Switzerland grades on a scale from 1 to 6, where 6 is the best possible grade and 1 is the worst — a 4 is the standard passing mark, and grades below 4 are failing. This is a "higher is better" scale like the US system, but it's compressed into a much narrower range, so the numbers themselves aren't directly comparable to a percentage or a US GPA without conversion.
The Swiss 1-6 grade scale
| Grade | German/French Term | English Meaning | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Sehr gut / Très bien | Excellent | Pass |
| 5 | Gut / Bien | Good | Pass |
| 4.5 | Genügend bis gut | Sufficient to good | Pass |
| 4 | Genügend / Suffisant | Sufficient (standard pass) | Pass |
| 3 | Ungenügend / Insuffisant | Insufficient | Fail |
| 1-2 | Sehr schlecht / Très faible | Very weak | Fail |
Most Swiss institutions allow half-point increments (5.5, 4.5, 3.5), and some universities — particularly at the tertiary level — use even finer quarter-point increments (5.25, 4.75) to distinguish performance more precisely. Because Switzerland has four official languages, the terminology varies by region (German-speaking, French-speaking, and Italian-speaking cantons use slightly different labels), but the underlying 1-6 numeric scale is consistent nationwide.
Why 4 is a real pass, not a weak grade
Unlike a percentage scale where a bare pass might look discouraging, a 4 in the Swiss system is simply the confirmed threshold of competence — genügend literally means "sufficient." It doesn't carry the same negative connotation that a bare "D" might carry on a US transcript. Swiss grading culture, similar to Germany's, treats the top of the scale (5.5-6.0) as reserved for exceptional work, so the effective working range for most students clusters between about 4 and 5.5.
This matters when reading a Swiss transcript: a student averaging around 5.0 is performing solidly well by local standards, even though "5 out of 6" might look unremarkable to someone mentally converting it as if it were a percentage (it is not — 5/6 does not mean "83%").
Passing thresholds and institutional variation
A grade of 4.0 or higher is generally required to pass an individual course or exam at Swiss universities, but the exact rules for overall degree progression — including whether a student can compensate a below-4 grade with a stronger grade elsewhere, and how many failing grades are tolerated before a program repeat or exclusion — vary significantly by institution and by faculty. Always check your specific university's Prüfungsordnung / règlement d'études (examination regulations) rather than assuming a uniform national rule.
Because most Swiss universities participate in the Bologna Process, degree programs are also measured in ECTS credits, and transcripts commonly show both the local 1-6 grade and the ECTS credit weight for each course. If your Swiss transcript reports ECTS credits, the ECTS Calculator can help with the credit side of a conversion.
Converting a Swiss grade to a US 4.0 GPA
There's no single official, government-mandated formula for converting Swiss grades into a US GPA. Different US universities and credential evaluators use their own approximate tables, but a commonly referenced general mapping looks like this:
| Swiss Grade | Approx. US Letter | Approx. GPA Points |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 - 6.0 | A | 3.7 - 4.0 |
| 5.0 - 5.4 | A- / B+ | 3.3 - 3.7 |
| 4.5 - 4.9 | B | 3.0 |
| 4.0 - 4.4 | C | 2.0 |
| Below 4.0 | F | 0.0 |
Worked example: A student completes a semester abroad at a Swiss university with the following results:
| Course | Credits (ECTS) | Swiss Grade | Approx. GPA Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macroeconomics | 6 | 5.5 | 3.7 |
| International Law | 6 | 5.0 | 3.3 |
| German for Academic Purposes | 3 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Statistics | 6 | 4.0 | 2.0 |
Weighted GPA = ((3.7×6) + (3.3×6) + (3.0×3) + (2.0×6)) ÷ 21 = (22.2 + 19.8 + 9.0 + 12.0) ÷ 21 = 63.0 ÷ 21 = 3.0
You can plug converted grade points and credit hours directly into a GPA Calculator once you've mapped each Swiss grade to its estimated US equivalent.
Common edge cases
- Half-grades vs. quarter-grades: Some Swiss universities (notably several technical universities) grade with 0.25 increments rather than 0.5, so you may see grades like 5.25 or 4.75 on a transcript. Treat these as falling between the nearest bands in the table above.
- Neighboring but different scales: Don't assume every German-speaking country grades the same way — Germany uses a 1.0-5.0 scale where 1.0 is best (the opposite direction), while Switzerland uses 1-6 where 6 is best. Mixing these up is a common source of conversion errors.
- Vocational vs. academic tracks: Switzerland's dual vocational education and training (VET) system also uses the 1-6 scale for exams, but the grading culture and thresholds can differ somewhat from university-level academic grading.
- ECTS grades on transcripts: Some Swiss universities additionally print an ECTS letter grade (A-F, reflecting relative class rank) alongside the numeric grade specifically to aid international recognition — don't confuse this with the 1-6 numeric grade itself.
Try it yourself
If you have Swiss grades and credit values you need to work into an overall average, or a mapped US-equivalent GPA you want to calculate, the GPA Calculator and ECTS Calculator handle the math instantly in your browser, with no account required.
