Ireland vs Switzerland Grading System

How does the Ireland grading system work?

Irish universities follow a British-style honours classification system under the NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications).

How does the Switzerland grading system work?

Swiss universities use a 1–6 scale where 6 is the best grade and 4 is minimum pass. Higher numbers are better — opposite direction from Germany.

⚠️ Swiss scale uses 1–6 where 6 is BEST — opposite direction from Germany. Do not confuse the two.

Do Ireland and Switzerland 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 Ireland

Irish marking, like British marking, is compressed at the top: a First Class Honours needs 70%, marks above 80 are uncommon, and although results as high as 85 do appear they require genuinely exceptional work. An H2.1 is the pivotal grade — it is the standard entry requirement for taught master's courses at Trinity, UCD and their peers, so the gap between 59% and 60% carries far more weight than one mark should. Applicants from percentage-marking countries consistently misread Irish grades as poor when they are nothing of the sort.

What a good grade means in Switzerland

The narrow 4-to-6 usable range is what makes Swiss marking hard to read from outside: only two points separate a bare pass from the maximum, so a 5.0 is a solid result rather than the mediocre "83%" it becomes if converted proportionally. Our own data previously treated everything from 5.5 upward as a top grade, which over-credited a 5.5 by a full band until it was corrected — the published scale distinguishes 5.5 as an A− from 5.75 and above as an A, and that distinction matters on a scale this compressed.

Will a grade from Ireland get you into Switzerland?

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

First Class Honours H1 (70%+) → approximately 3.85 GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from Ireland to Switzerland?

Ireland rarely awards near the top of its own scale, so a result that looks modest in Ireland terms converts higher than a direct comparison suggests.

Mistakes specific to Ireland grades

• Comparing an Irish percentage with an Indian, Nigerian or American one. An Irish 68% is a strong H2.1; the same number elsewhere can mean something quite different.
• Confusing the NFQ level with the grade. Level 8 describes the type of qualification, not how well you did in it.
• Assuming a shortfall ends the application. A Higher or Graduate Diploma is the standard year-long qualifying route into an Irish master's.

What should you do next, applying from Ireland to Switzerland?

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, Switzerland 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. Irish universities issue a transcript listing modules and marks plus a parchment showing the classification, and applications abroad normally want both. Ask for the official explanation of the grading scale where the receiving country is unfamiliar with honours classifications.
4. Read both systems in full. How Ireland grading works · How Switzerland grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

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.

First Class Honours

The top degree classification, awarded to a small minority of graduates — usually 70%+ in the UK and Ireland, or a CGPA of 4.50+ on Nigeria's 5.0 scale.

2:1 (Upper Second Class)

The second-highest degree class, and the grade most UK and Irish master's courses ask for — usually 60–69%.

2:2 (Lower Second Class)

The third degree class, usually 50–59% — accepted by some master's courses, often alongside relevant work experience.

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.

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