How is my Degree Structured? A guide for Undergraduate Students CONTENTS Levels of Study [slide 2] Blocks, Credits and Learning Hours [slide 3] Typical Structure at Certificate Level [slide 4] Typical Structure at Intermediate Level [slide 5] Typical Structure at Honours Level [slide 6] Understanding Some Jargon [slide 7] Where do I find more information? [slide 8] DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?? This guidance applies to all degrees except BA QTS. The typical structures may not apply in all cases seek advice from your lecturers if you are not sure how your degree is structured. 1
Levels of Study During your studies, you will move through 2 or 3 Levels, as follows. Bachelors degrees [eg BA, BSc] involve progressing through 3 levels [each level normally takes 1 year fulltime or 2 years part-time]: Certificate Intermediate Honours; you MUST pass one level in full before progressing to the next level. Foundation degrees cover just the Certificate & Intermediate level, but you can normally then progress to a top-up bachelors degree.. 2
Blocks, Credits and Learning Hours At each Level, you take one or two credit-rated blocks. The credit rating for each block indicates roughly how much work is involved [each credit is worth 10 learning hours, including private study, attending classes, and so on]. A 60-credit block requires on average 600 learning hours. At Certificate level your blocks add to 120 credits. At Intermediate level your blocks add to 120 credits. At Honours level your blocks add to 120 credits. 3
Typical Structure at Certificate Level At Certificate level, you typically follow: either a Double Major curriculum students take two blocks, each from a different subject, and each comprising 60 credits EG students registered for BA History and Politics take Foundations in History, and Foundations in Politics or a Single Honours curriculum students take two blocks, typically from the same subject, and each comprising 60 credits EG students registered for BSc Psychology take Foundations in Psychology [core], and Foundations in Psychology [additional]. Your Departments will explain the curriculum in more detail. 4
Typical Structure at Intermediate Level At Intermediate level, you typically follow: either a Double Major curriculum students take two blocks, each from a different subject, and each comprising 60 credits EG students registered for BA History and Politics take Explorations in History, and Explorations in Democracy or a Single Honours curriculum students take two blocks, typically from the same subject, and each comprising 60 credits EG students registered for BSc Psychology take Explorations in Psychology [core], and Explorations in Psychology [additional]. Your Departments will explain the curriculum in more detail. 5
Typical Structure at Honours Level At Honours level, you typically follow: either a Double Major curriculum students take two taught blocks, each from a different subject, and each comprising 45 credits EG students registered for BA History and Politics take Advanced Studies in History, and Advanced Studies in Politics students also take a 30-credit Research Block. This normally, comprises 2 Research Projects, one for each subject, but students can apply to do a single dissertation integrating their two subjects. or a Single Honours curriculum students take two blocks, typically from the same subject, and each comprising 45 credits EG students registered for BA History take Advanced Studies in History [core], and Advanced Studies in History additional]. students also take a 30-credit Research Block, comprising a single Dissertation. Your Departments will explain the curriculum in more detail. 6
Understanding Some Jargon You can refer to Certificate level as either Level C or [if you want to describe your courses in relation to National Standards] Level 4. You can refer to Intermediate level as either Level I or [if you want to describe your courses in relation to National Standards] Level 5. You can refer to Honours level as either Level H or [if you want to describe your courses in relation to National Standards] Level 6. If you are an international student, you can roughly translate Hope credits to the credits from your own country as follows: 2 Hope credits = 1 European credit 4 Hope credits = 1 US credit 7
Where do I find more information? This information is for Guidance Only. Further information about the curriculum is available at: www.hope.ac.uk/gateway/students If you have any queries, please contact your Faculty Office and ask for an appointment to talk to a Senior Academic Adviser. Please seek advice immediately if you think you have mitigating circumstances. 8