Grading - Degree Information and Classification

For progression into Junior Honours (Year 3) students must have a minimum of 220 credits but will have to make up any missing credits. In addition, a student must pass all the required Year 2 courses to qualify for admission into a programme.  

Students who fail to obtain 80 credits and to average at least 40% will have failed to pass Junior Honours (Year 3).  

It is not permitted to retake exams which contribute to Senior Honours classification. Therefore, students who fail Junior Honours at the first attempt will not be able to graduate with an Honours Degree. Such students will be entitled to resit Junior Honours examinations in the August diet to allow them to gain 360 credits and to graduate with an Ordinary Degree.  

The Year 3 Examination Board meets to ratify and confirm the marks in all assessments for the Year 3 courses for which it is responsible. When you pass a course, the credits for that course are awarded.  

The Progression Board considers the overall performance of the students on the Biological Sciences Degree Programme. It receives marks for any outside courses taken and then confirms which students qualify to progress into the final Senior Honours year (Year 4) and decide if credits are to be awarded for any courses which they have failed.  

Progression into the final year is largely a matter of satisfying the criteria laid down by a programme and by the University Regulations. All students must have 360 credits (and 120 credits at level 9/10) before they can enter Year 4.  

No one can carry a course from an earlier year into the final year. In addition, a student must pass all the required courses to qualify for admission into a programme. Failure to meet programme-specific requirements will mean that admission into Senior Honours is left to the discretion of the Progression Board.  

However, the regulations allow the Progression Board to award credits for a course which has not been passed, providing:  

· The student has attained at least 80 credits in level 9/10 courses in the year.  

· The average mark for the 120 credits at level 9/10 courses is at least 40.  

· For progression into Senior Honours in Biological Sciences, you must obtain at least 80 credits in Biological Sciences.  

· A significant attempt has been made to pass the course.  

A student who attends nothing and submits no assessment material will obtain a mark of zero.  

The procedure of awarding credits, as described above, can only be followed to allow a student to progress into the final year.  

To graduate with an honours degree you must pass Junior Honours (Year 3) at the first attempt and then pass Senior Honours (Year 4).  

It is important to note that honours degrees are classified according to marks in both honours years (except where students take part in the Exchange Programme).  

Year 3 and Year 4 will count in a 1:2 ratio.