Getting a First-Class Honours Degree: What Does it (Actually) Mean? (2024)

FAQs

Is a first class honours degree good? ›

A first-class degree is generally seen as an impressive and beneficial achievement for any student. First-class Honours degrees are awarded to students who have accumulated a minimum of 70% or higher during their academic year.

Degree classifications

First-Class Honours (First or 1st) (70% and above)

To get a first-class degree at university, you'll usually need an average of around 70 percent or above overall. This average is calculated across coursework, presentations, projects and exams, so you'll need to achieve consistent good grades throughout university.

A 2:1 or even a first-class degree is not enough to impress employers. It is certainly a great personal achievement and testament to your strong work ethic. However, as tens of thousands of graduates achieve these grades each year, it is no longer a differentiator.

Only 6% of graduates graduate with a 1st class degree.

The proportion of students in England awarded first-class degrees has more than doubled in a decade, the university watchdog says. About 36% of students were awarded the top grade in 2019-20 and 38% in 2020-21, according to analysis by the Office for Students (OfS). In 2010-11, it was just under 16%.

The initial findings are simple. People with firsts are less likely to be out of work than people with lower grades. The unemployment rate after six months was 4.7% for firsts, 7.1% for 2:1s, 11% for 2:2s and 15.2% for thirds. That's a pretty serious difference.

An Honours Degree is an extra year of study on top of a three year Bachelor course, designed to qualify a student for higher degree (PhD or research masters) study.

Law is officially the hardest subject to get a first class degree in⁴, so we all know it's hard going.

What percentage of maths students get a first? ›

Luckily, we've figured out which degrees are the most likely to get you a first. Medicine and dentistry tops the table, with 42.9 per cent of classified degrees awarded as firsts, according to data released by uni stats boffins HESA. Maths is just behind, with 41.7 per cent of degrees awarded as firsts.

University grades often matter most in jobs that are knowledge-specific, competitive, and offer a higher salary. One way to spot them is jobs requiring a 2:1 or a first in the relevant field. However, it does not mean that someone with a first-class degree will automatically get a job over someone with a 2:1.

A second-class degree is split into two divisions and the higher of the two divisions is the upper second class, commonly known as 2:1 (pronounced “two-one”) and often written as a 2.1. A 2:1 also puts you in a good position for employment, graduate programmes and post graduate study.

Bottom line: Your college GPA is only as important as it is for your future plans. While you may not feel pressure to focus on maintaining as high a GPA as you did in high school, there's no reason why you shouldn't work hard in your college classes and succeed as best you can academically.

Medicine. What's the hardest degree to study in the UK? Well, many agree that it's Medicine. It should come as no surprise that Medicine tops our list as one of the hardest degrees in the UK.

The OfS said nearly 38% of undergraduates in England were awarded a first in 2020-21, more than double the 16% awarded firsts a decade earlier, and above the 29% awarded before the pandemic.

The proportion of students achieving a first-class degree has more than doubled in that decade, from 15.7 per cent in 2010-11 to 37.9 per cent in 2020-21. In total, 84.4 per cent achieved a first or 2.1 compared with 67 per cent ten years ago.

Figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) today revealed that 36% of undergraduate students achieved a first in 2020-21 – an increase of one percentage point compared to the previous year.

While an impressive 31.7% of all Cambridge graduates left university with a first, this figure is triumphantly beaten by their bitter rivals at Oxford, where 33.2% of all graduates successfully swotted their way to a first.

Is it harder to get a first at Cambridge? ›

Definitely harder at Cambridge, it's only common sense. There's no way the majority of Cambridge students wouldn't be able to achieve the 1sts which plenty of people from every other university are able to achieve.

How to use Postnominals or Appellations. There's a bit of order to correctly place your Bachelor of Arts or other distinction behind your name. First, put your qualification abbreviation with no punctuation, such as John Smith BA. If you want to include honors, it would read John Smith BA (Hons).

“The only academic credentials (degrees) that you should list after your name at the top of the résumé should be doctorate level degrees, such as MD, DO, DDS, DVM, PhD, and EdD. A master's degree or bachelor's degree should never be included after your name.

Put cum laude on your resume if you're making an entry-level resume. Add Latin honors to your resume when applying for jobs requiring strong academic background. Put cum laude in your resume's education section or in a separate section for honors and awards on a resume.

Read the advice from TARGETjobs about declaring mitigating circ*mstances in job applications. Employers may consider a 2:2 from Oxford a better result than a higher class degree from many other universities. See some employers' views on how they view degree results below.

It's official, getting a 2:1 makes you more employable after you've finished university. Lately it's been reported that graduates with a 2:1 tend to have better job prospects than those graduating with a first, and now questions are being raised about how useful a first really is.

Each university will have set its own criteria for what deserves a first/second/third class degree grade, so you can't expect the standards to be the same.

An honours degree is an undergraduate one that is designed to be at a higher standard than a general Bachelor degree. In these degrees, the curriculum requires a higher level of achievement while still at an undergraduate level.

Master ranks higher than honours bachelor in the AQF chart. 2. You may freely choose your profession in Master degree, unlike bachelor that limits to your bachelor profession.

Honours degrees help you develop skills you might miss out on if you only complete an undergraduate degree. From being able to analyse problems critically, come up with solutions and troubleshoot, the skills you gain lend themselves to both professional and research careers.

