I will never forget my first year at the University. I and many of my classmates had no idea how to calculate CGPA. The calculation of CGPA sounded like complex mathematics work. In fact, some students had to pay for the calculation of their results.

Trust me; the calculation of CGPA is not as complex as it seems.

This post presents simple tips on how to calculate the GPA for your first and second semester.

You will learn how to calculate GPA from CGPA. Also, you will know how to calculate CGPA in Nigerian Universities.

First off, let’s define GPA and CGPA in Nigerian Universities.

Nigerian University Grading System

The grading system in Nigerian tertiary institutions applies over a hundred scores. Seventy (70) marks for the examination score while Thirty (30) marks is for continuous assessment.

Here is the grading system for Nigerian Universities.

Score Grade Points Remark
70 – 100 A 5 Excellent
60 – 69 B 4 Very God
50 – 59 C 3 Good
45 – 49 D 2 Pass
40 – 44 E 1 Fair
0 – 39 F 0 Fail

 

GPA

GPA stands for Grade Point Average. It represents the grade point for your first and second semester results. It is required of you to know the score you obtain for each of your courses to calculate the GPA of either semester.

The sample below shows the first and second semester results of a first-year student in the University.

First Semester Courses Outline

Course Code Course Title Unit
GES 101 Use of English 3
GES  102 Culture & Civilization 3
TME 111 Engineering Drawing 2
TME 121 Basic Workshop Practice 1
CHE 157 Physical Chemistry 4
PHY 114 Basic Principles of Phy I 3
PHY 112 Basic Principles of Phy II 3
MAT 111 Algebra 4
MAT 121 Calculus & Trigonometry 4
Total 27

 

First Semester Result

Course Code Course Title Score Grade
GES 101 Use of English 63 B
GES  102 Culture & Civilization 44 E
TME 111 Engineering Drawing 62 B
TME 121 Basic Workshop Practice 84 A
CHE 157 Physical Chemistry 66 B
PHY 114 Basic Principles of Phy I 75 A
PHY 112 Basic Principles of Phy II 49 D
MAT 111 Algebra 70 A
MAT 121 Calculus & Trigonometry 58 C

 

First Semester GPA Calculation

Course Code Unit Grade Point Unit × Point Total
GES 101 3 B 4 3 × 4 12
GES  102 3 E 1 3 × 1 3
TME 111 2 B 4 2 × 4 8
TME 121 1 A 5 1 × 5 5
CHE 157 4 B 4 4 × 4 16
PHY 114 3 A 5 3 × 5 15
PHY 112 3 D 2 3 × 2 6
MAT 111 4 A 5 4 × 5 20
MAT 121 4 C 3 4 × 3 12
Total 27 32 97

 

The total points will be devided by the total number of credit unit loads for the first semester.

Total Point = 97

Total Unit =27

GPA =97/27 =3.59

 

CGPA

CGPA stands for Cumulative Grade Point Average. It is an addition to your first and second semester GPA.

Now the final step is to add up the GPA of both semesters and divide it into two to get your CGPA.

 

Semester GPA
First Semester 3.59
Second Semester 4.96
Total 8.55

 

CGPA = (First Semester GPA + Second Semester GPA)/2

CGPA = 8.55/2 = 4.28

 

Final Year CGPA

The final year CGPA is an addition of your CGPA from the first year to your final year divided by the number of years of study.

Below is the CGPA of the same student from the first year till the final year.

Level CGPA
100 4.28
200 4.23
300 3.99
400 4.98
500 5.1
Total 22.58

 

Final CGPA = Total CGPA/5

Final CGPA = 22.58/2 = 4.52

 

Nigerian Degree Categories

CGPA Degree Category
4.50 – 5.0 First Class
3.50 – 4.49 Second Class Upper
2.50 – 3.49 Second Class Lower
Less than 2.49 Third Class

 

Hope you have been able to find this guide helpful and will be able to share the knowledge with a fellow student in need.