Exam Information

Exam Information for 2024/25

The Department of Mathematics will be communicating specific relevant information regarding assessments to students directly, via Email and/or Moodle. Please ensure you check these regularly for updates. Some key information can be found below, and this webpage will continue to be updated throughout the year as more details are confirmed.

• Exam Success Guide

General Queries: math.ugteaching@ucl.ac.uk

Urgent contact address during examinations: math.ugexams@ucl.ac.uk

Extenuating Circumstances

‘Extenuating Circumstances’ (ECs) are events that are unexpected, significantly disruptive and beyond your control, such as a serious illness or bereavement, and the Extenuating Circumstances process is designed to help with any short-term problems that you might have with completing an assessment.

Information about applying for Extenuating Circumstances, and where to go for advice, can be found on the Mathematics Wellbeing Moodle site.

Who Writes and Marks Exams?

The examinations are normally set by the lecturer for the course, checked by a second internal examiner, and also by a Visiting Examiner (from outside the college). The examinations are marked by the two internal examiners, and the marking checked by the Visiting Examiner. Examination scripts are marked anonymously. Recommendations about the results of individual courses and degrees awarded are made by the Mathematics Sub-Board to the College Board, which makes the final decisions. The Mathematics Sub-Board includes all the internal examiners and the four Visiting Examiners.

Extenuating Circumstances

If there are any circumstances that affect your examination performance, either during the period of study or during the exam period, and which you would like taken into account, please discuss this with the Departmental Tutor as early as possible and in any case no later than one week after the exam. Typical circumstances which might be taken into account are serious or prolonged illness, disability or bereavement.

This includes being unable to take examination(s) due to these circumstances (please see Missing Exams section below).

Information about applying for Extenuating Circumstances, and where to go for advice, can be found on the Mathematics Wellbeing Moodle site. Please also refer to the relevant section of the UCL Academic Manual for more details about extenuating circumstances.

Please note that evidence that is not in English must be accompanied by an official translation and that medical evidence from alternative practitioners cannot be accepted.

Any information that you send us will be kept confidential and special circumstances will be discussed with discretion and anonymously where possible by a small committee of examiners.

Missing Exams

If you miss an examination due to illness or some other unavoidable cause, please inform a member of staff, preferably the Departmental Tutor, as soon as possible. You should also complete an Extenuating Circumstances Claim Form, and may be required to include certifiable supporting evidence, such as a doctor's note. Please refer to the section on Extenuating Circumstances above for more information. If the reason for absence is accepted as reasonable, you can be granted a deferral to the late summer assessment period in August/or in some cases until next May.

If you are granted a deferral, you take a new paper and are awarded the full uncapped mark obtained.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Academic integrity Students must maintain the highest of standards of academic integrity whilst studying at UCL. All work submitted for assessment must be your own work.

You will be asked to tick a Declaration of Integrity before you submit your assessment. For more information on UCL’s regulations:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/exams-and-assessments/academic-integrity

Cheating or attempts to cheat may lead to serious consequences, including the degree not being awarded. Please refer to the information on plagiarism in the student handbook.

Module Levels and Grades

Each module is assigned a level: introductory, (Level 4), intermediate (Level 5), advanced (Level 6), masters (Level 7), and it is a requirement of graduating with a BSc that at least 90 credits taken shall be at Level 6 or above, and no more than 150 credits at Level 4. In general terms, first year courses will be Level 4, most second year courses Level 5, some second/third year options Level 6, third year courses Level 6, and fourth year courses Level 7. The information about levels can be found on Portico. The pass mark for all Level 4/5/6 courses will be 40%; that for Level 7 courses will be 50%.

The correspondence between grades and percentage marks for each (non masters level) course module is as follows:

< 40: F (Fail)
40 - 49: Third
50 - 59: Lower Second
60 - 69: Upper Second
70 - 100: First

Marking Criteria

Please click here (pdf) for the marking criteria.

Results and Transcripts

Provisional results

The Mathematics Department aims to publish provisional results for final exams taken in January later on in the Spring Term. The department does not publish provisional results from the main exam period ahead of the official results day.

Formal results on Portico

You will find your formal examinations results on the Registry Portico website at: www.ucl.ac.uk/portico, usually towards the end of July with the date confirmed in advance by the college. This online facility replaces the paper notification sent out in previous years.

Withheld results

Please note that if you owe tuition fees to the college your degree results may be withheld.

Contact after results

Students should make sure that they can be contacted after theexam results are issued. This is particularly important for anyone who has failed to meet the requirements to progress into the next year.

Transcripts

Transcripts are provided by the Registry of the College, usually from around the end of July. Transcripts are sent automatically to the home address of graduating students, and can also be provided to students not in their final year on request. Please see the UCL website for transcript information, including details of how to order e-transcripts. Please note that the Mathematics Department cannot provide transcripts.

Graduation Ceremony

The graduation ceremony (for students who have completed their degree) normally takes place in late August/early September. Arrangements for this are made by the Registry, and not the Department, and you should receive your application form for places from the Registry, which you must return by the specified date if you wish to attend. Transcripts are also provided by the Registry, and not the Department.

