Grades & results
Find out how you're progressing in your studies based on the UNSW grading system
Explore our grading system and WAM calculations for your studies.
At the end of every semester you're enrolled in, you will receive a final grade for your courses. These grades are assigned by your course authorities and may feature a numerical mark (0-100). Your grades will then be used to calculate your Weighted Average Mark (WAM).
-
Code
Grade
Mark
Explanation
AF
Absent Fail
N/A
Unsatisfactory performance; no assessment attempted.
AS
Audited Course
N/A
Assessment not attempted; course not counted towards award requirements.
AW
Academic Withdrawal
N/A
Discontinued course after academic penalty deadline. Not included in WAM, but counted as fail in academic standing. Included on transcript. Treated as fail by UAC and others for GPA.
CM
Competent with Merit
N/A
Demonstrated competence and outstanding performance.
CN
Not Yet Competent
N/A
Has not demonstrated competence in assessment requirements.
CO
Competent
N/A
Demonstrated competence in assessment requirements.
CR
Credit
65-74
Good performance. Demonstrates analytical and contextual thinking and presents alternative views with evidence.
DN
Distinction
75-84
Superior performance. Explores course from multiple perspectives and their interrelation.
EC
Enrolment Continuing
N/A
Course taken over more than one Teaching Period. Assessment finalised later.
EM
Excluded Misconduct
N/A
Permanently excluded due to academic misconduct.
FL
Fail
0-49
Unsatisfactory performance; lacks understanding of topic/context.
HD
High Distinction
85-100
Outstanding performance and deep understanding of course content.
LE
Late Entry
N/A
Result not submitted by Course Authority.
NA
Not Assessed
N/A
Course has no assessment requirements.
NC
Not Completed
N/A
Coursework: Assessment not completed on time. Counted as fail in academic standing but not in WAM. Research: Program not completed; does not reflect performance.
NF
Not Failed
N/A
Course discontinued without failure. Not recorded on transcript.
PE
Professional Experience
N/A
Pending result in a designated professional experience course.
PS
Pass
50-64
Acceptable performance with adequate understanding of course requirements.
RC
Research Continuing
N/A
Ongoing research; no mark given.
RD
Result Deferred
N/A
Unable to complete course; must re-enrol.
RS
Research Satisfactory
N/A
Satisfactory research completion.
SY
Satisfactory or Successful
N/A
Satisfactory completion without graded pass. UOC counted; not included in WAM.
UF
Unsatisfactory Fail
N/A
Failed an essential component of the course.
WC
Withheld – Special Consideration
N/A
Pending outcome of Special Consideration request.
WD
Withheld – Incomplete Assessment
N/A
Incomplete or unsubmitted assessment.
WJ
Withheld – Unresolved Matter
N/A
Result finalised but not released due to unresolved matter.
XE
Exchange Enrolment
N/A
Student on Exchange program.
See also
Weighted Average Mark (WAM)
At UNSW Bengaluru, all coursework students will receive three types of Weighted Average Marks (WAMs) that take into account all final results that have associated numerical marks:
- Semester WAM: Calculated from relevant results in a single semester.
- Cumulative WAM: Calculated from relevant results across the entire degree/program.
- Faculty WAM: Calculated from relevant results of courses in a specific faculty. This is used to determine your eligibility for a University Medal.
Grades with no numerical marks will not be included in the calculation of your WAM. However, the grade 'AF' is assigned a mark of zero and is included.
Marks for courses completed at other institutions (transfer credit) are not included in your WAM. This is due to differing grading systems.
If you are granted transfer credit for courses completed at UNSW under a different program, your marks will count towards the WAM of your new program.
-
Grade
Meaning
SY
Satisfactory
XE
Student undertaking an Exchange program
NA
Not Assessed
RS
Research Satisfactory
AS
Audited Course
NF
Course discontinued without failure
NC
Not Completed
RD
Result Deferred
EC
Enrolment Continuing
AW
Academic Withdrawal
FL
Fail (has a nominal value for WAM calculations of 25)
Note: Under the Successful/Fail grading basis (e.g. SY/FL with no mark), the grade FL is not included in WAM.
-
For grades entered without an associated numerical mark under the standard grading system (grade with a numerical mark), the following nominal marks are used for WAM calculations:
Grade
Nominal mark used in WAM
PS
55
CR
70
DN
80
HD
90
FL
25
Your grades may affect your academic standing
Your academic performance at UNSW Bengaluru is represented by your academic standing. This is calculated by the percentage of courses you successfully pass in each semester. Continued poor performance could lead to suspension or exclusion.
Calculating your WAM
M = mark received in a course
U = units of credit for a course
∑ = the sum of
Example
A student receives the following results for their courses: 80, 81, 82, 83, 84. The first three of these courses are 6 UOC and the last two are 3 UOC. They would calculate their WAM as:
Each Faculty has its own method of calculating Faculty WAM for the purposes of determining eligibility for Honours, Medals and other recognitions.
Contact UNSW Bengaluru Student Centre for further information.
Comparison of Grading Systems
-
If you're planning to study overseas or move to a different institution, it can be useful to know how your grades might translate across different grading systems.
-
The ECTS was developed to standardise grading across universities in the European Union and improve the interpretation of academic results. It uses fixed percentile bands based on the distribution of passing students:
- A (percentage assigned 10%) = Excellent: outstanding performance with only minor errors
- B (25%) = Very Good: above the average standard with some errors
- C (30%) = Good: sound work with a number of notable errors
- D (25%) = Satisfactory: fair but with some significant shortcomings
- E (10%) = Sufficient: performance fulfils minimum criteria
-
In the United States, grading schemes usually have a higher proportion of As and Bs than in the ECTS. For example, even a conservative scheme in the US such as that recently adopted by Princeton University awards about 35% of students a grade of A- or higher.
-
-
While UNSW doesn’t formally use US or European (ECTS) grading systems, it can be helpful to see how your mark might align with these standards.
The Gumleaf diagram below offers a visual guide to estimate your percentile ranking and approximate equivalent grades.
How to read it:
- Based on 2015 course data across UNSW Sydney and Canberra.
- The shaded area represents where the middle 75% of student results fall.
- The red dashed line shows the median performance across all courses.
- Horizontal grid lines mark percentile bands and ECTS boundaries.
Example comparisons:
- A mark of 80 (Distinction) sits around the 20th percentile, roughly equivalent to a B (ECTS) or A (US).
- A mark of 65 (Credit) falls in the lower third of passing grades - about a C (ECTS) or B− (US).