2:2 in an integrated masters - what should I put on my CV?

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If you're sending your CV to a person, and that company did not specify a specific class honours, then there is actually no need to put your honours in.

Literally nobody ever asked me and I've applied for many jobs.

a) have you got many graduate offers and

b) everyone presumed you got a 2.2

and if they gave you an offer, didn't care,

but if they didn't give you an offer and you didn't get a 2.2, you maybe weakened your position

Not putting a degree grade is is taken to mean you got a 2.2 or less.

Not putting A level grades in is taken to mean you got CCC or less.

So missing out your grades is not an entirely neutral action.

Yes. I got offers even when I wasn't applying for them.

In fact, I almost made the top 1% income bracket as a fresh graduate, and making it soon after.



Who? Literally nobody seemed to have. Everyone seemed to assume I have gotten a first.



I certainly doubt most even care. They care about experience and my freelance experiences appealed to them. The universities I attended probably did, too.



The only offers I didn't get were the ones I clearly wasn't qualified for. Like when I was randomly - and foolishly - applying for university jobs without a doctorate or full-time experience anywhere.



By you? Who cares what you think?



This is even more LOL. If you're a school leaver without additional qualifications or experience, I guess a-level grades would be the only things you could have on your CV.

But if you literally have anything else, why would you even put your a-level grades in? In my entire life, only two employers ever asked about my public examinations grades - a parent, when I was tutoring her child as a sixth former myself; the government, when I was an undergraduate applying to be an assistant marker for some public examinations. (The latter was a computer system so I had no idea how relevant the grades were.)



And what credentials do you have to qualify you to speak on this matter?

Since you didn't mention anything at all, I have to assume - based on your logic - that you are a 10-year-old with unemployed parents living on benefits. And you are absolutely failing primary school.

2014-18 University of Wherever, Masters in Maths, (UG 2.1, Masters Pass)

2014-18 University of Wherever, Masters in Maths, (UG 2.1, Masters Pass)

Which is factually correct in that you got the 2.1 and passed, and if pressed hard in interview, you can explain that the combined grading came out as a 2.2 overall. That's still potentially better to many employers than a 2.2 at UG level.

Hmm... I tried to reply to this once but it didn't work. The poster is correct I'm afraid - I've worked in recruitment (and notice that they are a TSR CV helper) and it is true - if you miss your grades off your CV it tends to come across like you are hiding something. Obviously if grades aren't important for a role it doesn't matter, but there's no point doing yourself a disservice by making it look worse than it is.

Personally I'd do what a poster higher up said - say you got a 2.1 for your undergrad and a pass for your masters. That's the best version of the truth.

So the OP got a 2:2. By your logic, people are going to assume they got a 2:2. That is making themselves looking worse?

TSR CV helper status means absolutely nothing. They have no credentials listed and there's no statistics or even claims made anywhere at all to say they have been effective, for anyone, at any time, anywhere, for anything.

I don't doubt that if the degree is the only thing literally listed on the CV, it'd look like one is hiding something, since it'd look awfully empty. But as a recruiter, are you really suggesting that you have been ignoring work experience and other achievements because you weren't absolutely sure if someone got a 2:1 or above?

No, to ignore the rest of the CV would be really stupid. E.g. if someone has put 10 years' experience in a relevant sector, but they haven't put their uni grade, I think it would be a bit silly to discount them, unless you are looking for someone very academic.

But consider this - you have 2 CVs, each with 10 years experience. The degree is in the same field. One person has put that they got a 2.1 at undergrad and a pass at Masters (to use OP's example) and the other got the same grade but didn't put it on their CV. An employer is much more likely to contact the former candidate. Obviously if they have time they can contact the second candidate to check their grades and then interview both of them, but it's unusual for employers to go to that kind of effort - you really have to put everything you want them to know on the CV.

So in other words, if you don't have the best results, it'd be better to frame your CV to focus on other achievements, be it internships or freelance/part-time experience, or awards/honours, or additional certified skills etc. And once you've done that, there's little need to put class honours on to the CV.

