For ETH Zurich’s master’s application, report your grade in the system used by your university. Its eApply guidance explicitly says not to convert your GPA into another grading system. A percentage calculator can produce a number, but that does not make the number appropriate for this application field.
Start with the current official transcript, any university-confirmed average and the grading-system explanation. Keep the result and scale together. The following checklist uses official ETH instructions checked on 16 October 2026; it is a document-preparation guide, not an admissions assessment or a grade-conversion service.
Use the university-confirmed result where available
ETH’s Add higher education instructions distinguish ongoing and completed studies. If you are still studying, enter the current average. If your university computes and confirms that average, use the confirmed value. For completed studies, the instructions ask for the completion grade confirmed by the home university.
Do not replace a confirmed result with a more attractive number from another system. The guidance addresses universities that also supply a converted GPA: it asks for the internal or national grading basis rather than the additional converted scale. This is ETH’s application instruction, not a universal rule for every university abroad.
Copy the evidence into a private preparation record: document date, study status, the numeric result, its scale and whether the university has confirmed the average. Do not add comments or a converted result onto the transcript itself.
Separate the fallback calculation from conversion
If the university has not confirmed an average, the eApply page instructs applicants to calculate an unweighted average from the grades received by the application date and recorded in the transcript, using the original national grading system. It links a grade-calculation spreadsheet.
That instruction is different from multiplying a CGPA by a general percentage formula, translating it into a four-point GPA, or choosing only the strongest marks. Follow the current field guidance and use the official university scale. If your record contains repeated attempts, unusual modules or a grading convention whose treatment is unclear, resolve that exact question before settling the entry; this article does not invent a rule for those cases.
The same page has a separate section for bachelor’s degrees from universities of applied sciences. It explains that ETH recalculates the relevant minimum-grade assessment and that an applicant’s unweighted calculation does not settle that requirement. Do not borrow a Swiss or German threshold from that section and apply it to an unrelated Indian qualification.
Keep best, pass and minimum grades distinct
The form asks you to explain the grading system, including the best possible grade, the lowest passing grade and the lowest grade on the scale. These are different fields. A failing grade can sit below the passing threshold in one system; in another system, lower numbers represent stronger performance.
Use your institution’s official grading key or other applicable explanation. Do not copy a country example from the help page as if it describes every university, qualification and academic scheme in that country. Check that the reported GPA and the three scale fields belong to the same system.
Where the transcript uses classifications or letters rather than a numeric average, ETH’s guidance asks for the university’s official converting scale. If none is published, it directs applicants to their studies administration for one. A commercial calculator is not a substitute for that missing institutional evidence.
Preserve the official academic record
ETH’s general application-document requirements require official transcripts from the universities attended, including the relevant academic history. The stated transcript information includes courses, grades, credits, qualification level and grading system. The page excludes self-made transcripts, screenshots of student portals and additional changes or comments on transcripts.
An application-field calculation therefore does not replace the official record. Keep the source documents intact and separate from your own preparation notes. Where an exchange, joint degree or different teaching and awarding institutions are involved, read the specific document requirements rather than assuming one summary transcript covers everything.
The required-documents page also explains translation requirements. Documents outside German, French, Italian or English need the required English translation alongside the original. An accepted translation does not replace the original document, and translating a document does not establish permission to convert its grades.
Do not turn a correct entry into an eligibility promise
A faithfully entered GPA is only one part of an application. Check the exact programme’s current academic prerequisites, any applicable minimum-grade rule, language and other document requirements separately. This guide quotes no universal admission threshold, scholarship entitlement or predicted result.
It also makes no employment claim. Academic eligibility, actual course learning and access to work are separate questions. Use the course-comparison guide when connecting the curriculum to your goals; keep the application evidence accurate even when the learning fit is strong.
Before submission, complete five checks: the correct qualification and study status; the confirmed result or prescribed fallback basis; the matching official scale; the current complete transcript and any required translation; and the programme-specific requirements still needing verification. Use the application calendar to track missing official documents.
Your next step is a consistency review of the grade, scale and supporting record. For this ETH field, the useful result is an accurate entry with traceable evidence—not a newly manufactured percentage.
