What is an honours degree?

[Ppgsaefdsad]

I've been really confused as to what an honours degree is. What does it actually mean when it says "BSc Hons"?

@Ppgsaefdsad At my old uni if you graduated without honours it meant you had failed some subjects so you lost your honours in exchange for being given a degree but it was a worthless piece of paper.

@parmaviolettea has explained it on this thread with a link to mire info.
360 credits rather than 300 the 60 credits could be from a dissertation but could be from an extra module or two compared to an 'ordinary' degree

This. My History degree at Oxford was Hons but no dissertation involved

Ahhh ok. I remember doing the maths of credit points - now you mention it - when choosing my final year options.

My degree was 20 odd yrs ago. I remember it like it was.....20 odd yrs ago 😂

you can assume that if they don’t have ‘hinours’ on the website, that they will be honours degrees. Only honours degrees get the classification and are comprised 3 years of 120 credits a year (for full time). Where the degree is not an honours then either the student only did a total of 300 credits, or they did 360 but their overall mark wasn’t quite high enough for a 3rd - which is usually 40%. A student with less than 35% would be a fail, between 35 and 40 there is discretion to award an ordinary degree.

This is such a fascinating thread because of all the different answers.

Back in the dark ages I did a 3 year teaching certificate, giving me a CertEd. When there was a strong move to have an all-graduate profession I did an OU degree. The CertEd counted as a certain number of credits so I only needed a further number (X) for an ordinary degree. I did that, and got my degree, BA. However, for an honours degree I needed to do the same X more credits to get my BA(Hons).

So: Ordinary degree - Cert Ed plus X OU credits.
Honours degree - Cert Ed plus 2X OU credits.

No dissertations required.

I used to think on regular honours degree courses 1, 2(i) and 2(ii) gave you honours, but if you got a 3rd it was a pass or ordinary degree, with no classification. That was in the days when Firsts were rare.

I’m in Scotland and back when I first went to uni (dropped out in first year though) you got a regular degree in 3 years but needed to do 4 years for Honours.

I have a BA Hons now from the OU. It actually took me 16 years to complete it since I started and stopped after two courses due to family reasons then I finally graduated last year. I needed 360 points for the degree so I took 6 different 60 point courses with them for it. And no dissertation.

You have to achieve more credits for honours, so without honours is less intensive. My under is pretty much all degrees re with honours unless something goes horribly wrong.

A pass is 40.

No it doesn’t. It means you have taken 360 credits. Some degrees require a dissertation, others don’t.

I have a ba hons from an English uni and did exams instead of the dissertation

I did my degree with the OU. You could graduate with either 300 or 360 points, but only have the one ceremony. I decided to do this at 300 points with the view to then doing a further 60 to make it an honours degree but didn’t get round to it , hence I just have Bachelor of Science written on my degree. I’ve often thought I’d go back to it, but it’s been 15 years now since I finished and I doubt they would let me!

They are now - but that wasn't the case when I did my first degree in the 70's

You chose carefully and were aware that some degree courses were "ordinary" and some "honours". Not as many people would choose the non honours route - those courses became less popular and most died out as courses in their own right.

I did Hons in my subject, my uni was one of the few not to require Latin O level before you could enrolled on the Hons course!

It has been retained as a qualification in some places - it can be useful for some students when circumstances (such as serious illness) mean they cannot get the required 360 points for an Hons.

I meant a pass degree would be 40-55, honours then over that 😊

Ah I see! Makes sense 🙂

but it's incorrect.

The difference is in the number of credits taken - not how well you did. Someone could get 99% in every course but if they only did enough courses to get 300 credits then they are only eligible for an ordinary degree, not an Hons.

Thanks. So many misleading and just plain wrong answers on this thread!

The OU may use that pass mark, every other uni in the UK uses 40% as the pass mark for a 3rd class honours degree.

I know - given the education levels of MNers and their DCs I’m kinda stunned.

Me too. I got a 1st too.

there must be a point at which 3rd becomes 2:2……

I have a BSc (Hons) in Social Sciences. Done through OU 20+ years ago (so may have changed since).

Ordinary degree had to complete -
1 x foundation course
3 x Level 2 courses
2 x Level 3 courses

Honours degree had to complete -
1 x foundation course
2 x Level 2 courses
3 x Level 3 courses

I have a Bsc with honours and didn’t do a dissertation. I vaguely remember if we didn’t have to re sit any papers we got honours but not too sure.

Scotland here, degree from one of the ‘ancient’ unis. Do well enough in your second year and you are into honours. Leave after 3 years with an Ordinary degree, complete and pass after 4 and get Honours.
I have a MA Joint Honours - but it’s not a proper MA, it’s just that that was the traditional title at my uni.
I also did a dissertation but that was to do with my joint subject, lots of people didn’t but still got honours.

50%. And a 2:2 becomes a 2:1 at 60% and a 1st at 70%. With some slight flex around the borderline.