15 Grade Conversions
Grades and Grade Conversions
Students in France are graded on a scale from 0 to 20. The French say “la note de 20 est pour le bon Dieu, 19 est pour le professeur, et 18 est pour le meilleur élève.” Twelve is a perfectly respectable grade (B+/AB). In order to take into account the differences between French and U.S. grading practices, the APA has developed grade conversion scales for the Université, Sciences Po, the Cours intensif and the program courses. Any grade with .5 or above will be rounded up/down to the next whole number.
For example:
10.5 = 11
11.60 = 12
8.63 = 9
11.30 = 11
The official French grade will be recorded by the FD as originally reported. Its equivalent will also be recorded, along with the French grade. The equivalent will be used in transferring the number grade to a U.S. letter grade.
Grade Scales
| French Grades | Indiana University | UW-Madison |
| 18 | A | A |
| 17 | A | A |
| 16 | A | A |
| 15 | A | A |
| 14 | A | A |
| 13 | A- | AB |
| 12 | B+ | AB |
| 11 | B+ | AB |
| 10 | B | B |
| 09 | B- | BC |
| 08 | B- | BC |
| 07 | C+ | BC |
| 06 | C | C |
| 05 | D | D |
| 04 | D | D |
| 03 | F | F |
| 02 | F | F |
| 01 | F | F |
Final Grades and Credits
At the end of the academic semester, students will have the opportunity to meet with the Faculty Director individually to verify the courses they have taken during the semester. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss their overall impression of their studies and of the program. This session is not a time to negotiate or change grades earned during the program. When all grades are received, the Faculty Director will finalize the grade transcripts and forward them to home institutions to have grades posted to your official transcript.