Courtesy: Diploma in Education

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, bachelor’s degrees usually take three years of study to complete, although courses may take four years where they include a year abroad or a placement year. Degrees may have titles related to their broad subject area or faculty, such as BA or BSc, or may be more subject specific (e.g. BEng or LLB). The majority of bachelor’s degrees are now honours degrees, although this has not always been the case historically. # ISO certification in India

Although first degree courses are usually three years (360 credits), direct second year entry is sometimes possible for students transferring from other courses or those who have completed foundation degrees, via accreditation of prior learning or more formal credit transfer arrangements. Some universities compress the three-year course into two years by teaching for a full calendar year (180 credits) rather than a standard academic year (120 credits), thus maintaining the full 360-credit extent of the course. # ISO certification in India

In addition to bachelor’s degrees, some institutions offer integrated master’s degrees as first degrees in some subjects (particularly in STEM fields). These integrate teaching at bachelor’s and master’s level in a four-year (five-year if with industrial experience) course, which often shares the first two years with the equivalent bachelor’s course. # ISO certification in India

The normal academic standard for bachelor’s degrees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is the honours degree. These are normally classified into one of four classes of honours, depending upon the marks gained in examinations and other assessments:

• First class honours (1st)
• Second class honours, divided into:
  • Upper division, or upper second (2:1)
  • Lower division, or lower second (2:2)
• Third class honours (3rd)

Some institutions have announced that they intend to replace this system of classifying honours degrees with an American-style Grade Point Average.An ordinary (or unclassified) degree, which only requires passes worth 300 credits rather than the 360 of the honours degree, may be awarded if a student has completed the full honours degree course but has not obtained sufficient passes to earn a degree. Completion of just the first two years of the course can lead to a Diploma of Higher Education and completion of only the first year to a Certificate of Higher Education.

On the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, standard undergraduate bachelor’s degrees with and without honours are at level 6, although the courses include learning across levels 4 to 6. Honours degrees normally require 360 credits with a minimum of 90 at level 6, while ordinary degrees need 300 credits with a minimum of 60 at level 6. Bachelor’s degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science are at level 7, with learning spanning levels 4 to 7, and are not normally credit rated. The Diploma of Higher Education is a level 5 (second year of bachelor’s degree) qualification and requires 240 credits, a minimum of 90 at level 5; The Certificate of Higher Education is a level 4 (first year of bachelor’s degree) qualification and requires 120 credits, a minimum of 90 at level 4. # ISO certification in India

Other qualifications at level 6 of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications or the Regulated Qualifications Framework, such as graduate diplomas and certificates, some BTEC Advanced Professional awards, diplomas and certificates, and the graduateship of the City & Guilds of London Institute are at the same level as bachelor’s degrees, although not necessarily representing the same credit volume. # ISO certification in India