Sri Lanka Grading System Explained
Class of Degree / GPA (4.0) · pass mark 2.00
How do grades from Sri Lanka 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.
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 Sri Lanka grading system work?
Sri Lankan universities use a British-style classification system under UGC oversight. A 4.0 GPA scale is now widely used alongside class of degree.
Sri Lankan universities mark out of 100 and award British-style classifications: First Class from around 70%, Second Class Upper from 60%, Second Class Lower from 50% and a Pass below that.
Most Sri Lankan institutions also report a 4.0 GPA alongside the percentage, with letter grades running from A+ down to E, so a transcript typically carries the same result in three forms at once.
University admission is nationally competitive through the A-level examination, so the intake at state universities is unusually selective by international standards.
What does each grade mean in Sri Lanka?
| Range | Classification | ≈ US GPA |
|---|---|---|
| 3.50 – 4.00 | First Class | 3.9 |
| 3.00 – 3.49 | Second Class Upper (2:1) | 3.3 |
| 2.50 – 2.99 | Second Class Lower (2:2) | 2.7 |
| 2.00 – 2.49 | Pass | 2.0 |
| 0.00 – 1.99 | Fail | — |
What does a good grade actually look like in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lankan marking is strict and the classifications are hard-won: First Class is uncommon, and the state university intake is already a small fraction of A-level candidates, so a Second Class Upper from a Sri Lankan state university represents a strong record within a highly selected group. As with India and Nepal, reading the percentage against an American one badly understates it — a 65% here is a good Second Class Upper rather than a poor result.
How do WES and other evaluators read grades from Sri Lanka?
First Class (3.5–4.0) → approximately 3.85 US GPA.
Credential-evaluator source: Scholaro — Sri Lanka grading system (credential-evaluation database) · cross-checked against University Grants Commission (UGC), Sri Lanka · grading data verified 2026-07-24 · how we convert · report an error
Is a degree from Sri Lanka accepted abroad?
Sri Lankan bachelor's degrees run three years for a general degree and four for a special or honours degree, with engineering and medicine longer. The honours degree is the normal route into a master's, and a three-year general degree can raise the 16-year question for US graduate admission.
What do people get wrong about grades from Sri Lanka?
- Comparing a Sri Lankan percentage with a US one. A 65% is a Second Class Upper, which is the grade most UK master's courses ask for.
- Leaving the classification off. It travels internationally far better than the raw percentage does.
- Assuming quick document turnaround. Sri Lankan universities can take time to issue and dispatch transcripts directly, as evaluators require.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Sri Lanka?
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 Sri Lanka'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 Sri Lanka'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 Sri Lanka compare, side by side?
Each of these sets Sri Lanka against one destination in detail — the two grading cultures, the traps specific to that direction, and the converter preset for the route:
- Sri Lanka vs United States grading system
- Sri Lanka vs United Kingdom grading system
- Sri Lanka vs Canada grading system
- Sri Lanka vs Germany grading system
- Sri Lanka 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.
- 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.
- First Class Honours
- The top degree classification, awarded to a small minority of graduates — usually 70%+ in the UK and Ireland, or a CGPA of 4.50+ on Nigeria's 5.0 scale.
- 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is a good grade in Sri Lanka still good abroad?
Sri Lankan marking is strict and the classifications are hard-won: First Class is uncommon, and the state university intake is already a small fraction of A-level candidates, so a Second Class Upper from a Sri Lankan state university represents a strong record within a highly selected group. As with India and Nepal, reading the percentage against an American one badly understates it — a 65% here is a good Second Class Upper rather than a poor result.
Is a degree from Sri Lanka accepted for a master's abroad?
Sri Lankan bachelor's degrees run three years for a general degree and four for a special or honours degree, with engineering and medicine longer. The honours degree is the normal route into a master's, and a three-year general degree can raise the 16-year question for US graduate admission.
What grade do you need to study abroad from Sri Lanka?
It depends on the destination, and the spread is wide. Stated on Sri Lanka's own scale, the typical taught-master's bar works out at roughly: Australia 2.35–2.66 / 4, Netherlands 2.42–2.58 / 4, New Zealand 2.42–2.58 / 4. Across the 12 destinations whose entry requirements we have read and cited, the lowest bar is Australia at about 2.35–2.66 / 4. 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 Sri Lanka?
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 2.35–2.66 / 4 on Sri Lanka'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.