British degree abbreviations

Degree abbreviations are used as an alternative way to specify an academic degree instead of spelling out the title in full, such as in reference books like Who's Who and on business cards. Many degrees have more than one abbreviation.

Note that usage in some Scottish universities, particularly the ancient universities, differs from that in England and Wales in that MAs are given out in place of BAs as first degrees, where the course of study is four years rather than the three years typical in England.

The usage in the two ancient English universities of Oxford and Cambridge also differs slightly from that in other UK universities - the MA degree is not a substantive qualification, but reflects the ancient practice of these universities of raising BAs to MAs (and thus full membership of the University) a few years after graduating. Conversely, some bachelor's degrees in the higher faculties (i.e. those other than arts) at those universities are postgraduate qualifications (e.g. the BCL and BMus at Oxford). Many have been changed to the corresponding masters degree (e.g. BSc is now MSc), but only within the last generation. The BD remains a higher degree at a some older universities (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews and Durham) but is an undergraduate degree at most (e.g. London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow). Oxford and Cambridge grant BAs after three years to students on undergraduate courses lasting longer than this (the undergraduate masters degrees and the MB, ChB in medicine).

Undergraduate degrees may be awarded "with Honours" or may be "Ordinary" or "Pass" degrees. The meaning of non-Honours degrees changed in the course of the twentieth century, and varies somewhat between England and Wales on the one hand and Scotland and Northern Ireland on the other, and also between institutions. In some places to be awarded an Ordinary or Pass degree is nowadays a euphemism for failure, however, in the Open University and some of the newer universities with a strong commitment to broadening access to higher education, the Pass degree remains a valuable qualification though of a lower standard (or indicating a shorter period of study) than an Honours degree. Honours degrees are usually awarded with first, upper-second, lower-second or third class honours.

Usage of titles of masters degrees (in particular the undergraduate masters degrees) is in continuing flux, not least because of discussions of harmonisation of qualifications within the European Union as part of the Bologna process.

Bachelor's degrees

In England and Wales, almost all bachelor's degrees are awarded as honours degrees, sometimes indicated by '(Hons)' after the degree abbreviation without a space, for example 'BA(Hons)'.
At the Ancient universities of Scotland (St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee), a BSc(Hons) indicates a four year course, being the equivalent of the Scottish MA for science degrees. A Scottish BSc without honours indicates a three year course with less specialisation (a General Degree).

Some of the following are postgraduate degrees in a few universities, but generally bachelors are undergraduate degrees.

So, here goes the list:

• BA - Bachelor of Arts

• BAE - Bachelor of Arts and Economics

• BASc/BAS - Bachelor of Applied Science

• BCL - Bachelor of Civil Law

• BD - Bachelor of Divinity

• BDes - Bachelor of Design

• BDS or BChD - Bachelor of Dental Surgery

• BEcon - Bachelor of Economics

• BEcon&Fin - Bachelor of Economics and Finance

• BEd or EdB - Bachelor of Education

• BEng or BE - Bachelor of Engineering

• BFA - Bachelor of Fine Art

• BFin - Bachelor of Finance

• BHSc - Bachelor of Health Science

• BLitt or LittB - Bachelor of Literature or Bachelor of Letters

• BMedSc or BMSc - Bachelor of Biomedical science

• BMid - Bachelor of Midwifery

• BMin - Bachelor of Ministry

• BMus or MusB - Bachelor of Music

• BNurs or BN - Bachelor of Nursing

• BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy

• BSc - Bachelor of Science

• BScEcon - Bachelor of Economic and Social Science

• BScEng - Bachelor of Science in Engineering

• BSocSc - Bachelor of Social Science

• BTech - Bachelor of Technology (not to be confused with BTEC)

• BTh, ThB or BTheol - Bachelor of Theology

• LLB - Bachelor of Laws

• MB or BM - Bachelor of Medicine

• BS, ChB, BChir or BCh - Bachelor of Surgery

• GCGI The Graduateship (post-nominal GCGI) awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute is mapped to a British Honours degree

• ACGI The Associateship is conferred by the Council of the City & Guilds of London Institute on the recommendation of the Dean of the City and Guilds College in recognition of the ability to demonstrate, to the level equivalent to that of a degree of Bachelor of Science (Engineering), or Bachelor of Engineering, or Master of Engineering, the understanding and application of the principles of a branch of Engineering or of Computing Science approved by the Institute

Master's degrees

Undergraduate

These, like most bachelors degrees, are honours degrees, indicated by putting '(Hons)' after the degree abbreviation. The majority of undergraduate master's degrees are within science and engineering subjects. The undergraduate MAs of the ancient universities of Scotland are also honours degrees and may also add '(Hons)'. MEng used to be offered by some universities as a postgraduate degree, but is now an undergraduate degree.

