How to Calculate Your CGPA in a Nigerian University
By Muntasir • Published May 13, 2024 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Education Planning
Multiply each course's grade point by its credit unit, add the totals, then divide by total credit units. Do this across every semester you have completed to get your CGPA.
🎓 Grade points run A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, F=0
Quality points = grade point x credit unit, per course
GPA = total quality points ÷ total credit units, for one semester
CGPA = the same sum, but across every semester so far
A failed course still counts in your total units until you pass it
The CGPA formula
Grade Point Average and Cumulative Grade Point Average both use the same formula. Multiply each course's grade point by its credit unit, add the results together, then divide by the total credit units. GPA covers a single semester. CGPA covers every semester you have completed so far, under the scale the National Universities Commission sets for accredited universities.
Step 1: Convert your scores to grade points
| Score range | Letter grade | Grade point |
|---|---|---|
| 70-100 | A | 5 |
| 60-69 | B | 4 |
| 50-59 | C | 3 |
| 45-49 | D | 2 |
| 40-44 | E | 1 |
| 0-39 | F | 0 |
Step 2: Multiply grade points by credit units
Each course carries a credit unit value, usually between 1 and 6, set by your department based on weekly contact hours. Multiply the grade point you earned in a course by that course's credit unit to get its quality points, sometimes called grade points earned.
Step 3: Add and divide for your semester GPA
Add up the quality points for every course you took that semester, then divide by the total credit units for the same semester.
| Course | Credit unit | Score | Letter | Grade point | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTH101 | 3 | 78 | A | 5 | 15 |
| PHY101 | 3 | 65 | B | 4 | 12 |
| CHM101 | 2 | 52 | C | 3 | 6 |
| GST101 | 2 | 68 | B | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 10 | 41 |
GPA = 41 ÷ 10 = 4.10 for this semester.
Step 4: Roll your semesters into a CGPA
Say your second semester produces 12 total credit units and 45 total quality points. That semester's GPA is 45 ÷ 12 = 3.75 on its own.
Your CGPA after both semesters adds the two quality point totals and the two credit unit totals before dividing: (41 + 45) ÷ (10 + 12) = 86 ÷ 22 = 3.91. Every semester you complete after this one adds its own quality points and credit units to both sides of the same calculation.
Common mistakes that throw off your CGPA
Forgetting that a failed course, grade F worth 0 points, still counts in your total credit units for that semester, which pulls your GPA down until you retake and pass it.
Mixing up credit units with weekly contact hours. Use the units printed on your course registration form, not the number of times a class meets each week.
Leaving out elective or general studies courses because they feel minor. Every registered course with a credit unit affects your CGPA.
Recalculating from memory instead of checking your official result slip, since one wrong grade point changes your final average.
Checking your result against the portal
Your university's student portal calculates GPA and CGPA automatically once results are released. Run your own manual calculation anyway before you rely on the number for a scholarship application, transfer, or postgraduate admission, since portal errors and delayed carryover results happen at some point in most four-year programs.