Semester GPA Calculator
Calculate the GPA for a single semester using the standard unweighted 4.0 scale. Enter each course, its letter grade, and credit hours.
How the semester GPA calculator works
A semester GPA is the credit-weighted average of grade points for one term. The calculation is identical to any other GPA — multiply grade points by credits, sum the products, divide by total credits — but the scope is limited to the courses you took this semester. The resulting number is the single cleanest signal of your current academic performance, unclouded by earlier terms.
This tool uses the standard unweighted 4.0 scale, the most common US convention for term-level reporting. A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0, with +/− grades at 3.3/3.7 and similar step offsets.
The formula
For each course this term: grade points × credit hours = quality points. Sum quality points across all courses. Sum credit hours across all courses. Divide total quality points by total credit hours. The quotient is your semester GPA, usually reported to two or three decimals.
Worked example: five courses this semester with grades A (3 cr), A- (4 cr), B+ (3 cr), B (3 cr), C+ (2 cr).
- A (4.0) × 3 = 12.0
- A- (3.7) × 4 = 14.8
- B+ (3.3) × 3 = 9.9
- B (3.0) × 3 = 9.0
- C+ (2.3) × 2 = 4.6
Total quality points = 50.3. Total credits = 15. Semester GPA = 50.3 ÷ 15 = 3.353, which rounds to a B+ average for the term.
Semester vs cumulative GPA
Your semester GPA is a snapshot; your cumulative GPA is the running total. A strong semester lifts your cumulative, but slowly — each new term is diluted by the entire history of prior coursework. If you have been enrolled for several years, a single 4.0 term may only shift your cumulative by a few hundredths. Use the Cumulative GPA calculator to see how the blend plays out across multiple terms.
What counts for semester GPA
Include: courses graded with a letter (A through F) that carry credit hours. Exclude: Pass/Fail courses (no grade points), withdrawals (W), incompletes still pending (I), audits (AU), and any non-credit or zero-credit offerings. Once an incomplete is resolved into a letter grade, include it in whichever term your registrar assigns it to.
Common mistakes
- Averaging grades, not quality points. A plain average across courses ignores credit weighting and gives the wrong answer whenever courses have different credit loads.
- Forgetting withdrawals and incompletes. These usually carry zero grade points for GPA purposes, but they also carry zero credits — so they do not appear in either numerator or denominator. Just leave them out.
- Including AP Exam scores. Your AP Exam score is separate from your course grade. Only the letter grade from the course itself affects your GPA.
- Mixing weighted and unweighted. This tool uses the unweighted 4.0 scale. If your school reports weighted GPAs for the semester, use the Weighted GPA calculator instead — the two numbers will differ when you took Honors or AP courses.
What this calculator is not
This is a term-level arithmetic tool. It does not predict your cumulative GPA at graduation, calculate academic standing under your school's specific probation or Dean's List rules, or forecast how your term performance translates to graduate school admissions. For official calculations, consult your registrar's academic catalogue.