Mexico Grading System Explained
0–10 Scale (6 to pass)
How do grades from Mexico 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.
⚠️ Mexican pass mark is 6/10, not 5/10.
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 Mexico grading system work?
Mexican universities use a 0–10 scale where 6 is the minimum pass mark. UNAM and most public universities use this system.
Mexican universities mark on a 0–10 scale, with the pass mark usually 6 at undergraduate level, though some institutions set it at 7 and postgraduate programmes often require 8.
Marks are commonly reported to one or two decimal places, and the overall result is expressed as a promedio — a weighted average across the degree.
Some universities also award mención honorífica, a distinction attached to the thesis defence rather than to the average itself.
⚠️ Mexican pass mark is 6/10, not 5/10.
What does each grade mean in Mexico?
| Range | Classification | ≈ US GPA |
|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | Excelente | 4.0 |
| 9.0 – 9.9 | Muy bien (Very Good) | 3.5 |
| 8.0 – 8.9 | Bien (Good) | 3.0 |
| 7.0 – 7.9 | Regular | 2.5 |
| 6.0 – 6.9 | Suficiente (Pass) | 2.0 |
| 0.0 – 5.9 | Reprobado (Fail) | — |
What does a good grade actually look like in Mexico?
The 0–10 scale is used more fully in Mexico than in Brazil or the Netherlands — averages of 8 and 9 are common at good universities — which means it converts less badly than other ten-point systems but also that a high promedio is less distinguishing than it looks. The signal worth highlighting abroad is mención honorífica, since it reflects a judgement on the thesis by a committee rather than an arithmetic average, and it is not something a foreign admissions office will infer from the number.
How do WES and other evaluators read grades from Mexico?
Muy bien (9–9.9) → approximately 3.5 GPA. Bien (8–8.9) → approximately 3.0 GPA.
Credential-evaluator source: Scholaro — Mexico grading system (credential-evaluation database) · cross-checked against Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), Mexico · grading data verified 2026-07-24 · how we convert · report an error
Is a degree from Mexico accepted abroad?
The Mexican licenciatura runs four to five years, which meets the 16-year expectation of US graduate schools. Many programmes require a thesis or a professional examination for the degree to be conferred, so graduation can postdate the end of coursework.
What do people get wrong about grades from Mexico?
- Assuming a promedio of 8 is exceptional. Mexican averages sit higher than in many ten-point systems, so 8 is good rather than outstanding.
- Overlooking the postgraduate pass mark. Many Mexican master's programmes require an 8 average, above the undergraduate threshold.
- Leaving out mención honorífica where you hold it — it is a committee distinction that the average alone does not convey.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Mexico?
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 Mexico'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 Mexico'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 Mexico compare, side by side?
Each of these sets Mexico against one destination in detail — the two grading cultures, the traps specific to that direction, and the converter preset for the route:
- Mexico vs United States grading system
- Mexico vs United Kingdom grading system
- Mexico vs Canada grading system
- Mexico vs Germany grading system
- Mexico 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?
- 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.
- 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
Is a good grade in Mexico still good abroad?
The 0–10 scale is used more fully in Mexico than in Brazil or the Netherlands — averages of 8 and 9 are common at good universities — which means it converts less badly than other ten-point systems but also that a high promedio is less distinguishing than it looks. The signal worth highlighting abroad is mención honorífica, since it reflects a judgement on the thesis by a committee rather than an arithmetic average, and it is not something a foreign admissions office will infer from the number.
Is a degree from Mexico accepted for a master's abroad?
The Mexican licenciatura runs four to five years, which meets the 16-year expectation of US graduate schools. Many programmes require a thesis or a professional examination for the degree to be conferred, so graduation can postdate the end of coursework.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Mexico?
It depends on the destination, and the spread is wide. Stated on Mexico's own scale, the typical taught-master's bar works out at roughly: Australia 7.0–7.7 / 10, Netherlands 7.2–7.5 / 10, New Zealand 7.2–7.5 / 10. Across the 12 destinations whose entry requirements we have read and cited, the lowest bar is Australia at about 7.0–7.7 / 10. 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 Mexico?
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 7.0–7.7 / 10 on Mexico'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.