What you need to know

As an MIT student, you have a number of grading options available to you.

  • You may take an Advanced Standing Exam to receive credit or place into a more advanced subject level.
  • Subjects taken as a listener do not receive credit, count toward any requirement, or appear on your transcript.
  • You will not receive credit for repeating a subject, except for those designated as “repeatable for credit.”
  • If you receive an incomplete (I), your instructor may allow you to complete unfinished work in the subject to receive a final grade.
  • Final grades may be changed to correct errors while you are a student or within three months following your departure from MIT. 

Grading by year

  • First-year students — all subjects taken in your first semester are graded on a Pass or No Record (P/NR) scale. In your second semester, subjects are graded ABC/NR. Learn more about first-year grading.
  • Undergraduate students — students entering MIT as first-year students in Fall 2020 and beyond — you may use the Flexible P/NR Option on up to 48 units after your first semester.
  • Sophomores — students who entered Fall 2019 or earlier may designate a subject as Exploratory. After completing the class, you can decide whether to keep the grade awarded or change it to listener status.
  • Juniors and seniors — students who entered Fall 2019 or earlier may choose up to two subjects to designate as P/D/F.
  • Graduate students — choose up to one subject per semester to designate as P/D/F.

Grading experiments

  • First-year undergraduates who entered MIT in Fall 2018 or Fall 2019 may designate up to three science core General Institute Requirements (GIRs) to be graded on a Pass/No Record (P/NR) basis after their first term. Learn more about the Experimental Grading Policy.