Grades and how your degree is classified

Undergraduate Honours degrees achieved from the UK are graded by ‘class’ – this means your final overall average grade is converted into a ‘class’ award. Generally this is interpreted as:

• Achieving 70% or better at the end of your Final Year (Year 3- level 3) studies with us means you will be awarded a First class degree (also known as a 1st). In the UK, this is very difficult to achieve, with only approximately 5-15% of students gaining this award each year.
• Achieving between 60% and 69% at the end of your Final Year (Year 3- level 3) studies with us means you will be awarded an Upper Second class degree (also known as a 2:1). This is a very good award in the UK and approximately 30% of students will gain this award.
• Achieving between 50% and 59% at the end of your Final Year (Year 3- level 3) studies with us means you will be awarded a Lower Second class degree (also known as a 2:2). This is a good award in the UK and approximately 40% of students will gain this award.
• Achieving between 40% and 49% at the end of your Final Year (Year 3- level 3) studies with us means you will be awarded a Third class degree (also known as a 3rd). This means you have reached the standard required for a UK degree. Approximately 10-15% of students will gain this award.

If you are not familiar with UK marking, you may be worried by receiving a mark for a piece of work which you think looks ‘bad’. Whilst the University of Lincoln typically uses the full marking range (from 0 to 100%), historically and traditionally, achieving a grade greater than 70% in UK Higher Education, means your work has been regarded as excellent by your tutor in comparison with the standard expected in their discipline.

Postgraduate taught marking tends to also use the same 0-100% scale but can be differentiated by Distinction (>70%), Merit (>60% but <70%) or Pass (>50% but <60%), depending upon the grade awarded.

Wherever possible and practicable, all work is graded anonymously.