What does (Hons) mean?

ChemistBoy

I think it's assumed then, after all one could ask the question, "class of what?", otherwise.

Hmm, of the final honour school, I suppose... :dontknow:

Is that truly official or just a de facto thing (like a cambridge)?

Well, you've got first-year exams which are marked as pass or distinction, but they don't affect your final grade at all. Your degree result is entirely calculated from your performance in finals (plus, depending on your subject, a few bits of coursework / projects / extended essays submitted earlier in the year). So I'd say that's pretty much "truly official", then...

Reply 21

Kitsch

Not for all subjects. Some have finals in 2nd and 3rd year (Chemistry, Physics, maybe maths?)

True, but those are still part of finals, aren't they? They're just sat a bit earlier.

Reply 22

hermaphrodite

15

honours means it's not an ordinary degree

Reply 23

Gaylei

Finals? eah? dont you just do three years with exams and course work and finish on exams and a dissy?

No. At least not in humanities subjects (and social sciences too, I think). You do three years of agonising over tutorial essays which don't count towards your final degree, but which you have to take seriously nevertheless, and then at the end of your final year you sit lots of three-hour exams.

Reply 24

Bilek

I recently read about Hons ^^ Here you have quite a good explanation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor%27s_degree#Honours_degrees_and_academic_distinctions

Reply 25

ChemistBoy

16

hobnob

Hmm, of the final honour school, I suppose... :dontknow:

Well that's honours then. It's just the same as what is referred to in St Andrews as the 'Honours Programme', i.e. what is used to classify your degree.

Reply 26

Gaylei

13

hobnob

No. At least not in humanities subjects (and social sciences too, I think). You do three years of agonising over tutorial essays which don't count towards your final degree, but which you have to take seriously nevertheless, and then at the end of your final year you sit lots of three-hour exams.

thats odd, in mine whcih was a combined humanities social Science Subject I did a whole year of essays exams and presentations which you only needed to pass (40%) then 2 years of exams and coursework and presentations plus a few extra graphs and tests here and there and my dissertation. and some of mine were 3 hour exams but only the ones that were worth 100%

Reply 27

Gaylei

thats odd, in mine whcih was a combined humanities social Science Subject I did a whole year of essays exams and presentations which you only needed to pass (40%) then 2 years of exams and coursework and presentations plus a few extra graphs and tests here and there and my dissertation. and some of mine were 3 hour exams but only the ones that were worth 100%

Oxford doesn't have modular degrees, which is why they don't allow you to build up credits over the three years (the exception being, I believe, the dissertation).

Reply 28

thebarmaidsmiles

Gaylei

where mine says what degree score I got the bit where mine says the secondment something something I think in () it says (Hons) Im sure. Did you do a dissy? sometimes when a dissy has not been done they dont award Hons... or so I heard

This is what I heard, though I'm not sure whether it's true or not.

My friend is doing International Politics, but failed to hand in his dist (yeah he's a tool). My other friend told him that he'd threfore get his BA (assuming it's a BA haven't checked...meh) but not the (Hons).

Is that right?

Reply 29

nobodyslittlepumpkin

This is what I heard, though I'm not sure whether it's true or not.

My friend is doing International Politics, but failed to hand in his dist (yeah he's a tool). My other friend told him that he'd threfore get his BA (assuming it's a BA haven't checked...meh) but not the (Hons).

Is that right?

I suspect it depends on the university. If that had happened in my department, since the dissertation is 40 credits of the final year, the person would not have been awarded a degree at all I don't think (since you're only permitted to fail 20 credits in a year and still pass).

Reply 30

Gaylei

13

IlexAquifolium

I suspect it depends on the university. If that had happened in my department, since the dissertation is 40 credits of the final year, the person would not have been awarded a degree at all I don't think (since you're only permitted to fail 20 credits in a year and still pass).

I think he will fail wont he for not completing the course?