• MA - with or without honours in Scotland or from Oxbridge

• MBiochem - Master of Biochemistry

• MBiol - Master of Biology

• MChem - Master of Chemistry

• MDiv - Master of Divinity

• MEcon - Master of Economics

• MEng - Master of Engineering

• MEnvSci - Master of Environmental Science

• MESci - Master of Earth Science

• MGeog - Master of Geography

• MGeol - Master of Geology

• MGeophys - Master of Geophysics

• MInf- Master of Informatics

• MMath - Master of Mathematics

• MNatSc - Master of Natural Science

• MNursSci - Master of Nursing Science

• MOcean - Master of Oceanography

• MPharm - Master of Pharmacy

• MPhys - Master of Physics

• MSci - Master in Science (Master of Natural Science at Cambridge University)

• MStat - Master of Statistics

• MTheol - Master of Theology

• MCGI - awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute is mapped to a British Master's degree

Postgraduate

Postgraduate degrees are not honours degrees, and do not add '(Hons)' to indicate this. MA (Hons) is only used for the undergraduate degree of the ancient Scottish universities: as there are no examinations for the MAs in Oxford and Cambridge there are consequently no honours to be awarded. The Oxbridge MA may be differentiated by putting the name of the institution after the degree, thus 'MA (Oxon)' or 'MA (Cantab)'. The MPhil is normally reserved for longer (often two year) research-based masters degrees (as at Oxford), although at Cambridge the MPhil is generally a nine-month, mostly taught, degree. The MUniv is only ever an honorary degree. Postgraduate masters degrees are considered higher status than undergraduate masters. Postgraduate masters degrees are generally classfied as pass, pass with merit and pass with distinction. The percentage bandings for these award levels are 50%-59% (pass), 60%-69% (merit) and 70%+ (distinction). It is more difficult to obtain a postgraduate masters degree with distinction than a bachelors with first class honours.

• LLM - Master of Laws

• MA - Master of Arts

• MBA - Master of Business Administration

• MBiolSci - Master of Biological Science

• MClinDent - Master of Clinical Dentistry

• MDrama - Master of Drama

• MeB - Master of Electronic Business (eBusiness)

• MEd - Master of Education

• MFA - Master of Fine Art

• MJur - Master of Jurisprudence (Law) (Magister Juris at Oxford)

• MLib - Master of Librarianship

• MLitt - Master of Letters

• MMus or MusM - Master of Music

• MPH - Master of Public Health

• MPhil - Master of Philosophy

• MRes - Master of Research

• MSc - Master of Science

• MSSc/MSocSc - Master of Social Science

• MSt - Master of Studies

• MTh or MTheol - Master of Theology

• MUniv - Master of the University

British undergraduate degree classification

The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees (bachelor's degrees and some master's degrees) in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variations) in other countries, such as India, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, Malta and Canada. The Latin honors system used in the United States is different but has some similarities.

Degree classification

A degree may be awarded with or without honours, with the class of an honours degree based on the average mark of the assessed work a candidate has completed. Below is a list of the possible classifications with common abbreviations. Honours degrees are in bold:

• First-Class Honours (First or 1st)

• Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1)

• Lower Second-Class Honours (2:2)

• Third-Class Honours (Third or 3rd)

• Ordinary degree (Pass)

• Fail (no degree is awarded)

The system does allow for a small amount of discretion and candidates may be elevated up to the next degree class if their average mark is close or the median of their weighted marks achieves the higher class, and they have submitted many pieces of work worthy of the higher class. However, they may be demoted a class if they fail to pass all parts of the course even if they have a high average.

There are also variations between universities (especially in Scotland, where honours are usually reserved only for courses lasting four years or more) and requirements other than the correct average are often needed to be awarded honours. (In Scotland it is possible to start University a year younger than is normal in the rest of the United Kingdom as the Scottish Highers exams are taken at age seventeen, not eighteen, thus four year courses end at the same chronological age as a rest of UK three year course, assuming no 'gap years'.)

When a candidate is awarded a degree with honours, '(Hons)' may be suffixed to their type of degree, such as BA(Hons) or BSc(Hons).

