Insights
What 22 years of NHH grades say.
Patterns across every NHH course, 2004–2025, from official DBH data. GPA here is A = 5 … E = 1; F is not counted, as at NHH.
01
The big picture
How NHH grades are spread, and whether they have drifted over the years.
How grades are distributed
Every letter-graded exam at NHH, all semesters combined. Pass/fail courses are not included.
- A
- 23.1%
- 42,462
- B
- 39.8%
- 73,057
- C
- 24.5%
- 44,912
- D
- 7.8%
- 14,333
- E
- 2.8%
- 5,084
- F
- 2%
- 3,623
Is NHH getting easier?
Per semester, for all of NHH or one master specialisation. Semesters with fewer than 50 grades are left out.
The COVID years
Average GPA and share of A's per calendar year, 2018–2023. 2020 and 2021 are the pandemic years.
2018
3.66
20.9% A
2019
3.67
20.4% A
2020 · COVID
3.77
22.0% A
2021 · COVID
3.77
24.0% A
2022
3.72
21.9% A
2023
3.72
23.4% A
02
Choosing courses
Where the A's are, where they aren't, and which courses fail the most students.
Best odds of an A
Ranked by share of A's, then A or B. Courses with at least 30 students.
Numerical methods in Macroeconomics and Finance using Python (E)
FIE463 · 7.5 ECTS
79%
A
100%
A or B
Data-Driven Public Policy (E)
ECN435 · 7.5 ECTS
77%
A
94%
A or B
Financial Engineering
FIE446 · 7.5 ECTS
76%
A
100%
A or B
Entrepreneurial Finance
FIE457 · 7.5 ECTS
65%
A
96%
A or B
Research Designs and Methodological Choices
MET501A · 5 ECTS
59%
A
97%
A or B
Highest and lowest average GPA
All semesters combined, courses with at least 30 A–E grades. F is not part of GPA; see failure rates below.
Highest
Show all 15
Lowest
Show all 15
Highest failure rates
Share of F grades, all semesters combined, courses with at least 30 students.
Financial Accounting – the Language of Business
BUD2 · 5 ECTS · 38 students
15.8%
failed
Mathematics
TECH1 · 5 ECTS · 96 students
13.5%
failed
Mathematics for Decisions
TECH4 · 10 ECTS · 30 students
13.3%
failed
Internal Control and Audit
ACC402E · 7.5 ECTS · 33 students
12.1%
failed
Probability and data science (not offered)
MAT12 · 7.5 ECTS · 75 students
12.0%
failed
Every course on one map
Average GPA against share of A's. Top right is easiest, bottom left hardest. Tap a dot to open the course.
Each dot is one course. Dashed lines mark the average.
03
Programmes
Do some specialisations, languages or course sizes grade more generously?
Which major grades highest?
Master specialisations, last 5 years, letter-graded courses with at least 20 students.
| Major | A | A or B |
|---|---|---|
| 1ENE | 30.3% | 81.3% |
| 2MBM | 32.4% | 78.9% |
| 3NBD | 29.4% | 75.1% |
| 4STR | 16.3% | 68.2% |
| 5BAN | 27.2% | 67.6% |
| 6ECN | 26.3% | 67.3% |
| 7ECO | 29.2% | 66.7% |
| 8FIE | 29.3% | 66.3% |
| 9ACC | 23.2% | 59.3% |
| 10BUS | 17.0% | 58.9% |
Each major, year by year
Share of A's per specialisation per year, master courses only. Scroll sideways for more years.
Language, level and semester
Weighted averages over letter-graded courses with at least 20 students. Groups with fewer than 5 courses are left out.
Teaching language
English
65.8%
got A or B
24.9% got an A
182 courses
Norwegian
56.7%
got A or B
18.5% got an A
32 courses
Study level
master
64.2%
got A or B
23.8% got an A
127 courses · 70,978 students
bachelor
58.7%
got A or B
19.7% got an A
85 courses · 100,892 students
Semester
Fall
61.3%
got A or B
22.1% got an A
188 courses · 100,790 students
Spring
65.0%
got A or B
24.5% got an A
195 courses · 82,681 students
Do heavier courses grade harder?
Share of A or B grouped by the course's ECTS credits. Credit sizes with fewer than 3 courses are left out.
04
Change over time
Courses that got easier or harder, swing a lot between semesters, or had one very bad term.
Most improved and declined
Average GPA in the 3 newest years of data compared with the 3 years before, at least 20 graded students in each period. When the earlier period includes 2020–21, some drops are grades returning to normal after the pandemic.
Got easier
Most and least predictable
How much the average GPA swings from semester to semester (± standard deviation). At least 3 semesters of data.
Financial Econometrics (E)
FIE401 · 20 semesters
CEMS Block Seminar
CEMSBS · 18 semesters
Behavioural Finance and Wealth Management (E)
FIE434 · 16 semesters
Taxes and Business Strategy (E)
FIE441 · 12 semesters
Business Taxation
FOR11 · 3 semesters
Worst single semesters
Lowest average GPA in one semester, at least 20 A–E grades that term.
Show all 15
Biggest courses
Most students graded in a single semester.
Show all 15
05
Just for fun
Bergen is famously rainy. Does a sunny exam period hurt grades?
Does the sun ruin your grades?
NHH is in Bergen — the rainiest city in Europe. Each dot is one exam period: sunny days during the exam months (x) vs. that semester's average GPA (y).
Sun ↔ GPA correlation
+0.27
Plot twist — there's a weak positive link: sunnier exam periods actually line up with slightly better grades.
Comparing each season against itself removes the season as a confounder — sunnier springs vs typical springs, sunnier falls vs typical falls:
Spring vs Spring
+0.24
21 semesters · avg 51.3 sunny days · GPA 3.76
Fall vs Fall
+0.15
22 semesters · avg 12.5 sunny days · GPA 3.71
Just for fun — correlation isn't causation, the sample is small, and many courses are graded on a fixed curve, which would mask any real weather effect. Weather data by Open-Meteo.