How cumulative GPA works
Your cumulative GPA is the credit-weighted average of every credit you've taken. It blends your prior record with the new term in proportion to credits: cumulative = (prior GPA × prior credits + term GPA × term credits) ÷ total credits. The more prior credits you have, the harder it is for one term to move the number.
How to use this calculator
Enter your prior cumulative GPA and the credits it covers, then this term's GPA and credits. Don't have this term's GPA yet? Calculate it first with the GPA calculator, then bring it here.
Use the GPA your registrar reports rather than one you worked out by hand, because schools differ on what they include. Repeated courses, pass/fail credits, transfer credits and withdrawals are often left out of the GPA even though they still show on the transcript, so the credit figure you enter should cover graded credits only. If your transcript lists 'GPA hours' separately from 'earned hours', the GPA hours are the number you want. If you still need this term's mark, work it out in the semester grade calculator.
Worked example
Prior GPA 3.40 over 60 credits, this term 3.80 over 15 credits: (3.40×60 + 3.80×15) ÷ 75 = 261 ÷ 75 = 3.48. A strong term nudges the cumulative up, but only by the share of new credits. The credit-weighting behind it is the same idea as the weighted average calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate my cumulative GPA?
- Multiply prior GPA by prior credits and term GPA by term credits, add them, then divide by total credits.
- Why didn't my GPA move much?
- Cumulative GPA is credit-weighted. Once you have many credits, a single term is a small share of the total, so it changes the average slowly.
- What credits should I count as 'prior'?
- All credits already on your transcript before this term, with the GPA your school reports for them.
- Does this work across multiple terms?
- Yes — treat your most recent cumulative GPA as 'prior', then add each new term's GPA and credits.
- Do transfer or pass/fail credits count?
- Usually not in the GPA itself. Most schools award the credit hours but keep the grade out of the GPA calculation, so leave those hours out of the credits you enter here. Your transcript's 'GPA hours' figure is the reliable number.