Skip to content
StudyCompass
← All guides

What university can you get into with 36 IB points?

Real 2027 offers for 59 UK courses, what 36 means in A-levels, CAO points and a German grade, and the Higher Level detail that decides.

Updated 20 October 2026 · 13 min read · Requirements checked 20 October 2026

The short answer

36 is enough for many good courses, but not the most selective ones.

The detail that decidesYour HL grades matter as much as your total.
Where IB scores landed in May 2025Average 30.6
36 is here ↓
0–2324–2930–3435–3940–45

IB statistical bulletin, May 2025

What does 36 IB points mean?

The IB Diploma is scored out of 45. Each of your six subjects is worth up to 7 points, which makes 42. Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay add up to 3 bonus points. You pass with 24 points or more, plus a few other conditions.

36 is a strong score. In May 2025 the worldwide average was 30.6, and about 3 in 10 students scored 35 or higher. The IB reports results in bands of five points, so it doesn't publish a figure for 36 on its own.

Your total is only half of the answer. Universities also name the grades you need at Higher Level (HL), and often a specific subject. Two students with 36 points can get different answers. The HL section explains how.

Three things about this guide:

  • It uses 2027 entry. That means you apply in 2026–27 and start in autumn 2027. Every offer was read from the university's own page on 20 October 2026. Offers change every year.
  • It covers Europe. The UK, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and France. It doesn't cover the US, Canada or Australia.
  • It uses standard offers. Lower "contextual" offers for some applicants are explained below, but they aren't in the tables.

36 IB points in A-levels

Many UK offers are written in A-levels. There is no single official conversion. Each university reads the IB its own way. Here are two, taken from the universities' own pages:

Your IB totalUCL reads it asKing's College London reads it as
40A*A*AA*A*A*
39A*AAA*A*A
38AAAA*AA
36AABAAA
35not listedAAB
34ABBnot listed
33not listedABB

So the same 36 is AAB at UCL and AAA at King's. Both also look at your Higher Level points. At UCL, 36 comes with at least 17 points from your three HL subjects and no HL grade below 5. At King's, the offer is 36 points overall or 18 points from your three HL subjects.

If a course page only lists A-levels, look for the university's IB table before you compare.

United Kingdom: where 36 is enough

UK universities make conditional offers. They are based on your predicted grades, and your final results have to reach them.

The list below shows the typical IB offer for popular courses at six universities. Each course links to the university's own page.

UK offers for 2027 entry

Where 36 sits

59 courses, grouped by the IB points their university asks for. The amber row is your score. Tap a course to open the official page.

31 of the 59 courses ask for 36 or fewer

Read from each course page on 20 October 2026

35 or fewerYou clear these8
36Exactly your score23
37One point short9
38 or moreTwo or more points short23 · Show

HL is your Higher Level grades. Some offers name each grade (6,6,6); others ask for a total from your three HL subjects (17 pts). See “Check your HL grades” below.

Here is what the list says, university by university:

  • Manchester: 36 with 6,6,6 at HL is the typical offer for economics, management, history, politics, psychology and civil engineering. Computer Science, Law and Mathematics ask for 37 with 7,6,6. Mechanical Engineering and Physics ask for 38 with 7,7,6.
  • King's College London: 36 for English, History, International Relations, Physics and Biomedical Science. Geography and Chemistry are 35. Business, Economics, Law and Psychology are 38, and Computer Science is 39.
  • UCL: 36 for Linguistics, Sociology, Geography and Architecture. History, English and Politics are 38. Law and Psychology are 39, and Computer Science is 40.
  • Bristol: 36 for History, Politics and Chemistry. Geography and English are 34. Economics, Law, Psychology and Computer Science are 38, and Mathematics is 40.
  • Durham: 36 for Philosophy, Psychology and Biological Sciences. Economics, Computer Science, History, English and Chemistry are 37. Mathematics and Physics are 38.
  • Exeter: 36 for Law and Psychology. History and English are 34.

The pattern: 36 works well for humanities, social sciences and some sciences. Computer science, economics, law, maths and physics often ask for 37 or more. Exeter is the exception here: its computer science, maths and law offers are at or below 36.

Universities that publish a range

Some universities show a range instead of one number. Edinburgh's range is the grades most applicants needed to get an offer in recent years. Exeter shows its typical offer as a range. In the table, "666" means 6, 6, 6 at HL.

