BSW CGPA Information
What is the CGPA? What is Required?
The following information provides students with an overview of important academic requirements for the Bachelor of Social Work program as you prepare to head into your studies at Carleton. It is important that you are aware of the program requirements in your degree so that you can work to progress through your studies and be successful in completing your BSW.
These programs requirements are evaluated based on your CGPA. CGPA stands for Cumulative Grade Point Average, and students will receive CGPA calculations for both their Overall academic progress, and Major academic progress which is reflected on your academic audit. These are referred to as the:
- Overall CGPA (the calculation of the grades points from your major and elective courses counting towards your degree); and the
- Major CGPA (the calculation of the grades points from your major SOWK courses).
Students can also see information on this webpage about how to calculate your CGPA.
What Should I Know About My Program and My CGPA?
There are three areas for academic requirements based on your CGPA that are important for you to be aware of as you continue in the BSW program and these include:
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Throughout your studies at Carleton you are required to meet certain academic requirements to continue with your studies. To encourage students to incrementally progress towards meeting degree requirements for graduation, there is an assessment process to evaluate academic standing in a program. Your academic standing is assessed through the Academic Continuation Evaluation process (also referred to as ACE).
The first ACE assessment will be initiated once a student has completed 5.5 Carleton credits. With subsequent assessments occurring at the end of each academic term you complete courses, ACE will assess the Overall CGPA when in the credit range of 5.5 to 15.25 completed credits (this includes credits obtained through transfer/TR, SAT/UNS, CR/NR, and all letter grades, pass or fail).
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In the BSW program in order to be eligible to complete a practicum in the third and fourth year of the degree students must meet the following CGPA requirement by the date in which they apply for practicum (in addition to completing the prerequisite courses prior to starting practicum – prerequisites for SOWK 3600 Practicum I: SOWK 2001, 2005, 2100, 2202 and 2203, prerequisites for SOWK 4600 Practicum II: SOWK 2001, 2005, 2100, 2202, 2203, 3100 and 3600),
- Students must have a minimum Major CGPA of 6.0 by the term that they would apply for practicum.
This information can be found on the BSW Practicum Hub, under Placement Pre-Requisites & Requirements.
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In order to graduate from the Bachelor of Social Work students must meet the following CGPA requirements,
- students must have a minimum Overall CGPA of 5.0 (calculated by final grades received in ALL completed credits counting towards your degree).
- students must have a minimum Major CGPA of 6.50 (calculated by final grades received in core SOWK completed credits counting towards your degree).
It is important to note that as long as students are aiming for and receiving the CGPA requirements for graduation throughout their degree, then they would remain Eligible to Continue.
How Do I Calculate my CGPA?
Letter Grades
Carleton University uses the twelve-point system of letter grades to represent standing in undergraduate courses. The letter grades used and the grade point equivalents are:
| Letter Grade | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | A+ | 90-100% |
| 11 | A | 85-89% |
| 10 | A- | 80-84% |
| 9 | B+ | 77-79% |
| 8 | B | 73-76% |
| 7 | B- | 70-72% |
| 6 | C+ | 67-69% |
| 5 | C | 63-66% |
| 4 | C- | 60-62% |
| 3 | D+ | 57-59% |
| 2 | D | 53-56% |
| 1 | D- | 50-52% |
Calculate your GPA
- Step 1: List all of the courses you’ve attempted, the corresponding credit values (0.5 credit or 1.0 credit), and your final grades
- Step 2: Record the grade points earned for each course and add them up. Remember 0.5 credit courses are worth half of the point value (i.e. B+ are 9.00 points for a 1.0 credit, but 4.50 points for 0.5 credit course).
- Step 3: Add up the number of credits that you’ve taken
- Step 4: Divide the total number of grade points by the total number of credits
- Note: courses listed as SAT or PASS do not count in your GPA calculation. Courses that are listed as F are worth 0 and are calculated in your GPA.
Example:
| Course | Final Grade | Credit Value | Corresponding grade point |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOWK 1002 | B+ | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| PSYC 1002 | B- | 0.5 | 3.5 |
| BIOL 1902 | A- | 0.5 | 5.0 |
| SOCI 1002 | B | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| DBST 1001 | B+ | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| Total credits: 2.5 | Total grade pts: 21.5 | ||
| Overall CGPA | 21.5/2.5 = 8.6 | ||
| 8.6 is a high B average |