How to calculate a degree mark

I_am_mad · 22 June 2009 at 4:42PM

Hey I know this isnt money saving but as a place full of students I didnt know where else to post this. Can anyone help me work out I you work out what grade you will come out with at the end of uni? 40% of my marks for this year count towards the degree and then 60% next year. I dont know how to work this out. What average marks would I have to get to gain a 2:1.

Can anyone shed any light on this topic for me please as its starting to bug me.

Thank You x

melancholly · 22 June 2009 at 5:00PM

this will depend on your institution, but generally 40% is a third, 50% a 2:2, 60% a 2:1 and 70% a first. if you have an average of about 60% now, that means you have 60% x 40% in the bag for next year (i.e. 24%). however, a lot of unis have specific rules about what proportion of grades are a first rather than just the average score, so it's worth checking.

overall, the best way to get a 2:1 is to get a 2:1 or higher on everything you do! the weighting on your final year means you have the chance to pull up your grade in your finals if your 2nd year average is a 2:2.

The_One_Who · 22 June 2009 at 5:07PM

Yep, basically as above. It really depends on your university. I know at mine I need to get over 80% to get a first, but then we don't really work in percentages so it's a bit different.

To average a 2.1 next year you just really need to average a 2.1 or higher in your final year, and doing really well on your dissertation (if you do one) can also help bump up your grade if you are a borderline case.

blue_ashleigh · 22 June 2009 at 5:55PM

To work it out (working on the presumption that there are 8 modules a year and 60% is a 2:1):
2nd yr modules: add all the marks up, divide by 10, multiply by 4
Take this number away from 480, then divide by 60 and times by 100, then divide by 8 to get the average mark for your third year modules.

E.g.
If you got 60, 59, 73, 40, 81, 65, 40, 72 in your second year
Total: 490
As 40%: 196 marks for final classification mark.
Then 480-196 = 284
284/60=4.73333
4.7333x100= 473.33
So you need 474 marks from the total of your third year marks.
474/8 = 59.17 marks on average you need on each module.

(Clear as mud?)
I've tried to explain simply, but I'm not sure that's come across...

whitfreak · 22 June 2009 at 11:47PM

Well as we have no marks to work with, then if you get 60% each year you should be fine. Somewhere in your unversity or departmental handbook or univeristy website should be the rules for degree classification if you are not sure of the overall % required.

Just a note, if you are likely to be applying to a grad scheme, sort out your numerical reasoning as most of them have a test involving percentages and averages.

Anyway simple way of working it out.
Work out your average module mark for your second year, lets call that y.
Then solve 0.4y+0.6z=60, where z is the required third year average mark.
Change the 60 for 70 if you want to work out that average mark required for a first (or 50 for 2:2 and so on)

(60-0.4y)/0.6=z for those that have forgotten maths....

swagman · 23 June 2009 at 6:29PM

The uni will have published a manual of academic regulations. For example, Lancaster has the following convention for degrees comprising 16 half units:
a given class shall normally be awarded when at least 8 of the 16 marks attain that class AND the average mark from all 16 marks is no more than 2% below the class boundary.
So, for example, to get a 2(1) there must be at least 8 out of 16 marks in the 60% - 69% 2(1) band and the average across all 16 is not less than 58%.

It is complicated if not all half units are counted as equal. Some departments might require a better performance in 'core' modules. Practice might vary too in different faculties.

In short it is almost impossible to work out with certainty without having a conversation with someone who works in the uni concerned.

koopa_coffee · 24 June 2009 at 11:19AM

Not all degrees require Math skills, especially if the OP is working towards a BA rather than a BSc.

I_am_mad · 24 June 2009 at 5:57PM

thanks for your help, and I am working towards a BA, and its way to hard to try and work out degree calculations, we cant all be genuius'

whitfreak · 24 June 2009 at 7:50PM

koopa_coffee wrote: »

Not all degrees require Math skills, especially if the OP is working towards a BA rather than a BSc.

True, but I didnt use any maths I wasnt taught before GCSE to work it out. And it was the level of maths that turns up on numerical reasoning tests which are used in a lot of graduate recruitment. So its a skill worth polishing.

Admittedly, if you are at a university which has rules like swagmans or a more continental system with different courses/modules being worth completely different amounts. Then its nowhere near as simple. And all univeristy's have wierd rules relating to illness, disability and other factors the examiners can take into account, which alot complecate the situation (along with how retakes, and failed modules can be carried though...)

How to calculate a degree mark

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