A plain-language guide to the IITM BS grading system, written by Unknown IITians from the official IIT Madras BS documents: the programme ordinances, the student handbook and the grading document. It covers the grades and grade points, the IITM BS pass marks, how CGPA is calculated and converted to a percentage, who can write the end-term exam, how OPPEs count, the exits after each level, and the IITM BS exam dates for this term and the next ones. Unknown IITians is independent and not part of IIT Madras: always check your own course's grading document on the portal.
In the IIT Madras BS degree each course gives a total score T out of 100 from its quizzes, assignments, OPPEs and end-term exam. A T of 40 or more is a pass: S (90 and above) is 10 grade points, A is 9, B 8, C 7, D 6 and E 4, and U (below 40) is a fail. Your CGPA is the credit-weighted average of your grade points, and IIT Madras converts it to a percentage as CGPA × 10.
Every course ends with a total course score T out of 100. The grade follows from T (student handbook, section 15.6; grade points from the ordinances, R.18.1):
A course is passed when the total course score T is 40 or more out of 100. Bonus marks, where a course has them, are added only after you pass and never decide whether you pass. One older pop-up on the programme website still says 50; the student handbook, the grading document and the E grade (4 points for 40 to 49) all say 40.
These rules are from the Data Science programme's documents. Electronic Systems courses follow the grading document published for them.
Each course has its own formula, published in the grading document for every term, so check the one for your term. In the January 2026 term, Maths 1, Stats 1, Computational Thinking, English 1, Maths 2 and English 2 used T = max(0.6F + 0.3 × max(Qz1, Qz2), 0.45F + 0.25 × Qz1 + 0.3 × Qz2), where F is the end-term score and Qz1 and Qz2 are the quiz scores. Programming courses such as Python and PDSA also count their OPPEs, and Diploma courses add 5 marks for the graded assignment average.
The grade calculator applies each course's formula for you, and the grade predictor works out the end-term marks you need.
For Foundation and most Diploma courses (January 2026 grading document; the handbook asks you to check the document for your term):
CGPA = Σ (credits × grade points) ÷ Σ credits, over the courses you have passed (ordinances, R.22.2). A term's GPA counts every course of the term, U and W grades included; the CGPA leaves out U and W grades. When you repeat a course, the highest grade counts.
Repeating a failed course means taking the whole course again at the normal fee. Repeating to improve a passed grade costs twice the course fee, and from January 2026 it is allowed only while you are still at that level: your CGPA is frozen once you move to the next level.
Percentage = CGPA × 10. The Dean (Academic Courses) of IIT Madras confirmed this for all IIT Madras BS degree programmes in a letter of 14 June 2024, and the programme ordinances say the same (R.22.3). No class, division or rank is awarded. A CGPA of 8.2 is therefore 82%.
OPPEs are programming exams held online with remote proctoring. In the January 2026 term they were part of Programming in Python, DBMS, PDSA, Java, System Commands, MLP, Programming in C, Introduction to Big Data and MLOps; Tools in Data Science has a remote online exam instead. You must pass the System Compatibility Test (SCT) before an OPPE is scheduled for you.
An OPPE is a weighted part of the course score. If you miss or fail the OPPE but have passed the rest, you get an I_OP grade and repeat only the OPPE next term, keeping your other marks (fee ₹1000 at Foundation, ₹2000 at Diploma and Degree). Python also needs at least 40 out of 100 in one of its two OPPEs to pass.
You can leave with a certificate or degree at each level (credits needed):
There are three terms a year: January, May and September. Quiz 1 comes after week 4 and covers weeks 1 to 4; Quiz 2 comes after week 8 and covers weeks 1 to 8. Dates from the IIT Madras academic calendar:
A total course score T of 40 out of 100. Below 40 is a U grade, which is a fail.
S is 10 (T of 90 or more), A 9, B 8, C 7, D 6 and E 4 (T from 40 to 49). U, below 40, is a fail with 0 points.
Multiply each passed course's grade points by its credits, add these up and divide by the total credits of those courses. When a course is repeated, the highest grade counts.
Multiply it by 10: percentage = CGPA × 10, as the Dean (Academic Courses) of IIT Madras confirmed for all IIT Madras BS degree programmes on 14 June 2024. A CGPA of 8.2 is 82%.
An online programming exam held with remote proctoring in courses such as Python, PDSA, DBMS, Java, System Commands and MLP. It counts towards the course score; missing it while passing the rest gives an I_OP grade, and you repeat only the OPPE next term.
For Foundation and most Diploma courses, students whose best 5 of the first 7 weekly assignments average 40 or more and who attended at least one of the two quizzes. Check your course's grading document for the term.
Sunday 15 November 2026. Quiz 2 is on Saturday 5 December 2026 and the End Term on Sunday 10 January 2027, according to the IIT Madras academic calendar.
No. Unknown IITians is an independent site that explains the official rules in plain words. Your course's grading document on the IIT Madras portal is the final word.
Unknown IITians is an independent study-resources site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by IIT Madras. Please check official sources for admissions, fees, dates and grading rules, and check any calculator's result against your course's official grading document.