Denmark Grading System Explained
7-Step Scale (-3 to 12) · pass mark 2
How do grades from Denmark convert to US GPA?
A Bachelor's / first-degree grade — for graduate (Master's) admission or employment
Got a school-leaving qualification instead — A-levels, Class 12, WASSCE, the Abitur? Here's what actually happens to those.
Hover or tap a band to see what it means.
⚠️ Danish grades use ONLY these values: -3, 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12. No in-between values. Minimum pass is 2.
Hover or tap a band to see what it means.
Enter a grade above to see what it means in the United States
You'll get the classification it corresponds to, the range it falls in rather than a single false-precise number, and how firm that answer is.
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.
Denmark uses a seven-point scale with deliberately unequal steps: 12, 10, 7, 4, 02, 00 and −3. Only 12, 10, 7, 4 and 02 are passing grades, and 02 is the minimum pass.
The Danish scale was designed to map directly onto ECTS, so 12 corresponds to an A, 10 to a B, 7 to a C, 4 to a D and 02 to an E — which makes it readable across Europe despite the unfamiliar numbers.
The gaps between values are intentional — there is no 8, 9 or 11 — which means a Danish grade cannot be interpolated or averaged the way a continuous scale can.
⚠️ Danish grades use ONLY these values: -3, 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12. No in-between values. Minimum pass is 2.
What does each grade mean in Denmark?
| Range | Classification | ≈ US GPA |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Excellent (12) | 4.0 |
| 10 | Very Good (10) | 3.5 |
| 7 | Good (7) | 3.0 |
| 4 | Fair (4) | 2.5 |
| 2 | Adequate (2) | 2.0 |
| 0 | Inadequate (0) | — |
| -3 | Unacceptable (-3) | — |
What does a good grade actually look like 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.
How do WES and other evaluators read grades from Denmark?
Danish 12 → 4.0 GPA. 10 → approximately 3.5. 7 → approximately 3.0.
Credential-evaluator source: Scholaro — Denmark 7-point scale (credential-evaluation database) · cross-checked against Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science · grading data verified 2026-07-24 · how we convert · report an error
Is a degree from Denmark accepted abroad?
Danish bachelor's degrees run three years under Bologna, followed by a two-year master's. Tuition is free for EU and EEA students, and Danish universities are used to explaining the seven-point scale to foreign institutions.
What do people get wrong about grades from Denmark?
- 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 grade do you need to study abroad from Denmark?
Each destination below publishes its own typical entry requirement for a taught master's — a one-to-two-year postgraduate degree made mostly of classes. The last column restates that bar in Denmark's own grading terms, so you can hold it against your actual transcript instead of converting in your head.
The last column is a double conversion — the destination's bar onto the US 4.0 scale and then onto Denmark's, so its uncertainty is wider than a single conversion and it is shown as a range for that reason. Treat it as orientation, and check the course page for the bar that actually binds. How this is worked out.
Only destinations whose entry requirement we have read and cited appear here. Several countries publish no numeric bar at all — France admits on the dossier, Japan by entrance examination — and others we simply have not researched yet. An absent row never means “no requirement”.
The last column links the organisations that maintain each country's programme data — we hold none of it ourselves, and none of them can tell you whether you will be admitted. Several countries have no single national directory for postgraduate study at all: master's applications go straight to the university, so the course page is the authoritative source.
How do grades from Denmark compare, side by side?
Each of these sets Denmark against one destination in detail — the two grading cultures, the traps specific to that direction, and the converter preset for the route:
- Denmark vs United States grading system
- Denmark vs United Kingdom grading system
- Denmark vs Canada grading system
- Denmark vs Germany grading system
- Denmark vs Australia grading system
Applying to the US or Canada? Read the WES credential evaluation guide before you order — choosing the wrong report type is the most common (and costly) mistake.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Is a good grade in Denmark still good abroad?
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.
Is a degree from Denmark accepted for a master's abroad?
Danish bachelor's degrees run three years under Bologna, followed by a two-year master's. Tuition is free for EU and EEA students, and Danish universities are used to explaining the seven-point scale to foreign institutions.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Denmark?
It depends on the destination, and the spread is wide. Stated on Denmark's own scale, the typical taught-master's bar works out at roughly: Australia 4 / 12, Netherlands 4 / 12, New Zealand 4 / 12. Across the 12 destinations whose entry requirements we have read and cited, the lowest bar is Australia at about 4 / 12. These are typical requirements, not guarantees — selective programmes ask for more, and each figure is a conversion, so treat it as orientation and check the course page.
Can you study abroad with a low grade from Denmark?
Often yes, but be specific rather than hopeful about it. The lowest published bar among the destinations we hold data for is Australia at roughly 4 / 12 on Denmark's scale, so a result below that clears no destination on our list on grades alone. Below the bar the route is not closed — conversion, qualifying and pre-master's programmes exist in most countries and are designed for exactly this — but expect to need one, and expect grades to matter more where the programme is competitive. Convert your own grade above to see which bars it actually clears.