Study

Duke Law School uses a slightly modified form of the traditional 4.0 grading scale. The modification permits faculty to recognize especially distinguished performance with grades above a 4.0, but no more than five percent (5%) of the grades in any class may be higher than a 4.0.

Duke Law will have an enforced maximum median grade of 3.5 in all courses, both required and elective, regardless of enrollment. Grades in all first-year courses must follow a mandatory distribution. Similarly, for all upper-level courses in which at least 50 percent of the final grade is based on student performance on a uniform metric or series of metrics, grades must follow the mandatory distribution. A grade higher than 4.0 is comparable to an “A+” under letter grading systems. A grade of 2.0 or lower will be failing.

The Law School does not release class rank.