A Quick Guide To University Grading
The education grading system is a strange thing really, you go through the education system working with the same old system of As, Bs and Cs and when you finally get to the pinnacle of your education, everything changes to 2:1s and 2:2s. We’ve knocked up a quick guide on the subject that we think might help your understanding a little.
History
The university grading system, like a lot of stuff at university (throwing hats, scrolls, getting your first 3-day hangover) is mostly down to tradition. At first the degree system was simply based upon the comparison with your classmates – the class was grouped into the top 25%, the middle 50%, and the bottom 25%. The system developed since it was first introduced in the 16th century into what we know it as today – an arbitrary way of defining percentage grades, more or less exactly the same as the A, B and C system. But that’s why we use numbers instead of letters. You can tick off ‘learn something’ from your list of things to do today, now.
The Grading System
Now, the system is separated into percentage grade groups from examination results. This isn’t all encompassing, however: sometimes a university or department will intervene with the results and award a student with a higher or lower degree classification as they see fit. Most of the time, though, the table underneath more or less sums up what’s meant by each grade.
| Name | Shorthand | Percentage | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Class Honours | 1st | 70+ | A |
| Second Class (Upper) Honours | 2:1 | 60-69 | B |
| Second Class (Lower) Honours | 2:2 | 50-59 | C |
| Third Class Honours | 3rd | 45-49 | D |
| Ordinary Degree | Pass | 40-44 | E |
The ‘equivalent’ bit to this doesn’t quite compare to your A-Levels or GCSEs – any degree is a very good thing to get, and although it’d be better to achieve a higher grade, even just a normal pass in a degree programme is not something to be sneered at – degrees are hard, that’s why they’re so well-valued!
The ‘Honours’ Part
This is a little more complicated and varies with each university. Generally, though, honours degrees are awarded to all students who get above 45% and don’t have to resit any of their examinations. This means that to be awarded an honours, a student must always get above 40% in every single exam that contributes at all towards their final grade. Though this is dependent on the university, it’s generally quite a good guideline.
Other universities may require that you complete a large body of work known as a dissertation alongside your exams to earn your honours degree.
To completely understand your university’s honours system, it’s best to talk to one of your lecturers or your examinations officer.
The Stranger Stuff
Particularly well-regarded universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge and York, have more complicated systems – Oxford students could be awarded a 4th level degree right up until the 1970s, and a handful of UK universities still award double-starred firsts and other, weirder awards. Most of the time, though, there’s no need to worry about those – if you’re lucky enough to get one, someone will probably tell you.