British Bachelor's degree classification
In the United Kingdom, bachelor's degrees can be awarded with or without Honours. Nowadays, nearly all candidates sit for honours; a Pass Degree (i.e. a bachelor's degree without honours) is usually awarded to a candidate who marginally fails the honours examination. A candidate who fails badly is usually allowed to retake the examination for a pass degree; most universities prohibit such a student from receiving honours.
Degree Classification
Most universities award a class of honours based on the average mark of the assessed work a candidate has completed. Below is a list of the possible classifications, with the required averages and common abbrevations. Honours degrees are in bold:
- 70%-100%: First Class Honours (1st)
- 60%-69%: Upper Second Class Honours (2:1)
- 50%-59%: Lower Second Class Honours (2:2)
- 45%-49%: Third Class Honours (3rd)
- 40%-44%: Pass without honours (Pass)
- 0%-30%: Fail (no degree is awarded)
To those outside the UK the required percentages may look quite easy to obtain, however this is not the case as coursework and exams are marked strictly. Only around 10% of candidates achieve a First.
The system does allow for a small amount of disgression and candiates may be elevated up to the next degree class if their average mark is close and they have submitted many pieces of work worthy of the higher class.
There are also variations between universities (especially in Scotland, where honours are usually reserved only for courses lasting four years or more) and requirements other than the correct average are often needed to be awarded honours.
When a candiate is awarded a degree with honours, they can suffix (Hons) to their class of degree, such as BA(Hons) or BSc(Hons).
In Oxford and Cambridge, honours classes properly apply to examinations, not to degrees. Thus, in Cambridge, where undergraduates are examined at the end of each Part of the Tripos, a student may receive different classifications for different parts. The classification of the final part is usually considered the classification of the degree. In Oxford, the Final Honour School results are generally applied to the degree.
First Class Honours
In most universities, First Class Honours is the highest honours which can be achieved, though some institutions award "starred firsts" to candidates of exceptional ability. A Double First correctly refers to first class honours in two separate subjects, e.g. Classics and Mathematics, and not to first class honours in the same subject in subsequent examinations, e.g. subsequent Parts of the Tripos in Cambridge.
Second Class Honours
The bulk of university graduates fall into Second Class Honours, which is sub-divided into Upper Second (2:1) and Lower Second (2:2). A 2:2 is usually the minimum standard required for postgraduate study and/or full membership of a professional body, though this depends greatly upon subject and institution: Nowadays, a candidate for a doctorate programme is usually required to have at least a 2:1, (or else a 2:2 plus a master's degree).
Third Class Honours
Third Class Honours is the lowest honours classification in most modern universities (though long before the subdivision of Second Class Honours the University of Oxford used to award Fourth Class Honours). Paradoxically, a Third is actually rather difficult to obtain: This is because the candidate must consistently hit a "bullseye" of between approximately 45 and 50% in each separate part of the final examination, thus avoiding both a Fail and a 2:2. It is therefore rare for a graduating class to include more than a small handful of Thirds.
Aegrotat Degrees
A candidate who is unable to take his or her exams because of illness can sometimes be awarded an Aegrotat Degree; this is an honours degree without classification, awarded on the understanding that had the candidate not been unwell, he or she would have passed.
Bachelor's Degree Honours Slang
A interesting form of slang has developed from degree classes, relying on the names of famous people that sound similar to the classes:
- A First is known as a Geoff Hurst (as 'First' sounds like 'Hurst')
- A 2:1 is known as a Attila the Hun (as '2:1' sounds like 'Attila the Hun')
- A 2:2 is known as a Desmond Tutu (as '2:2' sounds like 'Tutu')
- A Third is known as a Douglas Hurd (as 'Third' sounds like 'Hurd')
Often, only the person's first name is used. Thus, one can be awarded a Geoff (First), Attila (2:1), Desmond (2:2) or a Douglas (Third).
See Also
Referenced By
BDes | Baccalaureate | Bachelor's Degree | British degree abbreviations
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