A first (or Bachelor's) degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course that generally lasts for three, four, and in some cases, five years. Qualifications include Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BCh).
There are two different types of degree in England and Wales: the Ordinary degree and the Honours degree.
1. The Ordinary Degree
Ordinary degrees are unclassified degrees, offered either as a qualification in their own right, or as a fallback position for an Honours degree. Ordinary degree courses usually have lower entry requirements than Honours degree courses, although in some cases, students may be able to transfer to an Honours degree course in the same subject if an acceptable standard is reached after the first or second year of study.
The Ordinary degree usually requires a lower level of achievement than an Honours programme; for example, an Honours student may be required to pass 100 out of 120 credits at each level in order to remain on the Honours programme, whilst an Ordinary student may only require 80 out of 120 credits.
2. The Honours Degree
Honours degrees - usually written as BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) - are generally regarded as being of a superior academic standard than the Ordinary degree. Students are usually required to achieve a minimum of credits each year to remain on an Honours degree; students who do not achieve the required standard may be downgraded to the Ordinary degree.
Students who complete the full Honours degree course but who either fail to obtain an average mark sufficient to merit a third class honours degree or who do not achieve the number of credits required for an Honours degree may be awarded the Ordinary degree.
