Grade Scales and Degree Classification

This page aims to point you to information published by the School and the University about what marks and grades mean.

While most work in the School is marked on a percentage scale, all module grades are reported on the University 20-point scale. The School publishes its usual mapping routines for pre-honours, honours, and taught postgraduate modules in the relevant School handbooks. You may wish to note that the conversion schemes are different for these different groups. Where both honours and taught postgraduate students study on a module with the same module code, the honours conversion scheme is used for all students.

Pre-honours students are asked to note that their grades in pre-honours modules have to be sufficiently good to be offered entry to honours BSc or MPhys or MSci degree programmes. Details are given in the School honours and pre-honours handbooks.

Students may wish to note that the formal "transcript" that they can get from the University to show to potential employers or PhD supervisors (etc) will list all the modules that they take at this University along with the grades obtained. This includes the first grade and re-assessment grade where relevant.

The University publishes material on how its 20-point grade scale compares with reporting schemes elsewhere. The University also publishes details on how the credit-weighted mean of level three, four, and five modules is used (sometimes with the median also) to determine degree classifications.

Please note that from session 2009-10 the grade at which the University consider "credit" to be obtained (ie a bare pass for a module) has risen to grade 7.

• University information on 20-point scale and degree class
• University information on degree classification algorithm
• University information on grade conversion from overseas universities
• Pre-honours School handbook
• Honours School handbook

updated BDS 6.12