NUST is Pakistan's highest-ranked university and a public research institution with schools spread across Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Quetta. For students using a calculator, the single most important fact about NUST is that it grades relatively: your letter grade is set by where you fall in your class distribution, not by a fixed marks table.
There are 8 grade tiers. Below D the course earns you nothing. Administrative codes split two ways. XF counts as zero in the average, while I is left out of the calculation entirely.
A conversion exists but is tied to specific applications rather than being a universal rule. NUST uses relative grading. Confirm which figure your receiving institution wants before you commit to one.
A few numbers decide whether you graduate. The graduation floor (most programmes) is set at 2.00. Minimum to earn course credit (UG) stands at 1.0 grade points (D). Minimum to earn course credit (PG) stands at 2.0 grade points (C).
The table starts the conversation. The registrar ends it. In the final year that order is what counts.
| Grading mode | Relative (distribution-gap method) |
| GPA scale | 1.00 – 4.00 |
| Minimum to earn course credit (UG) | 1.0 grade points (D) |
| Minimum to earn course credit (PG) | 2.0 grade points (C) |
| Minimum CGPA to graduate (most programmes) | 2.00 |
| Minimum CGPA to graduate (BBA, BS Econ, BS Psych and similar) | 2.50 |
| Minimum CGPA — Master's | 3.00 |
| Minimum CGPA — PhD | 3.50 |
| Rector's List | Semester GPA 3.70 or above |
| CGPA → percentage status | Application-specific estimate; verify |
NUST undergraduate grading is relative on a 1.00–4.00 scale. The official grade set is A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D and F, with I, W, Q, T and XF used for special administrative cases. D (1.00) is the minimum grade point that earns undergraduate course credit; some programmes have a higher minimum graduation CGPA. Because grading is relative, marks cannot be mapped to a fixed letter-grade table.
| Grade | Points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.00 | Highest grade |
| B+ | 3.50 | — |
| B | 3.00 | — |
| C+ | 2.50 | — |
| C | 2.00 | Minimum pass for postgraduate courses |
| D+ | 1.50 | Undergraduate only |
| D | 1.00 | Undergraduate only. Minimum to earn course credit. |
| F | 0.00 | Fail. Course must be repeated. |
| Code | How it is treated |
|---|---|
| I | Incomplete — excluded from GPA |
| W | Withdrawn/Dropped — excluded from GPA |
| T | Transfer credit — excluded from GPA |
| Q | Qualified — excluded from GPA |
| XF | Fail due to attendance shortage — counts as 0.00 in the GPA |
No. Under relative grading your letter depends on the class mean and standard deviation. In a strong cohort, 85% may still land a B+. Conversely, in a weak cohort a lower absolute mark can earn a higher letter. Once the letter is assigned, its grade point is fixed university-wide.
NUST is commonly associated with (CGPA x 25) - 12.5 for HEC equivalence and government applications, which makes a 3.00 CGPA equal 62.5%. The generic HEC formula CGPA x 25 gives 75% instead. Because the two disagree by 12.5 points, always ask the NUST Examination Branch which one your specific application requires, and obtain an official equivalence certificate where one is needed.
No. The official undergraduate set is A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D and F, moving in 0.50 increments. This differs from COMSATS, FAST and most HEC-aligned universities, which use 11 grades in 0.33 increments.
No. D+ and D are undergraduate-only. The lowest passing grade in a postgraduate course is C (2.00); anything below is recorded as F. If your department publishes something different, that version governs your transcript.