How are grades given in IIT-Madras?

At IIT Madras, the strength of the class determines the grading system. The mean and standard deviation of marks obtained are calculated.

Let X be the marks obtained by the student, in that case:

The top 5% of the students in the class get an S grade. For smaller classes, the professors are at a discretion regarding the grading system. They grade based on bands in most cases. For example, if a band of students scored from 81-92, and the other band scored from 95-99, the first band will get an A and the second band an S.

In case of no bands, it depends upon the concerned instructor who then decides where to draw a line between the two grades.

The answer to this question is rather subjective. The grading system depends on the professors. It also depends on the departments and courses. Rating is done on a scale of 1-10 and no one gets below 4. The rating grades are as follows:

If you got U, this means failing the exam based on marks scored and if you got W, it means failing due to lack of the required percentage of attendance.

Note that IIT Madras follows an 85% compulsory attendance policy. But, it might be a little lenient which totally depends on the department/ professor.

For calculating the grades, first, the average marks of all the students in the class are calculated. Let it be called Av. And then, Standard Deviation (SD) is calculated. S Grade – Av+ 3SD (demands a lot of hard work), A Grade- Av+ 2SD, B Grade- Av+ SD, C Grade- Av, D Grade- Av-SD.

Lastly, to calculate the CGPA, the weighted average is taken based on the credits after you receive grades for all courses.