UniversityCoursePublished rangeWhere 36 sits
EdinburghComputer Science34 (665) to 43 (777)Inside the range
EdinburghHistory34 (655) to 37 (666)Inside the range
EdinburghInternational Relations34 (655) to 37 (666)Inside the range
EdinburghArchitecture34 (655) to 37 (666)Inside the range
EdinburghEngineering34 (655) to 37 (666)Inside the range
EdinburghBiological Sciences32 (655) to 37 (666)Inside the range
EdinburghGeography (BSc)32 (655) to 34 (655)Above the range
EdinburghEconomics37 (666) to 40 (766)One point below
EdinburghBusiness Management37 (666) to 40 (766)One point below
EdinburghLaw37 (666) to 40 (766)One point below
EdinburghEnglish Literature37 (666) to 40 (766)One point below
ExeterEconomics36 (666) to 38 (766)Bottom of the range
ExeterComputer Science34 (665) to 36 (666)Top of the range
ExeterMathematics34 (665) to 36 (666)Top of the range
ExeterGeography34 (665) to 36 (666)Top of the range
ExeterMechanical Engineering32 (655) to 34 (665)Above the range
St AndrewsEconomicsStandard offer 38 (HL 6,6,6)Two points below

"Above the range" means 36 is higher than the top of it. "Inside the range" is not a promise: Edinburgh describes its range as what most applicants needed in recent years, and it can change. St Andrews also lists a lower "minimum entry" of 36 (HL 6,5,5) for applicants who meet its background criteria, and says actual offers may be higher or lower than the listed grades.

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and LSE

Their published offers all start above 36:

  • LSE: 37 to 39 points, from 6,6,6 up to 7,6,6 at HL.
  • Oxford: 38 to 40 points, bonus points included.
  • Imperial: 38 to 42, depending on the course.
  • Cambridge: 40 to 42, with 7,7,6 at HL.

A 36 is below the published offer at all four.

Check your HL grades

The total is not the only number in an offer. Universities write the Higher Level part in two ways:

  • Named grades, like Manchester's "36 points with 6,6,6 at HL" or Durham's "36 with 666".
  • A total for your three HL subjects, like UCL's "36 points with 17 in your HL subjects, and no HL grade below 5", King's "36 or an aggregate of 18", or Bristol's "36 with 18 at HL".

That changes the answer. Say your HL grades are 6, 6, 5. That is 17 points. It meets UCL's Sociology offer (36 with 17 at HL). It does not meet Manchester's Management offer (36 with 6,6,6). The total is 36 in both cases.

Many offers also name a subject at HL, such as Maths for economics or Chemistry for biomedical courses. Check these before you check the points.

Contextual offers

Several universities make lower "contextual" offers to some applicants. Most of the UK universities in this guide do. Bristol, UCL, Edinburgh and St Andrews are examples. They depend on your school and background. Edinburgh's, for example, are for permanent UK residents. Each university has an eligibility page. This guide shows standard offers only.

Ireland: 36 IB points is 497 CAO points

Irish universities rank applicants by CAO points. The official conversion for 2026 entry gives:

  • 36 IB points = 497 CAO points.
  • You get +25 points if you score 4 or higher in HL Maths. That makes 522.
  • The conversion uses your total from one exam session.

For most degrees you also need the diploma with 24 points, including 3 HL subjects at grade 5 and 3 SL subjects at grade 4.

Here are Trinity College Dublin's final 2025 cut-offs, and whether 36 reached them:

Course2025 cut-offAt 36 (497 points)With HL Maths bonus (522)
Religion349YesYes
Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology419YesYes
Social Studies (Social Work)455YesYes
Geography and Geoscience472YesYes
Business Studies and Polish476YesYes
Film508NoYes
Computer Science and Language512NoYes
History521NoYes
Business Studies and German521NoYes
English Studies (R)522NoBorderline
Computer Science (R)533NoNo
Biological and Biomedical Sciences553NoNo
Mathematics (R)571NoNo
Law (R)577NoNo
Psychology577NoNo
Global Business602NoNo

Things to know about these numbers:

  • R means not everyone at that score got a place. Trinity marks it that way. If your points equal an R cut-off, you may still miss out.
  • Cut-offs move every year. In the first round of 2026, Trinity said cut-offs for single honours courses rose by 0.5 points on average. Courses above 500 in 2025 fell by 2.3 on average, and lower ones rose by 7.8.
  • Medicine (739 in 2025) isn't in the table, because it also counts the HPAT-Ireland test.
  • Trinity is one university. UCD, UCC, University of Galway and University of Limerick use the same conversion but set their own cut-offs on cao.ie.