Reply 31

Gaylei

I think he will fail wont he for not completing the course?

...Which is what I said :confused:

I suspect it depends on the university however - at a lot, the dissertation is optional anyway, and if it comprised fewer credits than the overall fail boundary (say only 20 of 120) then a fail in that module would not necessary result in a failed or unclassified degree overall.

The university in question might also elect to award someone an ordinary degree rather than fail them outright, as the original post suggested. These things are so idiosyncratic that it's impossible to be able to say with any confidence what will or can happen, all you can be sure of is that not handing in a dissertation is a particularly stupid thing to do. :p:

Reply 32

thebarmaidsmiles

IlexAquifolium

...Which is what I said :confused:

I suspect it depends on the university however - at a lot, the dissertation is optional anyway, and if it comprised fewer credits than the overall fail boundary (say only 20 of 120) then a fail in that module would not necessary result in a failed or unclassified degree overall.

The university in question might also elect to award someone an ordinary degree rather than fail them outright, as the original post suggested. These things are so idiosyncratic that it's impossible to be able to say with any confidence what will or can happen, all you can be sure of is that not handing in a dissertation is a particularly stupid thing to do. :p:

I think his dist isn't worth as many credits as it may do in say my course or something. That's the general jist of what I understood in between me going 'Oh my God you complete and utter PRAT'. It's definately compulsory, but I suppose we'll find out when his results come through it writes off his degree or not.

Fun times eh?

Reply 33

nobodyslittlepumpkin

I think his dist isn't worth as many credits as it may do in say my course or something. That's the general jist of what I understood in between me going 'Oh my God you complete and utter PRAT'. It's definately compulsory, but I suppose we'll find out when his results come through it writes off his degree or not.

Fun times eh?

Fingers crossed for him. Are you both at Aber? Good place to do politics, he is particularly silly for not writing his dissertation!

Reply 34

thebarmaidsmiles

IlexAquifolium

Fingers crossed for him. Are you both at Aber? Good place to do politics, he is particularly silly for not writing his dissertation!

He's so good at it that's the thing, just lost his momentum this term (women trouble lol). Yeah Aber is apparently pretty good for interpol, not that I'd know, I thought interpol was a computer up until a year ago....

:rolleyes:

Reply 35

Spanky Deluxe

1

alex p

think honors relates to the pass mark and whether you passed it in one go - i know you cant get honors if you retake a year, and i think that applies to the retake of single exams as well

This is what it means. I asked in my department while I was doing my undergraduate degree.

Honours means that you obtained that grade using only your first sitting of any module or exam. So if you were to fail a module and get say 35% then your department might make you retake it. They only do this to show that you can pass though and as such usually just give a 'pass or fail' for retakes. It will still be the 35% that counts towards your final degree mark.

If you have to repeat a year then it'll still just be the first attempt's marks that are considered. You can, of course, have extenuating circumstances that let you redo a module or year on a wipe-the-slate-clean basis.

In the UK there are in fact five classifications. 1st. 2.1. 2.2. 3rd and pass although the last one is *very* rare. Someone could theoretically get a degree with a simple pass if they were to fail every exam but pass on retakes. Their final overall mark might be say 35% but due to passing retakes, they'd have still passed. Obviously, most universities would have kicked you out long before this though.

In the UK at least, a non honours degree is worth diddly squat. A 1st without honours would be outclassed by a 3rd with honours. Academically speaking, of course.

I think its quite different in the US and a lot of people do actually finish degrees without honours although I don't know for sure.

Reply 36

Spanky Deluxe

In the UK at least, a non honours degree is worth diddly squat. A 1st without honours would be outclassed by a 3rd with honours. Academically speaking, of course.

But surely you couldn't actually get a "first without honours" in most cases because a lot of exam regulations specify that one of the conditions of getting a first is that you pass all papers and/or all of your marks are above a certain limit? :confused:

Reply 37