Peru Grading System Explained
0–20 Scale (11 to pass)
How do grades from Peru 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.
⚠️ Peruvian pass mark is 11/20, not 10/20 as in France. A 17+ is an excellent result.
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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 Peru grading system work?
Peruvian universities use a 0–20 scale where 11 is the minimum pass — different from France (10) and not a 50% midpoint.
Peruvian universities mark on a 0–20 scale, following the pattern used across much of Latin America and inherited from continental Europe, with the pass mark usually 11 though some institutions set it at 12.
The descriptors run Excelente from around 15 or 17 depending on the institution, with Muy Bueno and Bueno below, and the boundaries are not nationally fixed.
Marks are reported as whole numbers in most programmes, so the scale is coarser in practice than its 21 possible values suggest.
⚠️ Peruvian pass mark is 11/20, not 10/20 as in France. A 17+ is an excellent result.
What does each grade mean in Peru?
| Range | Classification | ≈ US GPA |
|---|---|---|
| 17.0 – 20.0 | Excelente | 4.0 |
| 15.0 – 16.9 | Muy Bueno (Very Good) | 3.3 |
| 13.0 – 14.9 | Bueno (Good) | 2.7 |
| 11.0 – 12.9 | Regular (Pass) | 2.0 |
| 0.0 – 10.9 | Deficiente (Fail) | — |
What does a good grade actually look like in Peru?
As with every 20-point system, the top of the scale is barely used: a 17 is an excellent result and marks approaching 20 are effectively unavailable, so an aggregate of 14 or 15 represents a solid degree. Peru's added complication is that the pass mark and the descriptor boundaries both vary between universities, which means two Peruvian transcripts showing the same number can describe meaningfully different standings — the grading key is the only reliable way to tell.
How do WES and other evaluators read grades from Peru?
Excelente (17–20) → approximately 4.0 GPA.
Credential-evaluator source: Scholaro — Peru grading system (credential-evaluation database) · cross-checked against Ministerio de Educación, Peru · grading data verified 2026-07-24 · how we convert · report an error
What do people get wrong about grades from Peru?
- Multiplying a 20-point mark by five. A 14/20 is a good Peruvian degree; "70%" carries a different meaning in every destination country.
- Assuming the pass mark is fixed. It is 11 at most universities and 12 at some, which shifts what the middle of the scale means.
- Expecting marks near 20. The upper reaches of the scale are effectively unused, as in France and Morocco.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Peru?
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 Peru'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 Peru'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 Peru compare, side by side?
Each of these sets Peru against one destination in detail — the two grading cultures, the traps specific to that direction, and the converter preset for the route:
- Peru vs United States grading system
- Peru vs United Kingdom grading system
- Peru vs Canada grading system
- Peru vs Germany grading system
- Peru 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.
- Grade compression
- Where a marking culture rarely uses the top of its own scale, so the highest grades anyone actually earns sit well below the theoretical maximum.
- 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 Peru still good abroad?
As with every 20-point system, the top of the scale is barely used: a 17 is an excellent result and marks approaching 20 are effectively unavailable, so an aggregate of 14 or 15 represents a solid degree. Peru's added complication is that the pass mark and the descriptor boundaries both vary between universities, which means two Peruvian transcripts showing the same number can describe meaningfully different standings — the grading key is the only reliable way to tell.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Peru?
It depends on the destination, and the spread is wide. Stated on Peru's own scale, the typical taught-master's bar works out at roughly: Australia 12.4–13.6 / 20, Netherlands 12.4–13.6 / 20, New Zealand 12.4–13.6 / 20. Across the 12 destinations whose entry requirements we have read and cited, the lowest bar is Australia at about 12.4–13.6 / 20. 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 Peru?
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 12.4–13.6 / 20 on Peru'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.