Indonesia vs Portugal Grading System

How does the Indonesia grading system work?

Indonesian universities use IPK (Indeks Prestasi Kumulatif) on a 4.0 scale under BAN-PT accreditation.

How does the Portugal grading system work?

Portuguese universities use a 0–20 scale inherited from the French tradition. Pass mark is 10. Grades of 18–20 are rarely awarded.

Do Indonesia and Portugal 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 Indonesia

The 4.0 IPK looks directly comparable to a US GPA and largely is, which makes Indonesian transcripts straightforward to read abroad. The predicate is where the extra information lives: cum laude usually requires not just a high average but timely completion and sometimes a minimum grade in every subject, so it says more about a candidate than the number alone. Where you hold it, state it — the IPK by itself will not communicate those conditions.

What a good grade means in Portugal

As with other 20-point systems, the top of the Portuguese scale is barely used: marks above 17 are uncommon and 20 is effectively unattainable, so a 15 or 16 represents a strong degree rather than the mediocre 75–80% it resembles when converted arithmetically. The honours labels at 18 and above are worth stating on an application precisely because the number alone does not communicate how rare they are.

Will a grade from Indonesia get you into Portugal?

We do not yet hold published entry requirements for Portugal, so we do not compare your grade against a bar we cannot cite. The conversion above still tells you how your result reads in Portugal terms.

Indonesian 4.0 IPK maps near-directly to US GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from Indonesia to Portugal?

The pass marks differ — 2.00 in Indonesia against 10.0 in Portugal — so the two scales have different usable ranges and the middle of one is not the middle of the other.

Mistakes specific to Indonesia grades

• Quoting the IPK without the predicate. Cum laude carries conditions beyond the average and is worth stating explicitly.
• Assuming predicate thresholds are national. They vary by university, so use the figure your own transcript or certificate states.
• Sending the ijazah alone. Evaluators want the transkrip nilai showing every subject, not only the degree certificate.

What should you do next, applying from Indonesia to Portugal?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. We hold no published national bar for this destination, so the course page is the only figure that binds.
2. Check whether an evaluation is even required. Unlike the US and Canada, Portugal 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 Indonesia grading works · How Portugal grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average)

The same idea as a GPA but covering your whole degree rather than one term — the scale differs by country (India 10, Nigeria 5.0, Pakistan 4.0), so the number alone means nothing without its scale.

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.

Degree classification

A named band your final result falls into — First Class, 2:1, Distinction — used across the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, India and much of the Commonwealth instead of a single number.

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.

Credential evaluation

A paid report from an approved company that restates your foreign qualification in local terms, which many US and Canadian universities require before they will assess you.

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.

Frequently asked questions