At Oxford and Cambridge, honours classes apply to examinations, not to degrees. Thus, in Cambridge, where undergraduates are examined at the end of each Part of the Tripos, a student may receive different classifications for different Parts. The degree itself does not formally have a class. Most Cambridge graduates use the class of the final Part as the class of the degree, but this is an informal usage. At Oxford, the Final Honour School results are generally applied to the degree.

In some universities, candidates who successfully complete one or more years of degree-level study, but choose not to or fail to complete a full degree, may be awarded a lower qualification — a Certificate of Higher Education or Higher National Certificate for one year, or a Diploma of Higher Education or Higher National Diploma for two years.

First-Class Honours

In most universities, First-Class Honours is the highest honours which can be achieved, with about 10% of candidates achieving a First nationally.

A minority of universities award First-Class Honours with Distinction, informally known as a "Starred First" (Cambridge) or a "Congratulatory First" (Oxford). These are seldom awarded. In Oxford, the Congratulatory First involves a ceremony where examiners give a standing ovation.

A "Double First" can refer to First-Class Honours in two separate subjects, e.g., Classics and Mathematics, or alternatively to First-Class Honours in the same subject in subsequent examinations, such as subsequent Parts of the Tripos at the University of Cambridge.

A Cambridge "Double First" originally referred to a first in two different Triposes. The phrase "Double First" originally referred to people who got firsts in both the classical and mathematical Triposes ("double men"). The two-Tripos criterion for a "double first", even in vaguely related subjects as English and History, constitutes a far higher hurdle than simply repeating the same performance in competition with the same students in a Part II of the same Tripos; it is harder because the subject matter is different, and the candidate has to reach a mark of excellence in competition with people who would have been studying the subject for longer at university level.
At Cambridge it is possible to obtain a Double Starred First (noted recipients being Quentin Skinner, Alain de Botton, Enoch Powell, Lee Kuan Yew and Orlando Figes), or, in extremely rare cases such as Maurice Zinkin and Abba Eban, a Triple-Starred First.

The Graduateship (post-nominal GCGI) awarded by the City & Guilds of London Institute is mapped to a British Honours degree.

The Associateship (post-nominal ACGI) is conferred by the Council of the City & Guilds of London Institute on the recommendation of the Dean of the City and Guilds College in recognition of the ability to demonstrate, to the level equivalent to that of a degree of Bachelor of Science (Engineering), or Bachelor of Engineering, or Master of Engineering, the understanding and application of the principles of a branch of Engineering or of Computing Science approved by the Institute.

Second-Class Honours

The bulk of university graduates fall into Second-Class Honours, which is usually divided into Upper Second-Class Honours and Lower Second-Class Honours. These divisions are commonly abbreviated to 2:1 (pronounced two-one) and 2:2 (pronounced two-two) respectively.

Third-Class Honours

Third-Class Honours is the lowest honours classification in most modern universities. (Until the 1970s, Oxford used to award Fourth-class Honours degrees, although they did not divide Second-Class Honours and so still had four classes like everyone else.) Roughly 20% of students achieving an honours degree receive a Third.

Third Class degree graduates can have very successful careers. Carol Vorderman, who received a Third Class degree, is well known for her skill at mental arithmetic and now co-hosts Countdown with Des O'Connor. Hugh Laurie also achieved a Third Class degree, and has become a very famous actor. Christopher Hitchens and David Dimbleby received Third Class degrees in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Ordinary Degree

An Ordinary degree is a pass degree without honours. A number of universities offer Ordinary degree courses to students, but most students enrol in Honours degree courses. Ordinary degrees are sometimes awarded to students who do not complete an Honours degree course.

Aegrotat degrees

A candidate who is unable to take his or her exams because of illness can sometimes be awarded an aegrotat degree; this is an honours degree without classification, awarded on the understanding that had the candidate not been unwell, he or she would have passed.

