How does the Swedish A-F scale map to a US GPA?

Many Swedish universities use the ECTS-aligned A-F scale where A=Excellent, B=Very Good, C=Good, D=Satisfactory, E=Sufficient, and F/Fx=Fail. Mapped to a US 4.0 scale these are roughly A=4.0, B=3.7, C=3.0, D=2.3, E=2.0, F=0.0.

What is hp in Swedish grades?

Hp stands for hogskolepoang (higher-education credits). One full academic year is 60 hp, identical to 60 ECTS credits. The tool weights each course's grade by its hp so longer courses count more.

Do all Swedish universities use A-F?

No. Some use a three-tier scale (VG=Pass with distinction, G=Pass, U=Fail) and engineering programmes often use 5/4/3/U. This converter targets the ECTS-aligned A-F scale; if yours differs, map your grades to the nearest A-F band first.

What is the difference between F and Fx?

Fx means a fail where a small amount of additional work could earn a pass, while F is a clear fail requiring substantial more work. Both count as 0.0 toward GPA in this tool because neither awards credit.

Is anything uploaded?

No. The calculation runs fully in your browser and no grades are sent to a server or stored.

What is the Swedish Grade Converter (A-F Scale)?

Enter your Swedish grades (A=Excellent through F=Fail), credit points (hp), and compute a weighted average on the A-F scale plus the equivalent US 4.0 GPA and ECTS grade. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Swedish Grade Converter (A-F Scale)

Name: Swedish Grade Converter (A-F Scale)
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Swedish university grade conversion

Swedish universities increasingly use the ECTS-aligned A-F grading scale, where each letter has a defined qualitative meaning rather than a percentage. When you apply abroad you usually need that expressed as a US 4.0 GPA. This converter weights each grade by its credit points (högskolepäong, hp) so the result reflects the relative size of each course.

How it works

Each Swedish grade maps to a US grade point:

A  Excellent        ->  4.0
B  Very Good        ->  3.7
C  Good             ->  3.0
D  Satisfactory     ->  2.3
E  Sufficient       ->  2.0
Fx Fail (borderline)->  0.0
F  Fail             ->  0.0

The weighted GPA is computed as:

GPA = sum(gradePoint_i * hp_i) / sum(hp_i)

Courses with no hp or no grade selected are skipped. Failing grades count as 0.0 quality points but their credits are excluded from the denominator only if they earned no credit, matching how most US conversions treat failed courses (they still divide by attempted credits). This tool divides by all attempted credits including fails.

Understanding the ECTS-aligned Swedish scale

Sweden adopted the ECTS grade definitions as the descriptors for its A-F letters, which makes Swedish grades more internationally legible than older national scales. The letter grades have these qualitative meanings as defined by ECTS:

A – Excellent: outstanding performance with only minor errors
B – Very Good: above average performance with some errors
C – Good: generally sound work with a number of notable errors
D – Satisfactory: fair but with significant shortcomings
E – Sufficient: performance meets the minimum criteria
Fx – Fail (borderline): some work required before credit can be awarded; retake or supplemental work may be offered
F – Fail: considerable further work required; full retake required

Not all Swedish universities publish what percentage or score range corresponds to each letter — the descriptions are criterion-referenced (against learning outcomes) rather than norm-referenced (against a fixed percentage scale). This means a C at one institution is not numerically identical to a C at another, though both meet the “Good” descriptor.

The two other Swedish grading scales

Many students arrive from upper-secondary school or from certain university programmes using different scales. The three active systems in Swedish higher education are:

A-F scale: the most common at modern Swedish universities; the scale this tool uses. Recommended by the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) for comparability with European systems.

U/G/VG (Underkänd / Godkänd / Väl Godkänd): three-tier scale (Fail / Pass / Pass with distinction) still used by some programmes, particularly in law, some social sciences, and older programme structures. VG maps roughly to A or B; G maps to C, D, or E; U maps to Fx or F.

Numerical scale (5/4/3/U or 5/4/3/2/1/U): used historically by engineering programmes. 5 = top grade (maps to A), 4 maps to B or C, 3 maps to D or E, U = Fail.

If your transcript shows U/G/VG, use the mappings above to enter the nearest A-F equivalent in this tool.

Worked example

A student’s first year at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (engineering, A-F scale):

Linear Algebra: B (3.7), 7.5 hp
Calculus: A (4.0), 7.5 hp
Programming: C (3.0), 7.5 hp
Physics: B (3.7), 7.5 hp

Weighted GPA: (3.7×7.5 + 4.0×7.5 + 3.0×7.5 + 3.7×7.5) / 30 = (27.75 + 30 + 22.5 + 27.75) / 30 = 3.6

A US 3.6 GPA from a rigorous Swedish technical university is a strong graduate school application.

Tips and notes

One Swedish academic year equals 60 hp, the same as 60 ECTS credits, so hp can be used directly as ECTS.
Older Swedish transcripts may show U/G/VG. Map VG to roughly A or B, G to C or D, and U to F before entering.
Engineering programmes that use a 5/4/3/U scale should map 5 to A, 4 to B or C, 3 to D or E, and U to F.
For applications to US graduate programmes, a brief note contextualising the Swedish scale (e.g. “Swedish A-F ECTS scale, where A = Excellent”) alongside your GPA helps reviewers unfamiliar with Nordic systems interpret the record correctly.