IRA: Índice Rendimento Acadêmico

IRA (academic performance index): formula and example

The IRA, sometimes written as CR (coeficiente de rendimento) or CRA, is Brazil's answer to the US GPA: IRA = Σ(gradeᵢ · creditᵢ) / Σ creditᵢ, where the credits usually track the credit-hour load of each course. Most public universities (USP, UFRJ, UFMG) grade on a 0–10 scale, though some private schools borrow the 0–4 US style. Example: take Calculus at 6 credits × 8.0, Programming at 4 × 9.0 and Physics at 4 × 7.0 → (48 + 36 + 28) / 14 = 8.0. The CRA normally counts approved subjects only. The CRG (general) counts every enrollment, failures and re-takes included. Clearing 7.5 is the usual cutoff for academic honors.

Applications

ProUni and FIES check your IRA to keep a scholarship active. Study-abroad and exchange programs (Ciências sem Fronteiras-style, university-to-university) tend to ask for an IRA above 7.0 or 8.0. CAPES and CNPq research grants (PIBIC, IC, mestrado) rank applicants by IRA. Graduate-school admissions lean on it as a first screen, next to the entrance exam. And internal transfers between universities score candidates the same way.

FAQ

What is the difference between IRA, CR, CRA and CRG? Across institutions they mostly mean the same thing. The real split is CRA (cumulative, approved only) versus CRG (general, failures included), with IRA serving as the catch-all term.

Do failed subjects count? In the CRG and in most IRA formulas, yes. A grade below the passing line drags the average down and sticks in your record even after you re-take the course.

How do I convert a 0–10 IRA to a 0–4 GPA? As a back-of-the-envelope guess, GPA ≈ IRA × 0.4. For anything official, though, exchange offices publish their own conversion table and you're expected to use it.