Academic policies and procedures
For students of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
For all students of Utrecht University
All students are subject to a number of rights, duties, guidelines and regulations.
Your UU-grades abroad
To help foreign universities to interpret the value of our grades, UU publishes Grading Tables:
- a table for Bachelor’s courses and
- a table for Master’s courses.
The Grading Tables provide statistical distributions of grades awarded at Utrecht University. They show which percentage of all passing grades that were awarded in the three most recent academic years were (rounded-off) a 6.0, a 6.5, a 7.5, etc. The tables will be published on the International Diploma Supplement of all students who graduate after September 1st 2017.
In addition to the Grading Tables, UU also publishes a weighted average grade on the ten point scale on your International Diploma Supplement.
What do Grading Tables not show?
Grading Tables do not show whether you belong to the 10% (or any other percentage) of your class. The tables do not contain information about the average either, nor are they just about your fellow students.
The most recent Grading Tables (September 2020 – August 2023)
| Grade | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 6.0 | 17.69% |
| 6.5 | 16.83% |
| 7.0 | 20.11% |
| 7.5 | 19.47% |
| 8.0 | 14.31% |
| 8.5 | 7.50% |
| 9.0 | 3.02% |
| 9.5 | 0.85% |
| 10.0 | 0.22% |
| Grade | Frequency |
|---|---|
| 6.0 | 8.45% |
| 6.5 | 9.68% |
| 7.0 | 16.90% |
| 7.5 | 22.19% |
| 8.0 | 22.64% |
| 8.5 | 12.76% |
| 9.0 | 5.63% |
| 9.5 | 1.29% |
| 10.0 | 0.46% |
Grade Point Average substituted by Grading Tables
Until 1 September 2017, Utrecht University published a Grade Point Average (GPA) to provide help institutions abroad to interpret UU-grades. Many Anglo-Saxon universities use this four point scale to express their weighted average grade. The GPA always needs clarification. The standards according to which the GPA is calculated differ between (international) universities.
Utrecht University considers any form of academic dishonesty to be a very serious offense. Utrecht University expects each student to be familiar with and to observe the norms and values that ensure academic integrity.The most serious forms of deception that can impair this integrity are fraud and plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of fraud and is defined as the wrongful appropriation of another author’s work without proper citation. See the further elaboration on what may be considered fraud or plagiarism.
If the university discovers a case of fraud or plagiarism, then the study programme’s Board of Examiners may implement sanctions on the offender. The most serious sanction that the Board of Examiners may implement is the submission of a request for expulsion to the Executive Board.
If you feel you have not been treated properly by someone employed by Utrecht University, or if you disagree with a decision that affects you personally, you can respond in a number of ways. You can submit a complaint, an objection or an appeal.
For the full details about the various procedures and which procedure is applicable for your situation, visit Complaints, objections and appeals.
Utrecht University processes a substantial volume of personal data. In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) the university is responsible for ensuring that personal data is processed properly. Also see the Privacy Statement on the Utrecht University website.
Sets out all the rights and duties of students and the University. Download the Students' charter.