UK Degree Classification Calculator
Your degree class from module marks, with the weighting your university uses.
Year weighting
The marks below are an example — replace them with yours, or .
Level 4 usually the first year
Level 5 usually the second year
Level 6 usually the final year of a bachelor’s degree
Level 7 the master’s year of an integrated master’s
Rules: best credits, boundaries, rounding and borderline
Paste modules from a spreadsheet
What you need in the modules still to come
| Class | Average needed |
|---|
The same mark in every module still to come; marks above it in one module allow lower marks in another.
Working
Credits by class band
| Band | Credits | Share |
|---|
Sources: QAA — The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications (Annex D: classification descriptions) · QAA — Higher Education Credit Framework for England · Imperial College London — academic regulations (an example of the boundaries and rounding)
About the UK Degree Classification Calculator
Type your module marks and credits for the years that count, choose how your university weights them, and see your overall mark and degree class — conventionally a First from 70, a 2:1 from 60, a 2:2 from 50 and a Third from 40. A module you have not finished can stay without a mark: the calculator then shows the average you need in the modules still to come for each class.
Universities classify in different ways, so every rule is a setting: the weighting of the years (1 : 2, 30 : 70, the final year only or your own), counting only your best credits, the class boundaries, rounding before classifying (69.5 becomes 70 at some universities) and a borderline zone. The result shows its working, your average per level, the credits you have in each class band and your final-year average — the figures a borderline rule can look at.
How to use it
- Choose your year weighting — it is in your programme handbook or regulations. Level 5 is usually the second year and Level 6 the final year; add Level 4 or Level 7 if your degree counts them.
- For each level, add your modules with their credits and marks. Leave a mark empty for a module still to come. Only know a year’s average? Type it as one module of 120 credits.
- Optional: open Rules to count only your best credits, change the class boundaries, round before classifying or set the borderline zone. Paste modules takes lines copied from a spreadsheet.
- Read your overall mark, class and working, and — with modules still to come — the average you need in them for each class.
- Copy result keeps everything; Download CSV saves your modules and averages.
Examples
Level 5 average 62.33 · Level 6 average 70.67
(62.33 + 2 × 70.67) ÷ 3 = 67.89 → 2:1
Level 5 62.33 · Level 6 70.67
0.3 × 62.33 + 0.7 × 70.67 = 68.17 → 2:1, borderline First (1.83 below 70)
Level 5: 58, 64, 61, 70, 55, 66 (20 credits each)
The 55 is left out: Level 5 average 63.80 instead of 62.33
Level 5 done (62.33) · Level 6: 68 and 72 in 40 credits, 80 credits to come · 1 : 2
First: an average of 75.8 in the 80 credits · 2:1: 53.3 · 2:2: 30.8
Overall 69.5
A First where 69.5 is rounded to 70 first; a borderline 2:1 where it is not
How a degree class is worked out
A bachelor’s degree with honours is typically 360 credits, at least 90 of them at Level 6, and a full-time year is usually 120 credits — one credit stands for about ten hours of study (QAA’s Higher Education Credit Framework). For each level that counts, the average is weighted by credits: a 40-credit dissertation counts twice as much as a 20-credit module.
The level averages are then combined by the year weighting in your regulations. With 1 : 2, the final year counts twice as much as the second; with 30 : 70, 70%. Whether the first year counts also depends on the university: it counts 0% in the schemes above, while Imperial College London’s three-year BSc weighting gives the three years 7.5%, 35% and 57.5%. With My own weighting you can enter any of these.
The class boundaries
Conventionally a First starts at 70, an Upper second (2:1) at 60, a Lower second (2:2) at 50 and a Third at 40 — Imperial’s regulations, for example, set exactly these. Below the Third boundary, no honours class is awarded. QAA’s frameworks describe the four classes in words: a Third shows knowledge and understanding of the course, a 2:2 strong, a 2:1 thorough and a First consistently advanced knowledge and understanding.
Your university can set other boundaries, and some work on another scale entirely — change the boundaries under Rules to match yours.
Best credits, rounding and borderlines
- Best credits. Some regulations count only your best credits at a level (say 100 of 120). The calculator drops the lowest marks first and, when the count falls inside a module, counts that module in part.
- Rounding. Some universities round the overall average before classifying — Imperial rounds averages from 69.50 to 69.99 up to 70.00, so they are Firsts. Where the exact average is classified, 69.99 stays a 2:1.
- Borderlines. Some regulations name a zone below each boundary — Imperial’s is from n8.00 to n9.49 — where the exam board considers the higher class by its own criteria. Lancaster University’s regulations, for instance, give the higher class when half or more of the credits are in it or the final-year average is. The calculator flags a borderline mark and shows your credits per class band and your final-year average, but it does not apply any university’s borderline rule.
Scotland and integrated master’s degrees
Honours degrees in Scotland usually take four years, not three (QAA), and their regulations name the years that count — enter those with the weighting your university gives them. For an integrated master’s (MEng, MSci), add Level 7 and give it its weight under My own weighting.
Sources
- QAA, The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies — Annex D describes the four classes
- QAA, Higher Education Credit Framework for England — credit levels and volumes
- Imperial College London, academic regulations — an example of the boundaries, the rounding, the borderline zone and year weightings
- Lancaster University, Manual of Academic Regulations and Procedures — an example of a borderline rule
Limitations
- Your university’s regulations decide your class: weighting, the modules that count, rounding, borderline and compensation rules, capped resit marks and mitigating circumstances.
- Enter the mark that counts for classification — a capped resit mark rather than the mark before capping.
- While marks are still to come, the class is provisional, worked out from the marks so far.
- Unclassified degrees (such as medicine) and master’s degrees graded pass, merit or distinction are not covered.
Privacy
Your modules and marks are worked out in this browser and never uploaded. The page keeps your last entries in this browser’s storage so they are still there next time; Reset clears them.
Frequently asked questions
What overall mark do I need for a First?
Conventionally 70 or more — the weighted average across the years that count, not every module. Some universities round first, so 69.5 can be a First; others do not.
How is my degree classification calculated?
Each year that counts gets a credit-weighted average of its module marks, and the years are combined by your university’s weighting. With 1 : 2, a second-year average of 62.33 and a final-year average of 70.67 give (62.33 + 2 × 70.67) ÷ 3 = 67.89, a 2:1.
Does the first year count towards my degree?
It depends on the university and the course. In schemes such as 1 : 2 or 30 : 70 it counts 0%; Imperial’s three-year BSc weighting gives it 7.5%. Check your programme regulations and choose or enter that weighting.
What is a borderline degree?
An overall mark just below a class boundary — within two marks, for example. The exam board then decides by its own criteria, such as how many of your credits are in the higher class or your final-year average. The calculator shows those figures for you to compare with your regulations.
Can I still get a First after a 2:2 in my second year?
With a 1 : 2 weighting, yes: a second-year average of 55 needs a final-year average of 77.5, because (55 + 2 × 77.5) ÷ 3 = 70. With 50 : 50 it would need 85.
What does 2:1 mean?
Upper second-class honours — conventionally an overall mark from 60 to 69. A 2:2 is lower second-class honours, from 50 to 59.