Most employers would prefer someone with experience than someone who doesn't. Framing one's CV to focus on the experience rather than the qualifications, which most applicants would have got, would be more advantageous, would you not agree?

The approach to say "2:1 in BSc" and "pass in Master's" is potentially problematic as someone else has pointed out. Depends on the university, integrated master's students don't necessarily get two diplomas or degrees, and a 2:1 would not have been awarded at any point at all. That'd be lying on one's CV and it's illegal. There's nothing stopping the OP from listing the % they got in every year, of course, but once they've done that, the entire focus of the CV will turn into their qualifications (since it's going to be lengthy), which apparently they don't excel in.

If this is a case of someone who's getting a 2:2 with absolutely no experience or certified skills or awards to add, then the only way to save the CV is to at least go and get some now instead of doing something that's potentially illegal.



So your firm evaluates people's academic performance from at least 10 years ago, and not the actual achievements in their job in the last 10 years?

Sounds fantastical.

I'm not sure if this is correct. An integrated masters is taken and awarded as one degree; it is not broken up into undergraduate and postgraduate sections. The degree certificate will likely only state the final grade achieved, and not mention anything for the combined first three years. I would be concerned that putting down a 2:1 when no 2:1 has been awarded and there is likely no reference to one being achieved could potentially be flagged up if qualifications are rigorously checked.

Who said the person did their degree 10 years ago? Most people should really have some work experience by the time they're 18/19.

I'm just saying, put the best angle on each aspect of your CV, because someone out there might have all the same credentials as you, and if you miss one of yours off, it could swing it for them. Especially with something like a grade, which, as we've said, can and does make employers think you might be hiding a bad grade even if you're not.

I don't work for a firm either - I worked in recruitment in the past, I've moved on to a different sector.

Let's say you're an athlete applying to be a trainer. You have only mediocre a-levels but very good numbers on your sport.

You don't present both to "put the best angle on each aspect". You frame your CV to present your best angle overall.

If the OP is applying for academic jobs, then of course there'd be no avoiding mentioning the class honours (given that there aren't additional degrees), but for anything else, one would try to focus on the aspects one is best in, such as achievements in the work experience, its breadth and depth, and to minimize the "education" section because it wouldn't matter as much any more.

The scenario you're presenting is theoretical and clinical. It's highly, highly unlikely that two individuals would have the exact same path in life barring the degree class honours. And of course it's not even an accurate example - the OP got a 2:2, so you shouldn't be comparing them to someone with a 2:1.

Your hypothesis that "all else being equal, this one thing could tip the balance" could be applied to anything - age, whether the recruiter likes the name, gender, university attended, place(s) worked for, additional skill(s)/certificate(s), language(s) spoken, layout of the CVs, presumed ethnicity, the mood of the recruiter when reading the CVs, etc.

Literally anything at all could tip the balance, and what I'm saying is that to tip the balance in your favour, perhaps it's best to show your overall best self on your CV, rather than showing your weakness even when not asked.

We also need to remember that most employers would not have a requirement or expectation set on the performance in a master's degree, which may very well be the only degree the OP has, depends on the regulations of their university. It would, thus, be even more common for candidates like him to not include the grade.

We aren't gonna agree so let's just leave it there - I just hope OP reads it all and makes the right decision.

It depends on the university. Oxford and Cambridge both technically award the "Bachelor of Arts" "degree" to integrated masters' students (which can be "converted" to "Master of Art" without any additional testing in the future). I don't know if other universities actually award two degrees as well.

But the Oxbridge BA diplomas do not state the class honours as far as I know. I'm not certain how the transcripts are presented.

I have read it all but what's the right decision? I'm reading conflicting opinions. I was never awarded a 2:1 after 3 years - that was just my grade at that point as part of my 4 year masters. Although I had the option to stop at 3 years and receive a BSc.