Grade Cutoff Points (Ranking Chart) – After Spring 2025
Class of 2025
• Top 10% 3.787
• Top 33.3% 3.538
• Top 50% 3.381
Class of 2026
• Top 10% 3.757
• Top 33.3% 3.542
• Top 50% 3.356
Class of 2027
• Top 10% 3.767
• Top 33.3% 3.460
• Top 50% 3.337
Class of 2028
• Top 10% TBD
• Top 33.3% TBD
• Top 50% TBD
Grading Policy FAQ
Grading Policy, effective August 1, 2025
A. Grading Scale
Starting August 2025, all graded courses will use a numeric scale with assigned grades ranging from 4.20 (highest) to 2.00 (lowest), as follows:
| 4.00 | 4.10 | 4.20 | |||||||
| 3.00 | 3.10 | 3.20 | 3.30 | 3.40 | 3.50 | 3.60 | 3.70 | 3.80 | 3.90 |
| 2.00 | 2.10 | 2.20 | 2.30 | 2.40 | 2.50 | 2.60 | 2.70 | 2.80 | 2.90 |
Performance below a 2.00 will receive a grade of “No Credit,” which will be worth zero points and will appear on the transcript as “NC.” (From 2007 through summer 2025, UNC Law instead used letter grades that translated to points separated by 0.30 or 0.40—e.g., B+ 3.30; A- 3.70; A 4.0.)
B. Course Mean Requirement
Starting August 2025, the required mean range for a course’s grades—that is, the average point score awarded to students in the course—is 3.400 to 3.500 in all graded courses (including small-enrollment and RWE courses).
For a more detailed explanation, please refer to our website.
Chancellors Scholarship
The law school’s highest merit-based award is the Chancellors Scholarship, a renewable scholarship covering full tuition and fees, that is awarded to a small number of students in each first-year class.
Certificate of Merit
The Certificate of Merit is awarded at a professor’s discretion to the student or students who achieve the highest grade in the class.
Gressman-Pollitt Awards
The Eugene Gressman & Daniel H. Pollitt Oral Advocacy Awards, given by faculty of the Writing and Learning Resources Center, recognize outstanding oral advocacy in the first-year Research, Reasoning, Writing, and Advocacy (RRWA) Program.
Dean’s List
The top 50% of the class in any semester is eligible for the Dean’s List provided he or she has no grades of Incomplete or Absent from Final Exam (AB). Dean’s List for first-year students are also awarded but is not announced for the fall semester until the end of the first year along with the spring semester awards.
Honors
The law school awards honors designations to students who graduate with high grade point averages.
- Highest Honors = any student achieving a 4.0 or higher
- High Honors = the top 10%
- Honors = the top one-third of the class
Order of the Coif
The top 10% of the graduating class is eligible for election by the faculty into the Order of the Coif. Only students who have completed at least 75 percent of their law studies in graded courses are eligible for consideration.
Journals
The following are the journals at the UNC School of Law:
- North Carolina Law Review
- North Carolina Banking Institute Journal
- North Carolina Civil Rights Law Review
- North Carolina Journal of International Law
- North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology
- First Amendment Law Review
Competing Teams
Holderness Moot Court
The Holderness Moot Court Program gives law students the opportunity to develop practical skills in legal research and writing, client counseling, appellate oral advocacy, and negotiation.
Broun National Trial Team
The Broun National Trial Team gives students the opportunity to gain skills and experience in trial and litigation techniques.