# How often do UT classes give an A? In spring 2026, A’s made up 58.1% of the letter grades in the lower-division classes we compared, versus 51.9% in upper-division classes. The split also varies by subject: Ensemble (ENS) had 99.1% A’s and business Statistics (STA) had 22.4%—a history of those classes, rather than a prediction of your grade. [Find a course](https://utaustin.guide/courses) **In this guide** 1. How much does the share of A’s vary by subject? 2. Do lower-division classes give more A’s? 3. Has the share of A’s changed over time? 4. Sources ## In this guide 1. How much does the share of A’s vary by subject? 2. Do lower-division classes give more A’s? 3. Has the share of A’s changed over time? 4. Sources ## How much does the share of A’s vary by subject? Spring 2026 has 81 subjects with enough grades for this comparison. The chart shows the five highest and five lowest shares in the selected term. Each subject combines its qualifying courses, so a large class counts more than a small one. Which term do you want to compare? Showing spring 2026. 81 subjects meet the minimum for spring 2026. Highest shares of A’s · spring 2026 Ensemble ENS**99.1%** 338 A’s out of 341 letter grades · 3 courses Liberal Arts Honors LAH**90.1%** 182 A’s out of 202 letter grades · 2 courses Physical Education PED**88.5%** 1,150 A’s out of 1,300 letter grades · 7 courses Liberal Arts L A**88.1%** 192 A’s out of 218 letter grades · 3 courses Religious Studies R S**87.5%** 246 A’s out of 281 letter grades · 3 courses Share of A grades · A-minus is separate Lowest shares of A’s · spring 2026 Business statistics STA**22.4%** 225 A’s out of 1,006 letter grades · 3 courses Aerospace Engineering ASE**24.0%** 192 A’s out of 799 letter grades · 9 courses Engineering Mechanics E M**32.2%** 286 A’s out of 887 letter grades · 3 courses Operations Management O M**33.7%** 229 A’s out of 679 letter grades · 3 courses Economics ECO**34.0%** 1,774 A’s out of 5,224 letter grades · 15 courses These are course subjects, identified by the code before the course number. STA and SDS are different subjects: STA covers the business statistics courses here; Statistics and Data Sciences (SDS) had 65.9% A’s in spring 2026. A subject’s classes, requirements, and students can differ greatly from another’s. ## Do lower-division classes give more A’s? Yes, in each of the three recent terms below. Lower-division classes are the introductory level; upper-division classes are the more advanced undergraduate level. The gap is a comparison of groups of classes, rather than the effect of moving up a level. Share of A’s by undergraduate course level Swipe or scroll sideways to compare every column. **Do lower-division classes give more A’s?** | Term | Lower division | Upper division | Difference | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Fall 2025 | 58.1% | 50.2% | 7.9 percentage points | | Spring 2026 | 58.1% | 51.9% | 6.2 percentage points | | Summer 2026 | 58.6% | 53.8% | 4.8 percentage points | A’s alone leave out the rest of the grade distribution. A course with many A-minuses may look different when you compare its average GPA. The [course pages](https://utaustin.guide/courses) show both measures and let you compare terms within one course. For student feedback on an instructor, look up the class and term in [UT’s public instructor evaluations](https://testingservices.utexas.edu/cis/viewing-results). ## Has the share of A’s changed over time? Across the fall terms shown, the lower-division share rose from 31.0% in 2011 to 58.1% in 2025. The upper-division share rose from 30.8% to 50.2%. The mix of classes and students changed too, so this chart does not explain why the percentages rose. Share of A’s in fall terms, 2011–2025 Lower divisionUpper division **See the percentages for each year** Share of A’s in each fall term Swipe or scroll sideways to compare every column. **Has the share of A’s changed over time?** | Fall term | Lower division | Upper division | | --- | --- | --- | | 2011 | 31.0% | 30.8% | | 2012 | 31.0% | 30.9% | | 2013 | 32.1% | 30.3% | | 2014 | 32.8% | 32.0% | | 2015 | 34.0% | 32.2% | | 2016 | 35.8% | 33.2% | | 2017 | 37.1% | 35.3% | | 2018 | 39.7% | 37.0% | | 2019 | 41.2% | 37.7% | | 2020 | 53.6% | 51.1% | | 2021 | 49.8% | 44.4% | | 2022 | 51.4% | 46.0% | | 2023 | 52.9% | 46.9% | | 2024 | 59.3% | 49.4% | | 2025 | 58.1% | 50.2% | ## Sources We recalculated [UT’s course grade distributions](https://reports.utexas.edu/spotlight-data/ut-course-grade-distributions) on October 28, 2026, from the course data updated October 27. We combined sections within each course and term, kept courses with at least 50 letter grades, and compared subjects with at least 200 letter grades. The subject code defines each group; this is not a ranking of academic departments or instructors. UT’s [STA catalog](https://catalog.utexas.edu/courses/sta/) and [SDS catalog](https://catalog.utexas.edu/courses/sds/) describe the two different statistics subjects. The share is the number of A’s divided by all A-through-F letter grades, including plus and minus grades. A-minus is not counted as an A. Credit/no-credit results, withdrawals, and other non-letter results are left out. We added grade counts before calculating percentages; we did not average class percentages. Course levels follow [UT’s course-number rules](https://catalog.utexas.edu/general-information/academic-policies-and-procedures/credit-value-and-course-numbers/). Summer has fewer qualifying subjects, and an aggregate percentage does not measure course difficulty. UT may withhold small classes or other results to protect student privacy. [Download the subject, course-level, and historical percentages (CSV) ↧](https://utaustin.guide/research/ut-grade-patterns.csv) By [Sulayman Bowles](https://sulayman-bowles.dev/about) · Calculations checked against the linked data. ## Related - [What’s the average GPA at UT Austin?](https://utaustin.guide/research/ut-austin-average-gpa) --- Source: https://utaustin.guide/research/texas/ut-grade-patterns · Field Guide: UT Austin