C- and D Grades: Weinberg College - Northwestern University

C- and D Grades

The grades of C- and D represent cut-off points for a variety of requirements:

You need to earn at least a C- in all major courses and all minor courses, including all related courses for the major. If your major or minor is one that has prerequisites, you must earn at least a C- in these courses too.
You need to earn at least a C- in the last quarter of a language sequence you are using to satisfy the requirement for proficiency in a language other than English.
Students who matriculated Spring 2023 or earlier need to earn at least a D in all courses used to meet distribution requirements, both first-year seminars, and (if needed) any additional course taken to demonstrate writing proficiency.
Students who matriculated after Spring 2023 need to earn at least a D in all courses used to meet the College seminar, written and oral expression, and perspectives on power, justice and equity requirements. For details about grade requirements for foundational disciplines see Rules and Policies for Foundational Disciplines.
There are limits on the number of courses offered to meet degree requirements may be completed with the grade of D or P; for details see The P/N Option.

The grades of C- and D also relate to another College rule: You need a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 for all courses counted toward your BA degree. What courses count? Courses used to fulfill specific requirement areas plus enough additional courses to bring the total to 45 units. (This GPA will generally differ from the overall Northwestern GPA, both because many students have more than 45 units and because some have courses in which the grade received was too low to count. For example, although a course in which you earned an F is included in your overall GPA, it cannot count toward your BA degree.) Back to top

Weinberg College
of Arts & Sciences

C- and D Grades

Northwestern's Grading System