What is the easiest degree UK? ›

It is believed that a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or BSN is the toughest course in the world as per the Guinness Book of World Records along with courses like MBBS, BCom, IAS, IPS and Engineering, etc.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree is the hardest degree in Guinness World Records. This is because the curriculum is very demanding and requires students to complete a four-year program.

Rising overall numbers of students mean the proportion with first class honors has risen from 15.7% in 2010/11 to 37.9% in 2020/21.

First-Class Honours (70% and above): a first class degree, usually referred to as a 'first' or 1st, is the highest honours degree you can achieve. Upper Second-Class Honours (60-70%): there are two levels of second class degree.

The most stressed out majors in America are Medicine, Architecture and Nursing, according to new data. STEM majors feature heavily as the most stressful degrees in the nation – compare that to arts-related courses, which students say make them feel less stressed on average.

To be sure, many small employers won't expect to see a GPA on a résumé, but most large companies will. According to a 2013 survey of more than 200 employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 67% of companies said they screened candidates by their GPA.

How is honours degree classification calculated? ›

And remember those critical skills employers are looking for? Having a degree demonstrates that you have those. Many employers are even willing to leave a job unfilled longer so they can fill it with the right degree-qualified candidate. Your future employer cares about your degree, and so should you!

To get a first-class degree at university, you'll usually need an average of around 70 percent or above overall. This average is calculated across coursework, presentations, projects and exams, so you'll need to achieve consistent good grades throughout university.

The short answer is yes, absolutely. Many postgraduate courses will even include a 2.2 or above in their Master's entry requirements. Strictly speaking, you could do a Master's with a third, or even no degree at all.

In your first year at university, achieving a grade of 50% or more is a good thing. You can build on your work and improve as you work towards your final grade. Scores above 70% are classed as “First”, so you should be very excited to get a grade in that range.

Grades carry much more weight in high school than they did in middle or elementary school. Good high school grades are important for a student's post-secondary career—especially if he or she is thinking about scholarships and college admission.

Marks could matter, a good college tag and a good placement are important, but not so much for it to be the last thing in the world. Yes, Board exams are important and a person should study all they can towards getting marks, but these do not decide our future in the absolute sense.

While achieving good grades is a common desire for college students, recent research has shown making good grades is not the only factor determining one's success after college. According to a research study conducted in 2016, personality predicts success more accurately than almost all other factors.

Having a high honors degree can be important for job candidates in certain fields. Those include finance, management consulting, and engineering. These jobs pay well at the entry level and are quite competitive, often with more than 100 applicants for each spot.

University grades often matter most in jobs that are knowledge-specific, competitive, and offer a higher salary. One way to spot them is jobs requiring a 2:1 or a first in the relevant field. However, it does not mean that someone with a first-class degree will automatically get a job over someone with a 2:1.

Is a 2.1 honours degree good? ›

Usually, the average overall score of 70%+ Second-class honours, upper division (2.1): usually, the average overall exam score of 60%+ Second-class honours, lower division (2.2): usually, the average overall score of 50%+ Third-class honours (3rd): usually, the average overall score of 40%+

Being awarded honours considerably enhances your undergraduate qualification and transferable skill set. You will fine-tune your research, critical thinking and communication abilities and demonstrate to employers that you can challenge yourself and go the extra mile.

An honours degree is an undergraduate one that is designed to be at a higher standard than a general Bachelor degree. In these degrees, the curriculum requires a higher level of achievement while still at an undergraduate level.

It depends on how much work experience you have, what type of work you have been doing and the subject you want to apply for. Each year we do manage to get students on to Masters degrees without an honours degree. However in most cases, you will need to complete a Bachelors degree before being accepted on a Masters.

Is a 2.2 degree good? In short, yes. You can still get a good graduate job with a 2.2 degree. The direction that a lot of employers are moving in is away from viewing a first or 2.1 as the be all and end all.

“We expect the OfS to challenge registered providers with an excessive proportion of top degrees being awarded.” The OfS said nearly 38% of undergraduates in England were awarded a first in 2020-21, more than double the 16% awarded firsts a decade earlier, and above the 29% awarded before the pandemic.

Yes an employer could check your grades if they wanted to.

A 2.1 is still a good degree. In most universities a first is 70% and if you get put up to a 1st from a 68% onwards, you should consider yourself very lucky. If universities inflate grades in this way, they are usually only doing it to make themselves look better.

Do university rankings matter in the UK? ›

UK University rankings and league tables are highly competitive. There are over 150 higher education institutions to choose from in the UK and university rankings are an important decisive factor. It is important you have all the information on where to go and what to study before applying.

How to use Postnominals or Appellations. There's a bit of order to correctly place your Bachelor of Arts or other distinction behind your name. First, put your qualification abbreviation with no punctuation, such as John Smith BA. If you want to include honors, it would read John Smith BA (Hons).

“The only academic credentials (degrees) that you should list after your name at the top of the résumé should be doctorate level degrees, such as MD, DO, DDS, DVM, PhD, and EdD. A master's degree or bachelor's degree should never be included after your name.

Include your academic degrees

If you have a degree, start by listing the highest degree you've earned immediately after your name, such as a master's degree, bachelor's degree or associate degree.