Princeton University is committed to fairness and transparency in assessment of students' work and grading practices.

Our approach emphasizes well-defined evaluative criteria and meaningful feedback as the most important pedagogical components of the grading system.

Grading Policy

The University's grading policy charges each department and program with articulating well-defined and meaningful grading standards for work within its discipline. Faculty, grading in accordance with those standards, shall use grades and substantive feedback to give students clear and detailed information about the quality of their work. The Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing shall periodically review departmental standards to ensure that they are consistent with the University's assessment philosophy and its commitment to the integrity of the grading system. 

The grading policy, approved by the faculty at their October 6, 2014 meeting, was informed by the work of the Ad Hoc Committee to Review Policies Regarding Assessment and Grading, which delivered its report in August 2014. 

From fall term 2004-05 through spring term 2013-14, the University faculty had a common grading expectation for every department and program: A-range grades (A+, A, A-) were to account for less than 35 percent of the grades given in undergraduate courses and less than 55 percent of the grades given in junior and senior independent work. Each department and program determined how best to meet these expectations. In the fall term 2014-15, the faculty removed this numeric target for the percent of A-range grades.

In September 2023 the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing reported on the grading results for AY 2022-23. The grade point average for the University as a whole, in 100-400 level courses across all departments and programs, increased 0.03 points over the past year, from 3.53 in AY 21-22 to 3.56 in AY 22-23. Additional grading data for AY 2022-23 is available on our secure server [login required].

Princeton University Grading Practices

Additional information on grading practices, including auditors, incompletes, and A+ or F grades, is found on the website of the Office of the Registrar.  The Academic Early Alert system is also managed at that site.

Grade Changes

Requests for grade changes may be made online only by the instructor in charge of the course. Requests for change of grade in undergraduate courses will be reviewed by the senior associate dean of the college, acting for the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing. Grade changes are approved only to correct a miscalculation or a data entry error and should not be used as a mechanism to address student grade appeals. The process by which students may appeal a grade is found in the Undergraduate Announcement.

Rescinding P/D/F

In the fall of 2015 the USG Academics Committee met with the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing to discuss the possibility of allowing students to rescind a P/D/F decision. The result of those discussions was the following amendment to the current P/D/F policy:

At the point of declaring a concentration, students may appeal to rescind a P grade received for a single course taken in a previous semester in order to meet a prerequisite or departmental requirement for entry. The transcript will then reflect the letter grade earned in that course. Students wishing to make such an appeal should consult with their residential college assistant dean. Students entering a certificate program may also appeal to rescind a grade of P earned in a single prerequisite or required course for that certificate provided that the program requires a letter grade for entry.

What does this mean in practice? The committee recognizes that a student’s academic plans may change over time, and it does not want a student to be prevented from pursuing a course of study simply because a course was taken P/D/F early in a student’s career. For example, a first-year student initially thinking about majoring in molecular biology might take MAT 103 and then decide to P/D/F the course after changing their mind about majoring in science; however, on discovering a passion for Neuroscience in sophomore year, they realize that they will need that math class as a prerequisite, and the department will only accept a letter grade. That student may petition their assistant dean to rescind the P/D/F for MAT 103 and thus meet the prerequisites for Neuroscience. The exception is not intended to allow students to rescind a P/D/F because they have earned a better than expected grade in a course, even if that course is in their major department.

A similar logic applies to students entering minors and certificate programs. The P/D/F may be rescinded only if a graded version of a course taken earlier is required for entry into the minor and certificate program.

Grading and Feedback Guidelines