A bachelor's degree can be an
honours degree (bachelor's with honours) or an ordinary degree (bachelor's without honours). Honours degrees are classified, usually based on a
weighted average (with higher weight given to marks in the later years of the course, and often zero weight to those in the first year) of the marks gained in exams and other assessments. While grade boundaries are defined by institutions, there are well-defined conventional values that are generally followed: •
First-Class Honours (1st, 1 or I) – 70% or higher •
Second-Class Honours: •
Upper division (2:1, 2i or II-1) – 60–69% •
Lower division (2:2, 2ii or II-2) – 50–59% •
Third-Class Honours (3rd, 3 or III) – 40–49% Students who do not achieve honours may be awarded an ordinary degree, sometimes known as a "pass". Ordinary degrees, and other exit awards such as the
Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE; for completing the first two years of a degree course) and
Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE; for completing the first year of a degree course), may be unclassified (pass/fail) or, particularly in Scotland where the ordinary degree is offered as a qualification in its own right, classified into pass, merit and distinction. Integrated master's degrees are usually classified with honours in the same way as a bachelor's honours degree, although some integrated master's degrees are classified like postgraduate taught master's degrees or
foundation degrees into: •
Distinction – typically 70% and higher •
Merit – typically 60–69% •
Pass – typically 50–59%. At most institutions, the system allows a small amount of discretion. A candidate may be elevated to the next degree class if their average marks are close to (or the
median of their weighted marks achieves) the higher class, and if they have submitted several pieces of work worthy of the higher class. However, even students with a high average mark may be unable to take honours if they have failed part of the course and so have insufficient credits. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a bachelor's degree with honours normally takes three years of full-time study and usually requires 360
credits, of which at least 90 are at level 6 (final year of a bachelor's degree) level, while an ordinary bachelor's degree normally requires 300 credits, of which 60 are at level 6. In Scotland, the honours bachelor's degree takes four years and requires 480 credits with a minimum of 90 at level 10 of the Scottish framework (last year of the honours degree) and 90 at level 9 (penultimate year), while the ordinary degree takes three years and requires 360 credits with a minimum of 60 at level 9 (last year of the ordinary degree). In Scotland, it is possible to start university a year younger than in the rest of the United Kingdom, as the Scottish
Higher exams are often taken at age 16 or 17 (as opposed to 18), so Scottish students often end a four-year course at the same age as a student from elsewhere in the UK taking a three-year course , assuming no
gap years or students skipping the first year (direct entry to 2nd year). When a candidate is awarded a degree with honours, "(Hons)" may be suffixed to their designatory letters – e.g. BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), BMus (Hons), MA (Hons). An MA (Hons) would generally indicate the bachelor's-level
Scottish MA awarded by some Scottish universities, while other master's degrees awarded with honours would normally indicate an integrated master's degree at master's level.
Distribution of classes The
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has published the number of degrees awarded with different classifications since 1994–1995. The relative proportions of different classes have changed over this period, with increasing numbers of students being awarded higher honours. The table below shows the percentage of classified degrees (i.e., not including fails or unclassified degrees such as
MBBS) in each class at five-year intervals; note that HESA stopped giving statistics separately for third-class honours and pass degree after 2003.
First-class honours First-class honours, referred to as a "first", is the highest honours classification and indicates high academic achievement. Historically, first-class honours were uncommon, but since 2019 a first has been awarded to nearly thirty percent of graduates of British universities. In the early 1990s, first-class honours went to about 7% of graduates, or about one student in 15. Students of law are least likely to gain a first, while students of mathematical sciences are most likely to gain a first. A first-class honours degree is sometimes colloquially referred to in
rhyming slang as a "Geoff" after
Geoff Hurst, the English
1966 FIFA World Cup footballer, or as a "Damien", after the contemporary artist
Damien Hirst.
Upper second-class honours The upper division is commonly abbreviated to "2:1" or "II.i" (pronounced
two-one). The 2:1 is a minimum requirement for entry to many postgraduate courses in the UK. It is also required for the award of a
research council postgraduate studentship in the UK, although a combination of qualifications and experience equal to a 2:1 is also acceptable. This is often interpreted as possession of a master's degree (sometimes at merit level or above) in addition to a 2:2 undergraduate degree. The percentage of candidates who achieve upper second-class honours can vary widely by degree subject, as well as by university. A 2:1 degree ("two-one") is sometimes referred to as an "Attila" (after
Attila the Hun) or a "
Trevor Nunn" in rhyming slang in the UK. Until 1986, the University of Oxford did not distinguish between upper and lower second-class degrees.
Lower second-class honours This is the lower division of second-class degrees and is abbreviated as "2:2" or '"II.ii" (pronounced
two-two). It is informally referred to, in rhyming slang, as a "Desmond", after
Desmond Tutu.
