Graduate School Grading Scale

[DoctorInScrubs]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Is it true that in a typical graduate school grading scale, everybody gets A's and B's; and getting a C in grad school is like getting a D in undergrad? I am talking about master's programs (not medical schools).

 

[Spinach Dip]

Yes.

Grad students are held to a higher standard than undergrads.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Keep in mind that grading scales can be a lot more generous in graduate school than in undergrad.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Keep in mind that grading scales can be a lot more generous in graduate school than in undergrad.

Key words being "can be".

Some of the grad-level classes I've taken were graded harshly. Others were pretty generous. It all depends....

 

[magicm]

In my grad program one requires a B average to be in good standing

can have only a min number of B-s a semester and anything less then a B- is an F

also the grading scale was much harsher an A- was mid 80s- 90% A was 91-95 and A+ was above 95

 

[DoctorInScrubs]

So theoretically: It should be just as easy/hard to get a specific grade (be it an A, B, or C) in graduate school as it was in undergrad. However, since graduate students should be held to higher standards than undergrad students, the bar for minimum performance is set higher to a 3.00 GPA.

 

[EnergyDrink]

So theoretically: It should be just as easy/hard to get a specific grade (be it an A, B, or C) in graduate school as it was in undergrad. However, since graduate students should be held to higher standards than undergrad students, the bar for minimum performance is set higher to a 2.00 GPA.

Essentially. Graduate students are a cut above undergraduates, so they're mostly A/B students. The C/D students are already weeded out.

From my experience, graduate classes are much harder than undergraduate classes. My graduate biochem included everything in undergrad 400-biochem 1 and 2, as was as a fair amount of physio. The tests were more about critical thinking than memorization, but memorization was hefty too. Our tests were about 2-5 hours long in all of our classes.

 

[WildEMDoc]

Nobody who will end up staying in grad school is getting Cs. Like others have said most grad students (myself included) are required to keep a 3.00 minimum.

My classes are sometimes split with undergrads (400 level) or grads only (500-600). In classes that are split, grad students are generally required to answer more questions on a test (5/5 essays instead of 3/5 or something) or write a term paper over a topic. In classes that allow for a term paper (most of them, only 1 did the test thing) this actually means that for grad students lower grades on tests are a little bit easier to remedy because you have a part of your grade (that should be a 100) that the undergrads don't have.

You also get a little bit more "help" from professors, I have a friend in my program, who ended a class at 86.5 average, who got rounded by the professor to an A-. Another one of my friends who was in the same class but was an undergrad, ended with an 88 and got a B+. Not fair but that's how it is with some profs.

In a lot of grad only classes, we don't even have tests. Maybe a take home exam, more likely just papers and discussions.

Those reasons above are kind of why every grad student makes sure that they are all As (or if they can't avoid it some Bs). Everyone knows grad school has inflation at the vast majority of schools, so you always need that 4.0 to prove to employers/PhD programs/Med that you are a strong student.

 

[wholeheartedly]

It's instructor/program/school specific.

Most school's will require you to stay at or above a 3.0 average to remain in good academic standing. That said some courses are really challenging and it can be difficult to get an A.

 

[magicm]

So theoretically: It should be just as easy/hard to get a specific grade (be it an A, B, or C) in graduate school as it was in undergrad. However, since graduate students should be held to higher standards than undergrad students, the bar for minimum performance is set higher to a 3.00 GPA.

in theory but in practice i find grad school is a different style of testing.

the profs want you to apply your thought so exams are take home (for a significant component) where you write scientific paper or reviews and they hold the scale to a higher standard.

 

[saveourpens]

Graduate courses in Masters programs (not SMPs) are graded differently than undergrad, at least from my experience in one program. Your research and TAing are what's most important as long as you maintain a B average.