Re-sits / Late Summer Assessments

Please note that the rules for re-sits have changed considerably from previous years. Please note the following points:

• (i) Most resits will take place in the Late Summer Assessment period (August - September) and hence it may be necessary for you to be available during this period.
• (ii) If you have failed module(s), but met the conditions for condonement, you will not be offered the chance to take any resits in the failed modules.
• (iii) If you have met the conditions to graduate, you will be awarded a degree and cannot resit anything.
• (iv) If you have failed up to 60 credits of module(s) and not met the conditions for condonement, you will be asked to resit the failed components in the LSA as a capped second attempt.
• (v) If you have failed more than 60 credits of module(s), you will be asked to resit failed modules in the next year with attendance, and will be liable for fees for this on a pro-rata basis.
• (vi) If you have deferred assessments you will normally take these in the LSA, along with any resits.

You will be informed of your situation by e-mail in mid-July. Please contact the department directly (at math.ugteaching@ucl.ac.uk) if you have any queries after having received your results.

Please see  for more information on late summer assessments.https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/exams-and-assessments/exams/late-summer-assessments

Please also see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/maths/current-students/current-undergraduates/general-rules-and-progression for more information on progression and condonement.

Progression Problems

What happens if insufficient units are passed to allow immediate progression into the next year of your degree programme, or to graduate?

Please note rules have changed considerably from previous years.

You should discuss things with the Departmental Tutor.

1. If you have failed up to 60 credits, you will normally take late summer assessment(s) - please see the information above. If you then have passed enough units to progress/graduate, you can progress to the next year as normal or graduate (with a slightly later graduation date e.g. 1 Oct).

   If you fail to pass enough credits to progress/graduate, you will then have to abandon your degree at UCL.

   Note that re-sits are now capped at the pass mark (40% for all UG modules, except 50% for master's level modules).

2. If you have failed more than 60 credits, you will normally have to repeat the failed units.

   This means re-attending, paying proportionate fees, being a registered UCL student, attending lectures, submitting coursework, etc, and taking the exams in the May exam period.

   If you are in receipt of a student loan, you should contact the student loan company to find out the situation.

3. You can give up the degree programme. If you are in the first year, you may be able to find another more suitable degree programme to start; if so, you may be able to obtain loans, etc. for the new degree programme, provided that the change of programme is supported by both institutions involved. It is your responsibility to find a new course, apply for it, discuss any matters to do with loans with student loan company, etc, although you may get advice from the Departmental Tutor or other staff.

Complaints/appeals

If you are unhappy with your results, or with not being allowed to stay on the MSci degree, please discuss it in the first place with the Departmental Tutor (as soon as possible after the informal results come out). If you then wish to pursue matters further, there are procedures for formal appeals (please consult the Departmental Tutor and see the UCL Student Handbook). There is no provision for academic re-evaluation of papers.

Your Class of Degree

Normally, All module results count towards the final degree classification.

Please note that there have been some changes to how degree classification is calculated as a result of the coronavirus pandemic:

Students who were in year 1 in 2019/20: The first year of study will be zero weighted for the purposes of degree classification for all students in this cohort.

BSc students who were in year 2, or MSci students who were in year 2 or 3 in 2019/20: The weighted year average will be calculated from the best 60 credits. If use of your best 60 credits results in a detrimental outcome, 2019/20 assessments will be excluded from the classification (weighted at 0).

Otherwise, the year averages will be calculated as follows:

Students who started before 2018:

• Year 1: [Sum of best 60 credits + (1/2) sum of remaining 60 credits]/6. (i.e. worst 4 half units-are half weighted)

• Year 2 and 3: [Sum of best 90 credits + (1/2) sum of remaining 30 credits]/7.

  (i.e. worst 2 half units-are half weighted)

• Year 4: Mean of all 120 credits

The final mark for the degree programme is obtained as a weighted average of these year averages (weighted 1:3:5 for BSc students and 1:3:5:5 for MSci students). The final class of degree is based on this weighted average. Please see the table below for degree class details.

Students who started in 2018 or later:

• All Years: The year average is simply the mean of all 120 credits

The final mark for the degree programme is obtained as a weighted average of these year averages (weighted 1:3:5 for BSc students and 1:3:5:5 for MSci students). Students that started in 2019 and took the first-year capstone assessment will have that year excluded from this weighting, as it does not carry a numerical grade. The final class of degree is based on this weighted average. The basic ranges are as follows:

• 40 - 49%: Third
• 50 - 59%: Lower Second
• 61 - 69%: Upper Second
• 70 - 100%: First

More precisely (including borderline criteria):

Firsts, Upper and Lower Seconds, and Thirds are all Honours degrees.

Queries

Any queries should be taken up in the first place with the Departmental Tutor, Dr Mark Roberts. Other relevant people are: Professor Ilia Kamotski

Past Exam Papers

• Past exam papers for summer exams (UCL Library)

The sale of the module solutions to previous years' examination papers ceased on 1 February 2013 as decided by Departmental Teaching Committee. The solutions to most exam papers will now be freely available on the Moodle page of the module.