Third-class honours Third-class honours, commonly referred to as a "third", is the lowest honours classification in most UK universities. Informally, it is referred to as a "gentleman's third" (
cf. the "gentleman's C" in US parlance). Slang terms in the UK for a third include a "Richard" (after
Richard III), a "Douglas" (after
Douglas Hurd, the 1980s
Conservative MP), or a "Thora" (after
Thora Hird, an English actress). Approximately 3–5% of UK students graduating between 2018 and 2022 were awarded thirds.
Ordinary degree While most university bachelor's degree courses lead to honours degrees, some universities offer courses leading to ordinary degrees. Some honours courses permit students who do not gain sufficient credits in a year by a small margin to transfer to a parallel ordinary degree course. Ordinary degrees may also sometimes be awarded to honours degree students who do not pass sufficient credits in their final year to gain an honours degree, but pass enough to earn an ordinary degree. Some Scottish universities offer three-year ordinary degrees as a qualification in their own right, as well as an honours degree over four years. This is in contrast to English universities that have honours degrees with three years of study. An ordinary degree in Scotland is not a failed honours degree, as in certain English universities. Students can decide, usually at the end of their second or third year, whether or not they wish to complete a fourth honours year. Scottish universities may also award their ordinary degrees with distinction if a student achieves a particularly good grade average, usually 70% or above. A common example of a Scottish ordinary degree is the
Bachelor of Laws course taken by graduates of other subjects, as this is sufficient (without honours) for entry into the legal profession. Until the 1970s the University of Oxford awarded a fourth-class degree as an equivalent of the ordinary degree.
Aegrotat An
aegrotat (; ) degree is an honours or ordinary degree without classification, awarded to a candidate who was unable to undertake their exams due to illness or even death, under the presumption that, had they completed those exams, they would have satisfied the standard required for that degree.
Aegrotat degrees are often qualified with an appended "(
aegrotat)". Following the introduction of new regulations regarding mitigating circumstances,
aegrotat degrees are less commonly awarded.
Incorporation of prior learning Degrees may be granted which incorporate prior learning, such as by means of
CATS points transfer. Where the substance of incorporated credit exceeds a given threshold, the granting institution may be unable to grade sufficient work to award a degree classification. Any degree granted may then be unclassified.
Variations in classification At the
University of Cambridge, undergraduate
tripos examinations are split into one or more
parts, which span either one or two years. Each student receives a formal classification for each part (i.e., class I, II.i, II.ii, or III). Until October 2020, officially a grade simply existed for every part of the degree, not for the overall degree. For students beginning their course of study from October 2020, a final class is awarded across the course of study, according to an algorithm determined by the tripos. Attaining first-class honours in two parts culminates in graduating with a "
double first". It is possible in some triposes to be awarded a "
starred first", for examination scripts that "consistently exhibit the qualities of first class answers to an exceptional degree". Some Cambridge alumni who achieved firsts in three parts of the tripos are described by their colleges and others as having achieved a "triple first". At the
University of Oxford, a formal degree class is awarded, typically based on the final examinations. Examinations for
prelims or
honour moderations are also undertaken in the first or second year, but their results do not typically affect the final degree classification. Until the 1970s, the four honours divisions in Oxford's moderations and final examinations were named first, second, third and fourth class, but from the 1970s onwards, Oxford began to adopt the classification system used by other British universities. Oxford sometimes grants a
congratulatory first, which
The New York Times described as "a highly unusual honor in which the examining professors ask no questions about the candidate's written work but simply stand and applaud".
Martin Amis described it as "the sort where you are called in for a
viva and the examiners tell you how much they enjoyed reading your papers",. Within the psychology department, the procedure has been described as one in which "the Examiners all rose and doffed their caps". Students are now notified of congratulatory firsts by email. A "double first" at Oxford informally refers to first-class honours in both components of an undergraduate degree, i.e., moderations or prelims, and the final honours school, or in both the bachelor's and master's components of an integrated master's degree. At
University College London, candidates who perform well beyond the requirements of a standard first-class honours may be nominated to the
dean's list. This is generated once per year and recognises outstanding academic achievement in final examinations. There are no set criteria for nomination to the list, but typically only a small number of students from each faculty are nominated per year. Comparable recognition in other anglophone countries is the award of a
university medal. Degrees in the UK are mapped to levels of the
Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (FHEQ), which includes the Framework for Qualifications of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland (FQHEIS), which has an alternative numbering of levels corresponding to those of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Bachelor's degrees (including the
Scottish MA, but not including
medical degrees, dentistry degrees or degrees in veterinary science) attained in the UK are at FHEQ level 6/FQHEIS level 9 (ordinary) or 10 (honours); master's degrees (including integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science) are at FHEQ level 7/FQHEIS level 11, and doctoral degrees are at FHEQ level 8/FQHEIS level 12. Bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees map to first, second and third cycle qualifications in the
Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area. ==International comparisons==