Denmark vs Italy Grading System

How does the Denmark grading system work?

Denmark uses a 7-step scale with only these valid values: -3, 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12. No values in between exist. Minimum pass is 2.

⚠️ Danish grades use ONLY these values: -3, 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12. No in-between values. Minimum pass is 2.

How does the Italy grading system work?

Italian university exams use an 18–30 scale where 18 is minimum pass. Final degrees use a separate 66–110 scale. These are NOT interchangeable.

⚠️ Italy uses TWO different scales: 18–30 for individual exams and 66–110 for final degree. Enter your exam grades here, not your degree score.

Do Denmark and Italy mark to the same standard?

No — and it is the difference in marking culture, not the arithmetic, that makes a direct comparison mislead. Here is how each country actually uses its own scale.

What a good grade means in Denmark

A 12 is defined as an excellent performance with no or only insignificant weaknesses, and it is awarded sparingly — the scale was explicitly designed to stop grade inflation by making the top grade demanding and the steps between grades wide. A 10 is a very good result, and a 7 is a solid one that a US reader would wrongly dismiss as a C. Because the values are discrete and unevenly spaced, converting a Danish average by proportion produces a number that means nothing.

What a good grade means in Italy

Italian marking is generous at the pass end and demanding at the top: 18 out of 30 clears an exam, but 30 e lode is a genuine distinction. The practical point for anyone applying abroad is to send the right number. A converter or an admissions form asking for your grade usually means the exam scale, while an entry requirement quoted as "83/110" means the degree scale — and quoting one where the other is expected produces an answer that is wildly wrong in either direction.

Will a grade from Denmark get you into Italy?

Italy universities typically ask for 22 / 30 for a taught master's — a one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes. On Denmark's scale that is roughly 4 / 12 (Fair (4)). Italy sets admission per programme rather than nationally, and the requirement is usually framed as "adequate personal preparation" plus specific credits (CFU) in named subject areas — the grade is only one part of it. Bologna's civil engineering laurea magistrale states a 22/30 exam average, or equivalently a final graduation grade of at least 83/110 on Italy's separate degree scale.

University of Bologna — Civil Engineering (laurea magistrale) enrolment requirements · checked 2026-07-25 · the figure in your own terms is a double conversion, so it is a range. how this is worked out

Danish 12 → 4.0 GPA. 10 → approximately 3.5. 7 → approximately 3.0.

What goes wrong converting grades from Denmark to Italy?

The pass marks differ — 2 in Denmark against 18 in Italy — so the two scales have different usable ranges and the middle of one is not the middle of the other.

Mistakes specific to Denmark grades

• Treating the seven-point scale as continuous. There is no 8 or 9, so averages and interpolations misrepresent the result.
• Reading a 7 as mediocre. It maps to an ECTS C, which describes good work rather than a barely adequate performance.
• Assuming 02 is a typo. It is the minimum pass grade, written with the leading zero.

What should you do next, applying from Denmark to Italy?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. The 22 / 30 above is the typical bar, not a guarantee — selective courses ask for more.
2. Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Italy universities commonly assess foreign transcripts in-house. Confirm on the course page before paying for a report you may not need.
3. Get your documents moving early. Universities normally require your transcript sent directly by your institution rather than as a copy from you, which takes longer than most applicants expect.
4. Read both systems in full. How Denmark grading works · How Italy grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

GPA (Grade Point Average)

The US way of expressing an overall grade, on a 0–4.0 scale where 4.0 is the top — so a 4.0 is roughly what a 90–100% or a First Class would be elsewhere.

Percentage scale

A 0–100 marking scale — but the numbers are not comparable across countries: 70% is an outstanding result in the UK and a modest one in India.

Credits / credit hours

A measure of how much a subject counts toward your degree — bigger subjects carry more credits and pull your average further.

Transcript

The official document from your university listing every subject you took and the grade you got — not the same as your degree certificate, and universities abroad want both.

Taught master's

A one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes and assignments, as opposed to a research master's built around a thesis.

Frequently asked questions