Italy vs South Africa Grading System

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.

How does the South Africa grading system work?

South African universities follow a British-influenced percentage system with UK-style degree classifications. Distinction is typically awarded at 75%+. SA degrees are well recognised internationally.

Do Italy and South Africa 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 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.

What a good grade means in South Africa

South African marking is strict at the top: 75% already earns a Distinction, marks above 80 are uncommon, and summa cum laude is typically around 85%. That makes a 68% a respectable degree rather than the weak one it would look like on a US transcript. The structural point matters just as much as the grade, though — South African master's entry normally assumes an honours year on top of a three-year bachelor's, so a strong mark alone may not be sufficient without it.

Will a grade from Italy get you into South Africa?

South Africa universities typically ask for 65 / 100 for a taught master's — a one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes. On Italy's scale that is roughly 22–25 / 30 (Discreto (Satisfactory)). 65% is the average that recurs across South African master's admission, applied either to the final-year majors of a four-year bachelor's or to an honours degree. Note the structural point that catches international applicants: South African master's entry normally assumes an honours year (a fourth year) on top of a three-year bachelor's, so the grade alone is not the whole requirement.

University of the Western Cape, Institute for Social Development — master's admission 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

30 e Lode → 4.0 GPA. Ottimo (27–29) → approximately 3.5 GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from Italy to South Africa?

South Africa rarely awards near the top of its own scale — 85 is realistically the ceiling rather than 100 — so a converted result will look lower than you expect even when it is strong.

Mistakes specific to Italy grades

• Mixing the 18–30 exam scale with the 66–110 degree scale. They measure different things and are not convertible into one another by proportion.
• Reading 18 as a weak result. It is the pass mark, and Italian exams are frequently retaken rather than passed narrowly.
• Overlooking e lode. Both 30 e lode and 110 e lode are distinctions worth stating explicitly on an application.

What should you do next, applying from Italy to South Africa?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. The 65 / 100 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, South Africa 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 Italy grading works · How South Africa grading works

What do these grading terms mean?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Frequently asked questions