How to Calculate Your Major GPA

Calculating your major grade point average (GPA) can give you important insights into your academic performance in your chosen field of study. Your major GPA specifically looks at the grades you’ve earned in courses that count toward your major requirements. This focused GPA can reveal how well you are grasping the key concepts and foundational knowledge for your major. Knowing how to calculate your major GPA empowers you to track your learning and make informed decisions about your education. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through the steps for calculating your major GPA and offer tips for raising it.

What is Major GPA and Why Does it Matter?

Your major GPA looks exclusively at the grades you’ve earned for courses that are required for your major or specialization. This includes core major courses as well as major electives that you’ve chosen to fulfill your degree plan. Calculating this GPA separately from your cumulative GPA gives you a snapshot of your performance in your field of study.

Tracking your major GPA is important for several reasons

• It indicates how well you’ve mastered foundational concepts for your major Struggling in your major-related courses suggests you may need additional support in these topics

• It can influence internship and job prospects. Many employers pay close attention to relevant coursework grades when evaluating candidates. A strong major GPA signals you have the knowledge to succeed in roles related to your major.

• It impacts applications for graduate/professional school. Admissions committees want to see applicants challenged themselves and excelled in their major area. Your major GPA helps assess this.

• It enables you to pinpoint problem areas. If your overall GPA is solid but your major GPA is lagging, that suggests you may need to improve certain skills or knowledge areas. Identifying these weak spots can help you target your studies.

In short, calculating your major GPA separately provides an extra data point to evaluate your academic performance and identify potential improvements. This can in turn help guide your decisions around course load, tutoring, switching majors, and more.

How to Calculate Major GPA Step-by-Step

Calculating your major GPA follows the same process as calculating your cumulative GPA. The only difference is you’ll isolate just major-related courses. Follow these steps:

1. Identify Major Courses

Pull up your degree plan and highlight all required courses for your major, including core courses and major electives. These are the classes that will factor into your major GPA calculation.

For example, if you are an accounting major, you would highlight financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate accounting, tax accounting, auditing, business law, and any other accounting electives.

2. Record Grades and Credits

For each major course you’ve completed, record the grade you earned and the number of credit hours.

For example:

• Financial Accounting: A (4 credits)
• Managerial Accounting: B+ (3 credits)
• Intermediate Accounting I: B (3 credits)

And so forth for every major course on your transcript.

3. Convert Letter Grades to Grade Points

Next, convert your letter grades to numerical grade points using your school’s grading scale. Typically:

• A = 4.0
• A- = 3.7
• B+ = 3.3
• B = 3.0
• B- = 2.7
• C+ = 2.3
• C = 2.0
• D = 1.0
• F = 0

So in our example:

• Financial Accounting (A): 4.0 points
• Managerial Accounting (B+): 3.3 points
• Intermediate Accounting I (B): 3.0 points

4. Multiply Grade Points by Credits

For each course, multiply the grade points by the number of credits to get your quality points.

Continuing the accounting example:

• Financial Accounting: 4.0 points x 4 credits = 16 quality points
• Managerial Accounting: 3.3 points x 3 credits = 9.9 quality points
• Intermediate Accounting I: 3.0 points x 3 credits = 9 quality points

5. Add Up Quality Points

Add up all of the quality points for every major course completed.

In our example, let’s say those three courses were the only major courses taken so far. The total quality points would be:

16 + 9.9 + 9 = 34.9 total quality points

6. Add Up Total Credits

Next, total the credits from all completed major courses.

In our example, the credits are:

4 + 3 + 3 = 10 total credits

7. Calculate Major GPA

Finally, divide your total quality points by the total credits to get your major GPA.

Continuing the accounting example:

34.9 total quality points / 10 total credits = 3.49 major GPA

And that’s it! By isolating just your major courses and following the GPA calculation process, you can determine your major-specific GPA and start tracking your performance in your field of study.

Tips for Raising Your Major GPA

If your major GPA needs improvement, don’t panic—you can take steps to raise it. Here are some tips:

Meet with your academic advisor. Discuss courses you’ve struggled in and identify weaknesses. Develop a plan to boost your skills in these areas.

Consider tutoring or study groups. Get help mastering challenging major concepts through on-campus tutoring, study groups with classmates, or private tutors.

Take lighter course loads. Reduce your semesterly credits if you’ve been overwhelmed. This enables you to focus more on excelling in individual classes.

Retake major classes. Replace Ds or Fs with higher grades by retaking major courses and devoting yourself to improvement.

Take easier electives. Balance difficult required courses with easier electives to help offset the impact on your GPA.

Talk to professors. If you’re struggling in a class, meet with the professor during office hours to discuss extra credit opportunities or other options.

Utilize campus academic resources. Take advantage of skills workshops, writing centers, and other support services to sharpen your abilities.

Evaluate your study habits. Reflect on how you’re preparing for exams and assignments. Make changes to study more efficiently and effectively if needed.

Consider changing majors. If you’ve persistently struggled with core concepts, explore alternate majors that may be a better fit for your strengths.

Use Major GPA to Guide Your Education

Calculating your major GPA separately from your overall GPA provides valuable insight into how well you are grasping the foundational knowledge in your field. Use this metric to identify areas for improvement, seek out additional support if needed, and make informed decisions about your major and course choices. Monitor your major GPA over time to ensure you are mastering the key competencies to succeed in your desired career field after graduation.