French Grade Converter
Enter your French marks out of 20 and their credits, pick a published conversion table, and get a weighted average, a US GPA, a letter grade and your mention (passable, assez bien, bien, très bien). France has no official conversion, so you can switch between three real university tables and see how much they differ. Free, no sign-up.
France has no official conversion. These are three published tables, and they disagree. Use the one the evaluating university names, or compare them.
Your marks out of 20
Result
12.07
Weighted average /20
3.09
GPA (4.0 scale)
B+
Letter for the average
Mention for the average: Assez bien (12–13.99)
| Course | Mark /20 | Letter | Grade points | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course 1 | 14 | A | 4.0 | 6 |
| Course 2 | 12.5 | B+ | 3.33 | 6 |
| Course 3 | 11 | B | 3.0 | 6 |
| Course 4 | 9.5 | D | 1.0 | 3 |
Source: Sciences Po Strasbourg, Grading and Transcripts (2023). The receiving university decides which table, if any, it applies. The letter for the average uses Sciences Po Strasbourg's global conversion, which has no D: an average below 10 is an F.
| Mark /20 | Letter | Grade points |
|---|---|---|
| From 14 | A | 4.0 |
| From 12 | B+ | 3.33 |
| From 11 | B | 3.0 |
| From 10.5 | B− | 2.7 |
| From 10.1 | C+ | 2.33 |
| From 10 | C | 2.0 |
| From 8 | D | 1.0 |
| From 0 | F | 0.0 |
How to Use the French Grade Converter
- 1. Choose a conversion table. Use the one your target university or evaluator names. If it names none, try all three and compare — the page below shows how far apart they are.
- 2. Enter your marks and credits. One row per course: the mark out of 20 and its ECTS credits (or any weight, such as course hours). Decimals like 12.5 are fine.
- 3. Read the result. You get the credit-weighted average, the GPA built from each course's converted grade points, the letter the average itself earns, and the French mention for that average.
- 4. Check the table underneath. It shows the exact bands behind the answer, so you can quote them in an application.
How French Marks Work
French universities mark out of 20, and 10/20 is the pass mark. Sciences Po Strasbourg tells exchange partners that 16/20 is most commonly the top of the scale, that 17 to 20 are exceptional, and that most marks in a module sit between 8 and 12. The Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France notes that 20 is very rarely given because it means perfect work. A 14 that looks like 70% is therefore usually a strong result, which is why dividing by 20 understates it.
| Average out of 20 | Mention | Description at Sciences Po Strasbourg |
|---|---|---|
| below 10 | Ajourné | Fail |
| 10–11.99 | Passable | Sufficient to fairly good, no honours |
| 12–13.99 | Assez bien | Very good (cum laude) |
| 14–15.99 | Bien | Excellent (magna cum laude) |
| 16–20 | Très bien | Outstanding (summa cum laude) |
The honours scale Sciences Po Strasbourg grants 'along the following scale (general French use)', from its Grading and Transcripts document (2023). Mentions go on yearly or degree averages, not on single courses.
Three Published Conversion Tables
No French ministry or US body publishes one conversion, so these are tables from institutions that evaluate French marks. They agree on a 14 as an A at two of the three, and disagree sharply elsewhere.
| Mark /20 | Sciences Po Strasbourg | NC State | American Graduate School in Paris |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17–20 | A (4.0) | A | A (4.0) |
| 16 | A (4.0) | A | A− (3.7) |
| 15 | A (4.0) | A | B+ (3.3) |
| 14 | A (4.0) | A | B (3.0) |
| 13 | B+ (3.33) | B+ | B− (2.7) |
| 12 | B+ (3.33) | B+ | C+ (2.3) |
| 11 | B (3.0) | B | C (2.0) |
| 10 | C (2.0) | C | C− (1.7) |
| 9 | D (1.0) | C− | D (1.0) |
Sciences Po Strasbourg: module-by-module table, with finer steps between 10 and 11 (C+ from 10.1, B− from 10.5). NC State Study Abroad, Europe Grade Equivalencies (France), which lists letters only. American Graduate School in Paris, Grading Scale (exchange equivalents, whole numbers). Each table has finer rows for marks between whole numbers; the table under the result lists every band.
Worked Example
Marks of 14, 12.5, 11 and 9.5, with 6, 6, 6 and 3 credits. The weighted average is 12.07/20, which is the mention assez bien. On the Sciences Po Strasbourg table the GPA is 3.09 and the average earns a B+. On the NC State table, with the common plus/minus grade points, it is 3.19 and a B+. On the American Graduate School in Paris table it is 2.23 and a C+. The same transcript spans nearly a full grade point depending on whose table is used.
The receiving university decides
None of these tables binds a US university, a credential evaluator or an admissions office. If a school states its own scale for French marks, use that. If you need an official evaluation, ask for it from the school or an evaluator it accepts.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I convert French grades out of 20 to a US GPA?
- Convert each mark to a letter and grade points with a published table, then average the points weighted by credits. The Sciences Po Strasbourg table, for example, gives 14 to 20 an A (4.0), 12 to 13.99 a B+ (3.33) and 11 to 11.99 a B (3.0). Different tables give different results, so use the one your evaluator names.
- Is 14/20 an A?
- On the Sciences Po Strasbourg and NC State tables, yes: both give 14 to 20 an A. The American Graduate School in Paris table gives a 14 a B. A yearly average of 14 is also a mention bien, which Sciences Po Strasbourg says 10 to 20% of its students typically earn.
- What is the pass mark in France?
- 10 out of 20. Universities generally treat 10 as the average and the threshold for earning a course's ECTS credits, and some programmes set a higher minimum. Degree-seeking students at Sciences Po Strasbourg can compensate a failed module with good marks elsewhere, but exchange students cannot.
- What do passable, assez bien, bien and très bien mean?
- They are honours (mentions) for an average: passable from 10, assez bien from 12, bien from 14 and très bien from 16 out of 20. At Sciences Po Strasbourg, 1% or less of students reach très bien, and 20/20 is very rarely given anywhere.
- Why is it hard to get a high mark in France?
- French marking rarely uses the top of the scale. Sciences Po Strasbourg says 16/20 is usually the highest mark in practice and that most marks fall between 8 and 12. That is why US tables give an A to marks that would be 70% on a straight proportion.
- Should I use a table that gives a higher GPA?
- Use the one the university or evaluator you are applying to specifies; if it specifies none, say which table you used and keep the original marks and mentions on your application. Choosing the kindest table without saying so can mislead an admissions office.