Degree Abbreviations and Grading

7/27/2019 Degree Abbreviations and Grading

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A Guide to

and Grading

Degree Abbreviations
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An Overview of Degree Abbreviations

Every degree awarded across the UK has letters assigned to it; these letters are an

abbreviation of the full degree name. There are so many dierent abbreviations it

is often hard to know what the letters stand for. Degrees come in three

categories; Undergraduate degrees known as Bachelor's degrees, Postgraduate

degrees known as Master's degrees and nally Doctorate degrees.

The general rule is that all undergraduate degrees start with a B, for example BSc

and BA. Nearly all undergraduate degrees are Bachelor degrees hence the B, the

following letters then relate to the subject that was studied, here are some

examples for the most common undergraduate degrees:

BA Bachelor of Arts

BSc (B.Sc.) Bachelor of Science

BEng Bachelor of Engineering

LLB Bachelor of Law

Most Bachelor degrees are 3- 4years long.

Honours Degrees

The majority of undergraduate degrees are awarded as honours degrees and have(Hons) at the end of the abbreviation. In England if a student completes their

degree with a grade under 40% will they be awarded an 'ordinary degree' instead

of an honours degree.

This does vary slightly in some universities particularly across Scotland and at

Oxford and Cambridge.

Undergraduate Degrees

Postgraduate Degrees

Similarly to undergraduate degrees postgraduate degrees are mostly prexed

with the letter M, standing for Masters. You will have had to complete a

Bachelor's degree to get onto a masters course and these courses can be

anywhere from 9 months to a maximum of 2 years. Masters are mainly research

based and seen as the next step up in education after a Bachelor's degree. The

abbreviations are all similar to that of the Undergraduate degree, for example:

MA Master of Arts

MSc Master of Science

MEng Master of Engineering

MChem Master of ChemistryMphys Master of Physics


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To add further confusion, it is possible to gain an undergraduate Master's degree.

This is particularly common with the sciences and engineering, where this is a

four year course.

A common master's degree that is not so traditional is the MBA, this is the

abbreviation for a Masters of Business Administration. This is usually taken bythose who have some commercial experience, and is a more challenging

qualication than most Master's degrees.

There is also the MPhil. This is usually a two year research qualication rather

than a taught program and is often sponsored by a commercial partner.

Doctoral Degrees

These are the highest level of degree awarded in the UK; as you would assumethey have a D in their abbreviation. For example:

MD/ DM Medical Doctorate

PhD/DPhil Doctor of Philosophy.

There are dierent types of doctorates and, as a consequence, dierent ways to

earn doctorate degrees. There are doctorates earned for professional

qualications such as Doctor of Medicine (DM or MD), these courses are

predominantly taught. There are also doctorates awarded for those who have

conducted original research, such as Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), these degrees

involve more independent learning.

Finally there are honorary doctorates awarded to those who have made a notable

contribution in their eld.

Degree Classications

Undergraduate

Moving away from the lettered grading (A, B, C etc) system used in the rest of

British Education the University system uses Firsts, Upper Seconds, Lower

seconds and Thirds. A degree grade is made up from the average of the grades an

individual has achieved in their modules at university (excluding their rst year of

study in most cases).

Degree Classication summary

1/ I/ 1st = First Class Honours Degree 70%+

This is the highest classication of Bachelor's degree you can achieve and wouldbe equivalent of A/ A* in A Levels and GCSEs.


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Postgraduate

2:1/ 2i/ Upper Second = Second Class Honours Degree, Upper Division: 60 69%.

2:2/ 2ii/ Lower Second = Second Class Honours Degree, Lower Division: 50 59%.

3/ 3rd = Third Class Honours Degree: 40- 49%

This is the lowest class of Honours degree you can get, after this it becomes an

'ordinary degree' you can also be awarded an ordinary degree if you fail some of

the core modules.

Again the grading system changes for postgraduate degrees. Masters are

awarded as a Pass, Merit or Distinction (some universities only award a Pass and

Distinction).

The boundaries for these are*:

Pass = 50-59%

Merit = 60 69%

Distinction = 70%+

*At some universities these boundaries can dier.

Doctoral Degrees are either awarded or not and there is very rarely a gradingsystem within a doctorate, however a PhD candidate applying for a job may be

'writing up' their thesis, awaiting their viva after submitting the thesis, or doing

corrections. Minor corrections have 3 months to be completed and are most

common. Major corrections generally have 6 months to be completed. Very few

PhD candidates have no corrections at all.

For more information feel free to register and try out, there is no obligationWitlr

to use us; however I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Alternatively you can contact the team on 01458 836555 or email Nick, the

Managing Director on [email protected]


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Looking for more advice? Check out our other guides:
https://witlr.com/employer-advice/why-should-you-employ-students-and-graduateshttps://witlr.com/employer-advice/a-guide-to-witlrhttps://witlr.com/employer-advice/useful-resources-and-signpostinghttps://witlr.com/employer-advice/interviewing-graduates


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