Weighted Average Mark (WAM)

Much like the GPA used by many other universities, the Weighted Average Mark (WAM) provides an indication of your overall academic performance here at the University.

What is my Weighted Average Mark (WAM)?

The WAM provides an overall indication of your academic performance in your course. The WAM reflects the numeric mark (eg 45%, 87%) and the number of credit points (eg 25 points) for each subject you complete. It is calculated progressively as your subject results are certified and added in my.unimelb. As it is a weighted average mark, this means that a subject worth 25 points will be weighted double that of a 12.5 point subject in calculating your WAM.

What can the WAM be used for?

Apart from providing you with an indication of how you are performing in your course, the WAM is sometimes used to assess applications for further study, employment and scholarships.

You will need to contact a particular organisation for specific information about whether they use your WAM to assess applications:

• If another university or organisation requires information about how the University of Melbourne calculates the WAM, please refer them to this page.
• If they use a different calculation for selection purposes, they can use the information recorded on your University of Melbourne academic transcript. Academic transcripts include the titles of your enrolled subjects, the credit points of each subject, the results you achieved (eg 83%, H1; 48% N) and a detailed explanation of the grading scheme (eg H1, H2A, H2B).

How is my WAM calculated?

WAM = (Sum of (Mark x Credit Points for Subjects)) / (Sum of Total Credit Points for Subjects)

For example, a student has completed three subjects. Two subjects are worth 12.5 credit points each, and the third subject is worth 37.5 credit points. The student attained marks of 76%, 67%, and 81% respectively. The calculation of the WAM would be as follows:

(76 x 12.5) + (67 x 12.5) + (81 x 37.5) = 4825 12.5 + 12.5 + 37.5 = 62.5 WAM = 4825 / 62.5 = 77.200%

Therefore, the WAM for this student is 77.200%.

Are there any subjects not included in the WAM?

Subjects are not included in the WAM calculation when:

• no mark has been recorded
• they are marked on a pass/fail basis only
• they have a 'withdrawn' status
• you have been awarded Advanced Standing (credit) for a subject studied at another institution - the subject grade you received at the other institution will not be added to your University of Melbourne WAM.