Degree Classification

Guideline, length and submissions

For single honours BA and BSc Geography (including Environmental Geography) students who started their degree in 2016-17 or 2017-18, your final degree result is calculated according to a set of rules, known as the Scheme of Awards, which is prescribed by the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences (SHS). In addition, there are a number of ‘local rules’ that are specific to single honours Geography degrees.

The Scheme of Awards sets out the number of credits that you need to take and pass in order to be awarded a degree, along with the weighting of credits from each year and the general procedures by which borderline cases (i.e. students whose overall mark falls less than 1% below a class boundary) are considered.

The local rules dictate which modules count towards your degree and state specifically how borderline cases are dealt with.

SHS Scheme of Award

Faculty of Social and Historical Science, UCL Scheme of Award for Undergraduate Course-Unit Degrees

Scheme A. Three-Year Degree Programmes: BA and BSc degrees in Geography; BSc degree in Environmental Geography

1. Programme Requirements

Students registered for the degree are required to undertake a programme of study comprising courses to the value of 120 credits in each year; the modules taken will be subject to local departmental rules and guidelines, as appropriate.

In order to proceed to the second year of the programme, all students must have passed a minimum of 90 credits.
In order to proceed to the third and final year of the programme, all students must have passed a minimum of 180 credits.
In each year, students must have passed any modules deemed compulsory for progression, subject to local rules.

The pass mark for each module is 40%.

2. Award of Degree

To be awarded an honours degree, a student must have completed courses to the value of 360 credits and satisfied the examiners in courses to a minimum value of 300 credits.

To be awarded a degree with honours in the field of study for which the student is registered, the student must have taken and passed any modules deemed compulsory for such an award, according to local rules.

Students who fail to satisfy the examiners in 360 credits, but who have nevertheless completed at least 300 credits and passed a minimum of 270 credits, including at least 60 credits at advanced level and 60 credits in their final year, together with any deemed compulsory according to local rules, may be awarded an Ordinary Degree in their registered field of study. Students who are eligible for the award of an Ordinary Degree under these requirements, but who have not satisfied the examiners in one or more modules deemed compulsory, will be awarded an Ordinary Degree in a different field of study, to be determined by the Board of Examiners.

3. Classification of Honours

The class of honours degree shall be determined by the relevant Board of Examiners on the basis of the results obtained in 270 credits, to be selected as follows:

EITHER the result from the best 30 credits from Year 1, subject to local rules OR the result from a 30 credit module nominated in advance (or alternatively the two best 15 credit modules or two 15 credit modules nominated in advance);
The 120 credits taken in Year 2, subject to local rules;
The 120 credits taken in Year 3.

Classification will be based in the first instance on a consideration of the median of the marks from the 270 credits of assessment. The credits are to be weighted 1 (Year 1): 3 (Year 2): 5 (Year 3).

Marks for retaken or substitute modules will be included in the calculation for the mark of the year in which that module was first attempted, rather than in the year it was actually taken, if that is different.

4. Consideration of Borderlines

Candidates whose median mark falls within 1% of a class boundary may be considered for raising to the higher class. Such consideration will be at the discretion of the Board of Examiners and will take account of one or more of the following:

the mean of class marks across the modules selected;
the distribution and preponderance of class marks across the modules selected;
the results achieved in the final year of study.

5. Application of Classification Scheme

In exceptional cases, the Board of Examiners may exercise discretion in the application of this Faculty Scheme. The general Regulations of the College and of the University are assumed to apply in conjunction with the above Scheme, as are the local rules and guidelines produced by the relevant Department(s).

Geography Local Rules

Classification of Honours

The class of honours degree shall be determined by the Board of Examiners on the basis of the results obtained in 270 credits, to be selected as follows:

Two 15 credit modules taken in Year 1;
The 120 credit module equivalents taken in Year 2;
The 120 credit module equivalents taken in Year 3.
The two 15 credit modules to be taken in Year 1 are: GEOG1006 Ideas in Geography and GEOG1008 Writing and Analysis in Geography

Consideration of Borderlines

Candidates falling within 1% of a class boundary may be considered for raising to the higher class. Such consideration will be at the discretion of the Board of Examiners, and may take account of one or more of the following:

the mean of class marks across the modules selected;
the distribution and preponderance of class marks across the modules completed;
the results achieved in the final year of study

Mean mark

Candidates may be awarded the higher class, where the median mark of the module equivalents completed falls within 1% of a class boundary, and the mean mark lies within the range for the higher class.

Distribution of marks

Candidates falling with the 1% marginal band may be awarded the higher class, Class X, where, of 240 Second and Third Year credits and the two nominated First Year 15 credit modules ,

10 are of Class X or better
9 are of Class X or better and supported by Classes not inferior to 6 at (X-l) and 3 at (X-2).

One 15 credit module at (X + 1) compensates for one 15 credit module at (X - 1) or
One 15 credit module at (X + 1) raises one 15 credit module at (X - 2) to (X - 1).
One 15 credit module at (X + 2) compensates for one 15 credit module at (X - 2) or
One 15 credit module at (X + 2) raises one 15 credit module at (X - 3) to (X - 1).

For these purposes, marks of 80 and over count as First Class + 1. Fail marks are not compensated for.

Final year of study

Candidates falling within the 1% marginal band may be awarded the higher class, where the mean mark of the modules completed within the final year of study lies within the range for the higher class.

In exceptional cases, the Board may exercise discretion in the application of these guidelines.

Weighting of your degree

In determining your final degree result, your performance in Years 1, 2, and 3 is weighted in the ratio 1:3:5 for single Honours and Joint Degree students on a three-year programme, students on the International degree programme have a weighting of 1:3:0:5.

For single honours students, including those on the International degree programme, marks for GEOG1006 and GEOG1008 will count towards the final degree result. For Economics and Geography degree students, the following first-year modules will count towards the final degree result, ECON1001 and GEOG1007. For students taking the four-year International programme you must achieve an average of 60% or above in seven of your eight first-year modules in order to continue into year two of the degree, failure to achieve this could result in you having to transfer to the three-year degree programme without a year abroad.