Cumulative GPA is your grade point average across all completed terms combined, calculated from every grade and credit on your record rather than from one semester.
The formula
Cumulative GPA = total quality points from all terms ÷ total credits from all terms
Quality points are grade points times credits. You don’t average the term GPAs themselves, because terms with more credits should count more.
Worked example
| Term | Term GPA | Credits | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | 3.60 | 15 | 54 |
| Spring | 3.00 | 12 | 36 |
| Total | 27 | 90 |
90 ÷ 27 = 3.33 cumulative GPA.
Averaging the two term GPAs would give 3.30. The 0.03 difference looks small, but it grows when credit loads differ a lot, for example a 6-credit summer term next to an 18-credit semester.
Raising it
Once a GPA rests on many credits, each new term changes it less. Say the student above wants a 3.5 cumulative after a 15-credit third term. They’d need 3.5 × 42 = 147 quality points, so 147 − 90 = 57 points from 15 credits: a 3.80 term GPA. The cumulative GPA calculator runs that projection for you, and the semester grade calculator helps with the class grades feeding into it.
Where it shows up
High school transcripts, college applications, scholarship renewals, academic probation rules and honors like the dean’s list all rely on cumulative GPA. Use the GPA calculator for a single term, and check our GPA guide to see what your cumulative number signals.
Related: grade point average · credit hour