List of universities providing political science degrees

Here goes the list of universities and their departments:

Aberdeen: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/pir)
Aberystwyth: Department of International Politics (http://www.aber.ac.uk/interpol)
Aston: School of Languages and European Studies (http://www.les.aston.ac.uk/)
Bath: European Studies and Modern Languages (http://www.bath.ac.uk/esml/politics/)
Birmingham: Department of Political Science and International Studies (http://www.bham.ac.uk/POLSIS/)
Brimingham: European Research Institute (http://www.eri.bham.ac.uk/)
Birmingham: Institute of Local Government Studies (http://www.bham.ac.uk/inlogov)
Bradford: Department of Peace Studies (http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/peace/)
Bradford: Centre for European Studies (http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/ssis/research/CES/)
Bristol: Department of Politics (http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Politics)
Brunel: Division of Politics, International Relations and History (http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/bbs/)
Cambridge: Department of Politics (http://www.sps.cam.ac.uk/pol/index.html)
Cambridge: Centre for International Studies (http://www.intstudies.cam.ac.uk/)
Cardiff: Politics Section, School of European Studies (http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/euros)
Central England: School of Public Policy (http://www.lhss.uce.ac.uk/assets/social_sciences.html)
Central Lancashire: Department of Education and Social Science (http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/class/edustud/index.htm)
Cork: Department of Government (http://www.ucc.ie/acad/govt)
Coventry: Faculty of Business, Environment and Society (http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cms/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=128)
De Montfort: School of Historical and International Studies (http://www.dmu.ac.uk/faculties/humanities/his/histext.jsp)
De Montfort: Department of Public Policy (http://www.dmu.ac.uk/faculties/business_and_law/business/public_policy.jsp)
Dundee: Department of Politics (http://www.dundee.ac.uk/politics/)
Durham: School of Government and International Affairs, Department of Politics (http://www.dur.ac.uk/sgia/)
East Anglia: School of Political, Social and International Studies (http://www.uea.ac.uk/psi/)
Edinburgh: Department of Politics (http://www.pol.ed.ac.uk/)
Essex: Department of Government (http://www.essex.ac.uk/government/)
Exeter: Department of Politics (http://www.ex.ac.uk/shipss/politics/index.php)
Glamorgan: School of Humanities, Law and Social Science (http://www.glam.ac.uk/hass/)
Glasgow: Department of Politics (http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/politics/)
Glasgow Caledonian: Politics Subject Area, Division of Social Sciences (http://www.gcal.ac.uk/)
Glasgow Caledonian: Globalization and Public Policy Subject Group (http://www.gcal.ac.uk/)
Greenwich: School of Humanities, Division of Politics (http://www.gre.ac.uk/schools/humanities/politics.htm)
Huddersfield: Division of Politics (http://www.hud.ac.uk/hhs/dbs/politics/index.htm)
Hull: Department of Politics and International Studies (http://www.hull.ac.uk/pas)
Keele: SPIRE: Politics, International Relations and Philosophy (http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/spire/)
Kent: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/)
Kingston: School of Social Sciences (http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/faculty/schools/social_sciences/index.php)
Lancaster: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/politics/)
Leeds: School of Politics and International Studies (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/polis)
Leeds Metropolitan: School of Social Sciences (http://www.lmu.ac.uk/as/ass/)
Leeds Metropolitan: School of Cultural Studies (http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cs/)
Leicester: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.le.ac.uk/politics/)
Limerick: Department of Politics and Public Admistration (http://www.politics.ul.ie/)
Lincolnshire: Department of Policy Studies (http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/policystudies)
Liverpool: Department of Politics and Communication Studies (http://www.liv.ac.uk/polcomm/)
Liverpool John Moores: School of Social Science (http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/learning/dc/media/default.asp)
London Metropolitan: Department of Law, Governance and International Relations, City Campus (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/lgir/gir/city-campus/welcome-note-city.cfm)
London Metropolitan: Department of Law, Governance and International Relations, North Campus (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/lgir/gir/north-campus/welcome-note-city.cfm)
London South Bank: Department of Social and Policy Studies (http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/ahssps/)
London: Birkbeck College: School of Politics and Sociology (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/polsoc/index.php)
London: Goldsmiths College: Department of Politics (http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/departments/politics/)
London: Institute for the Study of the Americas (http://americas.sas.ac.uk/)
London: Institute of Commonwealth Studies: Politics Staff (http://www.sas.ac.uk/commonwealthstudies)
London: King's Collefe: International Policy Institute and Centre for Defence Studies (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/)
London: Kings College: Department of War Studies (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/wsg/)
London: King's College: Defence Studies Department JSCSC (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/wsg/dsd/)
London: Queen Mary : Department of Politics (http://www.politics.qmul.ac.uk/)
