AUAS grades), and 8 and above are given less often (23% for an 8, 6% for a 9, 1% for a 10 at AUAS). Standards differ by institution.
How is the Dutch weighted average calculated?
Multiply each grade by its credits, add the results and divide by the total credits. Institutions may cut or round the final figure in their own way.
Can I get cum laude?
Rules are set per programme. Groningen Law asks for an average and thesis of 8.0 or more, and TU Delft IDE adds a time limit. Check your programme.
Is there a minimum US GPA for Dutch universities?
We did not find a published national minimum. Requirements are set by each programme, so check its admission page.
How we researched this
Last checked: 18 October 2026. We read the grading pages of Utrecht University, Erasmus University (ESSB) and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the Groningen Law and TU Delft examination pages, the Nuffic note of July 2009 and the StudyPath guide.
Limits: there is no official Dutch-to-US conversion. We read the Nuffic PDF through text extraction, so the exact letter cells are uncertain, and the StudyPath ranges are a secondary source. Pass marks and cum laude rules differ by institution and we cover only the ones we could read.
This page is for general information. LearnViaHub is not affiliated with Nuffic, WES or any Dutch institution.
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.