How to calculate your major GPA separately
A transcript prints one cumulative GPA, but the number you are often asked for is the one inside your field. Graduate applications, departmental honors and field-specific hiring all look at the major GPA first. Tag each course as major or general as you enter it and this tool splits the calculation, reporting the major GPA, the general GPA and the overall figure side by side.
Each average divides the sum of credits times grade points for that category by the credits in that category. If a term has no general-education courses, the general line simply does not appear. The category field accepts short forms as well, so gen ed, core, elective and non-major all land in the general bucket while major, maj and in-major go to the other.
The scale maximum and the grade points come from your own catalog. A 4.0 maximum is standard in the United States, but 4.3 and 4.5 scales are used elsewhere and schools disagree on the value of an A+, so built-in numbers would be wrong for someone. The grade field takes either a letter or a grade point number, which handles minus grades.
Which courses count toward the major is a departmental decision. Some programs include prerequisite science or math courses in the major GPA and others do not, so classify from your advising sheet. Leave pass/fail courses out, since they carry no grade points.
Frequently asked questions
Graduate programs, departmental honors and many employers look at the GPA inside your field before the overall figure, and departmental honors requirements are usually written in terms of the major GPA.
Major and general both work, and gen ed, core, elective and non-major count as general. Which courses your department counts toward the major is a departmental rule, so follow your advising sheet.
A 4.0 maximum is standard in the United States but 4.3 and 4.5 scales exist elsewhere, and schools differ on what an A+ is worth, so the values come from your own catalog.