Numerical Grade  

4.0    

3.7     

3.5     

3.3    

 
2.7    

Excellent and exceptional work for a graduate student; work at this level is creative, thorough, well-reasoned, insightful, well-written, and shows clear recognition and an incisive understanding of the salient issues. This work is of good pre-professional quality.

Strong work for a graduate student; although not quite of good pre-professional quality, work at this level shows signs of creativity, is thorough and well-reasoned, and demonstrates clear recognition and good understanding of the salient issues.

Competent and sound work for a graduate student; well-reasoned and thorough, but not notably creative or insightful (or creativity is inadequately developed), this work shows adequate understanding of the issues, through this understanding may be incomplete. This is the graduate student grade that indicates neither exceptional strengths nor exceptional weakness, hence it is the grade for "standard" graduate performance.

Adequate work for a graduate student; moderately thorough and well-reasoned, but giving indication that understanding of important issues is less than complete, and perhaps inadequate in other respects; but the work is above minimal expectations for the course.

Borderline work for a graduate student; barely meeting minimal expectations for the course, the understanding of salient issues is incomplete; a level of performance which, if maintained, would be judged below adequate for graduate work.