whats the difference? BSc or BSc (Hons)

[strugstu]

anyone know

Don't quote me on this but I think the Hons refers to a 10,000 word dissertation being part of the degree.

Honours degree is higher than a non-honours degree, and has lower entry requirements I think.

...so, you can have a degree with Honours (Hons)or without.

Aniles - I ahve an honours degree, as does DH - neither of us had to do a dissertation though.

Oh, oops! like I said, don't quote me on that

IIRC, when I was at university (early 90s) an honours degree was anything of a 3rd upwards - so if you got a 3, 2.2, 2.1 or 1 it was an honours degree. A degree without honours, i.e. an ordinary degree is one below a 3rd - not sure what the point of it is though! If you get less than 40% you don't deserve a degree IMO!!

DH thought a non-honours degree is when you get less than a third...

...but OU degrees used to be (not sure if still are) non-honours.

????

The amount of credit you need to get a honours degree is higher!

At uni we were all on a BMUS (hons) and a few people didn't pass enough modules to get the (hons) bit!! So they were just BMUS IYKWIM.

I got 360 credits for my honours degree! (no dissertation as it was music!)

Sorry, that probably sounds harsh. I just mean, it's almost like they don't let anyone fail so it's a bit meaningless I think.

Snap Hula! That's what I said!

Think leahbump has it - to do with the nu,ber of credits:

At the start of Session 1999/2000 the University introduced the Ordinary degree in place of the Pass degree. A candidate who is ineligible to progress on the Honours degree may be transferred to the Ordinary degree if 75 or more credits have been achieved at the end of the Certificate stage, or if 180 or more credits have been gained at the end of the Diploma stage. There is no direct entry to the Ordinary Degree - i.e. you cannot register on the 1st year of an Ordinary Degree.

The candidate must accumulate a total of 300 credits, with the pass mark for modules as for the Honours Degree. Some compensation and referal is permitted on the Ordinary Degree, and in some circumstances, a student may, having completed the Ordinary Degree, be permitted to return to complete extra modules to "top-up" to the Honours Degree.

However, in Scotland it would appear to be different:

Ordinary Degree courses are taken at universities and colleges. They?re usually full-time although part-time and open/flexible learning opportunities are increasing.

In Scotland a Pass/Ordinary degree is awarded after 3 years full time study - the student does not specialise in one subject

I don't know but I got a B.Sc and I had to do a dissertation for year 2 and 3 (was a 10,000 word one too), my degree is not honours but still a worthwhile degree with lots of hard study imho

Dh has an honours degree and he didn't get a third! (a fact which I still tease him about!) Mind you it was from Oxford and they do everything oddly, so it might not be the same everywhere else. He also has a BA in Engineering Science and I have on in Biochemistry....go figure!

I have a BA (Hons) and it's never occured to me that it means anything.

(Which just shows that hons degree students aren't necessarily very bright...)

You can't make general rules, it's different in different institutions. In Scotland in general you can leave after the 3rd year (of a 4 year degree) with an ordinary degree, the last year is called the Honours year. In other places it is used in place of a failed-but-not-catastrophically Honours (like 35%, say), and in others only Ordinary degrees are awarded in the first place.

Well, when I was there (many moons ago) a 1st, 2:1, 2:2 and (I think) a Third were all with Honours, but if you just got a pass degree it wasn't Honours.

moo BA(Hons)

But thena gain my teachingg degree was a two year (shortened degree) and that is an honours degree too. You had to have a qual to the equivalent of HND (I think) to go on it. DH's and sister's law degrees were 3 years and they are honours. 4 year courses for us were sandwich courses, with work experience in the middle of them.

And I only did 3 years.

I believed it was just as the moo said

Twiglett BA (Joint Honours)

Ok - sounds like Tamum is right from everyone's experiences! For example, i got an honours degree from Leeds Uni but it was only a 3 yr course so that's not consistent with what Beety says. Looks like strugstu will just have to find out for her own institution.

I'm with Moo too Twig.

Gobbledigook BSc (Combined Honours)

I did a 4 year hons degree. If I had left at the end of three then I would have got an unclassified honours degree. I think it varies from place to place.