Mapping IB grades onto the UCAS tariff
UK university offers are often quoted in UCAS tariff points, a common currency that lets admissions teams compare A-Levels, BTECs, the IB and many other qualifications. This converter translates your IB results into that currency, either from your full diploma total or from your individual Higher and Standard Level grades.
How UCAS tariffs the IB Diploma
UCAS publishes two separate conversion tables for the IB:
Full Diploma table — used when you have a complete IB Diploma result. The tariff rises with your total from 24 to 45 points. As an illustrative guide:
| IB total | UCAS tariff (approx.) |
|---|---|
| 24 | 260 |
| 28 | 347 |
| 32 | 435 |
| 36 | 520 |
| 38 | 567 |
| 40 | 611 |
| 45 | 720 |
Subjects table — used for IB Certificate candidates or to total individual subject grades. Higher Level grades are worth more than the equivalent Standard Level grade. For example, an HL grade 7 is worth 56 points and an SL grade 7 is worth 28, with lower grades scaled down proportionally.
Why the two methods give different totals
The full-diploma tariff includes a credit for the Theory of Knowledge essay and Extended Essay that the subjects method does not. A complete diploma candidate will typically see a higher tariff from the diploma method than by summing subjects alone, because the core bonus points add tariff points that individual certificates cannot claim.
Worked example
A student with a 38-point IB Diploma uses the diploma method: 38 points converts to approximately 567 UCAS tariff points. If the same student instead counts their HL grades of 6, 6, 5 (roughly 49 + 42 + 35 = 126 points from HL) and SL grades of 6, 5, 5 (roughly 21 + 14 + 14 = 49 points from SL), the subjects total falls meaningfully below 567 — the difference is the unaccounted core.
When tariff points matter and when they do not
Many UK universities quote IB offers directly as a points total, such as “36 points including 6, 5, 5 at HL”, rather than in UCAS tariff. Tariff points become important for:
- Courses that explicitly quote a tariff threshold (common in art colleges, further education and some post-92 universities)
- UCAS Clearing comparisons across mixed qualifications
- Confirming eligibility for widening-participation schemes that use a tariff threshold
For selective research universities, always check whether the offer is expressed as an IB total plus specific HL requirements, and compare those directly rather than converting to tariff.