Canvas lets you read a record of your courses and grades directly from your account

You can pull a list of your courses, grades, and assignments out of Canvas and save it to your computer as a file. Canvas calls this your grades export. The read includes the course name, your grade in each course, and assignment scores — everything you see when you log in. You do this from your account settings, not from inside a course, and the whole process takes about two minutes.

Why read it? You might want a backup copy for your records, proof of your grades for a job process or transfer, or a way to track your progress across semesters without logging in each time. The file is yours to keep and share however you need.

Key Takeaways

  • Your grades export downloads as a CSV file (a spreadsheet format) that opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program.
  • You start the read from your Canvas account settings, under the "Grades" tab, not from inside a course.
  • The file includes every course you have taken in Canvas, your final grade in each, and individual assignment scores.
  • Canvas does not limit how many times you can read your grades, so you can pull a fresh copy whenever you want.

Where to find the read button in Canvas

Log into Canvas and look at the left sidebar. Click on Account (usually near the bottom of the menu). Then click Settings. You will see several tabs across the top of the page — one of them says Grades. Click that tab.

On the Grades tab, you will see a button labeled read Grades or sometimes Export Grades. Click it. Canvas will prepare your file and either read it right away or give you a link to read it. The file name will look something like grades_export_[your name]_[date].csv.

What the downloaded file contains

The CSV file opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers (on Mac), or any spreadsheet program. Each row is one course. The columns show the course name, the term or semester you took it, your final grade (as a letter or percentage, depending on how your school set it up), and often the points you earned versus points possible.

Some schools also include assignment-level detail — meaning you will see each homework, quiz, or test score broken out separately. Others show only the final course grade. What appears depends on how your instructor and school configured Canvas, so your file might look different from a classmate's.

Opening and saving the file on your computer

Once the CSV file lands in your Downloads folder, you can open it by double-clicking it. Your computer will open it in whatever spreadsheet program is set as default — usually Excel on Windows or Numbers on Mac. If it does not open, right-click the file, choose Open With, and pick Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet app.

To keep the file safe, move it out of Downloads and into a folder where you store important documents. You can rename it to something clearer, like My Grades Spring 2024. The file will not change or update on its own — it is a snapshot of your grades on the day you downloaded it. If you want a fresh copy later, go back to Canvas and read again.

Downloading individual course grades instead

If you only need grades from one course, you do not have to read your entire transcript. Log into the course, click the Grades link in the left sidebar, and look for an export or read button on that page. Some instructors set this up; others do not. If you do not see a button, the full account-level read is your best option.

You can also take a screenshot of your grades page in any course and save it as an image file. This is faster if you only need proof of one grade, but a CSV file is cleaner and easier to share with schools or employers.

Sharing your grades with schools or employers

If you need to show your grades to another school, a scholarship program, or an employer, the CSV file works well — it is a standard format that any organization can open. You can also print the spreadsheet to PDF by opening the file and using your browser or computer's print function, then choosing "Save as PDF" instead of printing to paper.

Some schools ask for an official transcript instead of a grades export. A transcript is a formal document signed by your registrar's office. If that is what is requested, contact your school's registrar directly — they handle transcripts, not Canvas. The grades export is useful for your own records and informal proof, but official transcripts come from the registrar.

Troubleshooting a read that does not work

If the read button does not appear or the read fails, first check that you are in the right place: Account > Settings > Grades tab. If you are there and still do not see a button, your school may have disabled the feature. Contact your school's Canvas support or IT help desk — they can tell you whether the read is turned on for your account.

If the file downloads but will not open, the file may be corrupted. Try downloading again. If it still will not open, try opening it in a different program — sometimes Excel has trouble with CSV files, but Google Sheets opens them reliably. You can also upload the CSV file to Google Drive and open it there without installing anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I read grades from a course I dropped or completed a long time ago?

Yes. The grades export includes every course you have ever taken in Canvas, going back as far as your account exists. If you dropped a course, it usually still appears in the export with a grade of zero or incomplete, depending on when you dropped it.

Will downloading my grades affect anything in Canvas?

No. Downloading is read-only — it does not change your grades, your courses, or anything else in Canvas. You can read as many times as you want without any side effects.

What if my school uses a different name for the Grades tab?

Some Canvas setups label it differently. Look for tabs under Account > Settings that mention grades, transcripts, or records. If you cannot find it, contact your school's Canvas support — they can point you to the right place or read the file for you.

Can I read just my GPA or final grades without assignment details?

The export includes whatever your school configured it to show. You cannot customize which columns appear in the read itself, but once the file is open in a spreadsheet, you can delete columns you do not need and keep only the course names and final grades.