Germany: your 36 as a German grade

German universities turn your IB total into a German grade. The official formula is:

German grade = 1 + 3 × (42 − your IB total) ÷ 18

For 36 points that is 2.0. German grades run the other way round: 1.0 is the best, and lower is better. Every IB point is worth about 0.17 of a grade, so 37 points is 1.8 and 35 points is 2.2.

Courses without limited places let you in if your subjects follow the rules. Courses with limited places (numerus clausus) compare your grade with everyone else's. Here are the cut-off grades in the university's own selection at Münster for winter 2025/26, as one example:

Course at MünsterCut-off gradeIs a 2.0 enough?
Law (state exam)1.6No
Politics and Economics2.0On the line
Politics and Law2.0On the line
Business Administration (BWL)2.2Yes
Geography2.5Yes
Business Informatics2.6Yes
Computer Science2.7Yes
Economics (VWL)2.9Yes

Münster says its figures come without guarantee. Some universities publish separate cut-offs for applicants with foreign qualifications, so check which list applies to you.

Your subjects have to follow the German rules as well. They are in our guide to IB points for European universities.

Netherlands and Belgium

Most Dutch and Belgian programmes don't set a points cut-off for IB students. They check that you have the diploma and the right subjects. A 36 clears the points requirement at all of these:

  • TU Delft: no points minimum. It accepts only Maths AA HL, and most engineering programmes also need Physics HL. Programmes with limited places run their own selection.
  • Maastricht: no points minimum. You need at least 3 HL subjects.
  • KU Leuven (Belgium): no points minimum. Some programmes test your maths separately.
  • Groningen: International Relations and International Organization lists a minimum of 24 points for the 2027 intake.

One exception to watch: UvA's PPLE asks for 34 points from your six subjects, without bonus points. If your 36 includes 3 bonus points, your six subjects add up to 33, which is one short. A 36 with 0, 1 or 2 bonus points passes.

Switzerland, Italy and France

  • ETH Zurich (Switzerland): to get in without an entrance exam you need 38 out of 42 points, with no bonus points counted, plus specific HL and SL subjects. A 36 is below that, so you would sit ETH's reduced entrance examination. ETH publishes separate information for applicants starting in autumn 2028, so check it if that is your start date.
  • Bocconi (Italy): the minimum is 24 points, with 12 at HL. A 36 clears it. Selection then depends on Bocconi's admissions test (55%) and your school grades (45%), so your final IB total barely changes the result.
  • Sciences Po (France): no published IB minimum and no subject requirements. You send predicted grades, written work and an interview.

What to do with your 36

  1. Write your HL grades next to your total. Compare each offer with both numbers.
  2. Sort your courses into three groups. Offers at or below 36 are your best chance. Offers at 37 are a stretch. Offers at 38 or more are a reach. The list above does this for UK courses.
  3. Mix them. A UK application on UCAS has five choices in total.
  4. Mind the dates. The deadline for most UK courses is 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time. For Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, veterinary and dentistry courses it was 15 October 2026, so it has passed.
  5. Check subjects before points. Maths AA HL, a science or a language at HL can matter more than one extra point. Our European universities guide lists the rules.
  6. Check the course page again before you apply. Offers change every year.

Questions students ask

Is 36 IB points good? Yes. The worldwide average in May 2025 was 30.6, and about 30% of students scored 35 or higher. In the UK courses we checked, just over half ask for 36 or fewer.

Can I get into Oxford or Cambridge with 36 IB points? Their published IB offers start at 38 for Oxford and 40 for Cambridge, so 36 is below them. Both also use admissions tests or interviews for most courses.

Is 36 IB points enough for medicine? Grades are only the first step. Manchester's MBChB lists 36 points with 6,6,6 at HL for 2027 entry, with Chemistry or Biology and another science among your HL subjects. Medical schools also select on other stages, so a 36 doesn't mean a place. Compare each school's offer one by one.

Do TOK and EE bonus points count? At King's, yes: its page says the total includes them. The CAO conversion also runs up to 45, so it counts them. ETH Zurich and UvA's PPLE don't. They use your six subjects out of 42, so a 36 with 3 bonus points is a 33 for them.

My 36 is predicted, not final. Does that count? You apply with predicted grades, and UK universities make conditional offers based on them. The offer only holds if your final results reach it.

Is 36 IB points a 4.0 GPA? There is no official IB-to-GPA conversion. US colleges also read your grades and subjects differently, and this guide doesn't cover them.

Sources

All checked on 20 October 2026 unless noted. Offers change every year, so always confirm on the course page before you apply.

Requirements change every year. Before you apply, confirm them on the course page.

More guides

See where you stand

Enter your subjects and grades to see your IB total and build your profile. University matching is coming next.

Start the survey