South Africa vs United Arab Emirates Grading System

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.

How does the United Arab Emirates grading system work?

UAE universities use a 4.0 GPA scale aligned with US conventions under Ministry of Education and KHDA oversight.

Do South Africa and the United Arab Emirates 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 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.

What a good grade means in the United Arab Emirates

Because the 4.0 scale maps almost directly onto the US one, UAE grades need little translation, and a 3.0 CGPA is the standard published bar for master's entry within the country itself. The genuine complication is not the scale but the sheer variety of institutions: a degree from a branch campus of a British university will be classified in British terms while a degree from a US-modelled institution reports a straight GPA, and an applicant should present whichever framing their transcript actually uses rather than converting between them.

Will a grade from South Africa get you into the United Arab Emirates?

United Arab Emirates universities typically ask for 3.00 / 4 for a taught master's — a one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes. On South Africa's scale that is roughly 69–72 / 100 (Upper Second (2:1)). A 3.0/4.0 cumulative GPA is the standard UAE master's entry bar. UAEU also operates a conditional route for applicants between 2.5 and 3.0, who must then reach a 3.0 across their first 9 credit hours — so a grade below the threshold is a condition to satisfy rather than an automatic refusal.

United Arab Emirates University, College of Graduate Studies — admission · checked 2026-07-25 · the figure in your own terms is a double conversion, so it is a range. how this is worked out

WES evaluates SA credentials similarly to UK credentials. First Class / Distinction (75%+) → approximately 3.7 GPA.

What goes wrong converting grades from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates?

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

Mistakes specific to South Africa grades

• Assuming South African classifications match British ones. A 2:1 here starts at 70%, ten points above the UK threshold, so the same percentage maps to a different class.
• Treating a three-year bachelor's as sufficient for a master's. South African postgraduate entry usually assumes the separate honours year.
• Quoting the mark without the NQF level. The level tells a foreign university what kind of qualification it is looking at.

What should you do next, applying from South Africa to the United Arab Emirates?

1. Check the course, not the country. Entry requirements are set per programme and revised every cycle. The 3.00 / 4 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, United Arab Emirates 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 issue an academic record and a degree certificate, and SAQA (the South African Qualifications Authority) evaluation is often requested for use abroad. If you hold an honours degree, make the year explicit — it is the difference between meeting and missing master's entry requirements in many countries.
4. Read both systems in full. How South Africa grading works · How United Arab Emirates 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.

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.

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%.

Honours degree

A bachelor's degree that includes a higher-level final year or research project — in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand it is often an extra year, and master's entry can depend on it.

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.

Frequently asked questions