London: Royal Holloway: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.rhul.ac.uk/politics-and-IR/)
London: School of Economics and Political Science: Department of Government (http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/government/)
London: School of Economics and Political Science: Department of International Relations (http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/intrel/)
London: School of Oriental and African Studies: Department of Political Studies, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences (http://www.soas.ac.uk/departments/departmentinfo.cfm?navid=17)
London: School of Slavonic and East European Studies: Department of Social Sciences (http://www.ssees.ac.uk/social.htm)
London: University College: Political Science/School of Public Policy (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/)
London: University College: Constitution Unit (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/)
Loughborough: Department of Politics, International Relations and European Studies (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/eu/)
Manchester: Government and International Politics (http://www.les1.man.ac.uk/government)
Manchester Metropolitan: Department of Politics (http://www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/pap/)
Middlesex: Political and International Studies, School of Health and Social Sciences (http://www.mdx.ac.uk/hssc/index.htm)
Newcastle: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/geps/about/politics.htm)
Northampton: Department of Sociology and Politics (http://www.northampton.ac.uk/)
Northumbria: Division of Politics (http://northumbria.ac.uk/sd/academic/sass/pol/)
Nottingham: School of Politics (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics/)
Nottingham Trent: Division of Politics and Sociology (http://www.ntu.ac.uk/)
Nottingham Trent: School of Arts, Communication and Culture (http://www.ntu.ac.uk/)
Open: Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) (http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/gov_politics/index.html)
Oxford: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/)
Oxford Brookes: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://ssl.brookes.ac.uk/Departments/Politics.html)
Paisley: Politics Division, School of Social Sciences (http://www.paisley.ac.uk/socialsciences/subject-groups.asp)
Plymouth: School of Sociology: Politics and International Relations Subject Group (http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=7308)
Portsmouth: Politics Division, School of Social and Historical Studies (http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sshls/)
Queen's University Belfast: School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy (http://www.qub.ac.uk/pisp)
Reading: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/lp/PolIR/PolisLink1a.html)
Robert Gordon: Department of Economics and Public Policy, Aberdeen Business School (http://www.rgu.ac.uk/abs/)
Salford: Politics and Contemporary History Subject Group (http://www.espach.salford.ac.uk/politics/welcome.php)
Sheffield: Department of Politics (http://www.shef.ac.uk/politics/)
Sheffield: Political Economy Research Centre (http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/N-Q/perc/)
Sheffield Hallam: Faculty of Organisation and Management (http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sbf/)
Southampton: Division of Politics and International Relations (http://www.politics.soton.ac.uk/?NavContext=Discipline)
Southampton (Solent): Faculty of Media, Arts and Society (http://www.southampton-institute.ac.uk/fmas/)
St Andrews: School of International Relations (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/)
Staffordshire: Politics (http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/irp/welcome.html)
Stirling: Department of Politics (http://www.politics.stir.ac.uk/)
Strathclyde: Department of Government (http://www.strath.ac.uk/government/)
Sunderland: School of Arts, Design, Media and Culture (http://my.sunderland.ac.uk/web/schools/adm/ahome)
Surrey: Department of Political, International and Policy Studies (http://www.surrey.ac.uk/politics)
Sussex: Department of International Relations (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/irp/)
Sussex: Sussex European Institute (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sei/index.php)
Swansea: Department of Politics and International Relations (http://www.swan.ac.uk/poli/politics_html.htm)
Teesside: School of Social Sciences (http://www.tees.ac.uk/schools/SSSL/index.cfm)
Trinity College, Dublin: Department of Political Science (http://www.tcd.ie/political_science)
Ulster: School of History and International Affairs (http://www.ulst.ac.uk/faculty/humanities/politics.html)
Ulster: School of Policy Studies, Public Policy Group (http://www.socsci.ulster.ac.uk/policy)
Ulster: School of Economics and Politics (http://www.socsci.ulster.ac.uk/econpolitics/)
University College, Dublin: School of Poltiics and International Relations (http://www.ucd.ie/politics)
University of Wales Institute: School of Lifelong Learning, Centre for Humanities (http://www.uwic.ac.uk/sll/sll_courses/about_humanities.asp)
Warwick: Department of Politics and International Studies (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/)
West of England: School of Politics (http://www.uwe.ac.uk/)
Westminster: Department of Social and Political Studies (http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-671)
Westminster: Centre for the Study of Democracy (http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-1)
Wolverhampton: Politics and International Studies Subject Area (http://www.wlv.ac.uk/)
York: Department of Politics (http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/poli/)

Most of them provide all kinds of degrees - BA, MA, PhD, research degrees etc. However, different rules and procedures may apply.