Hons Degrees

[cjuk]

I recently graduated from university with a BA (hons) but what is the difference between a BA and a BA with honours? What exactly are honours and how do you get them?!!!

[Buenchico]

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines 'honours' as, "special distinction for proficiency at examination, course of degree studies more specialized than for ordinary pass".

A few institutions offer differing courses of study for, say, BA and BA(Hons), where the 'Hons' course involves a greater depth of study. i.e. the second of those two dictionary definitions applies.

For most university courses, however, it is the first definition which applies. i.e. students study a common course. Those that do well in the examinations are awarded an 'honours' degree, those who 'scrape through' are awarded a 'pass' degree. In most universities, honours are divided into 4 divisions (1st Class, 2.1, 2.2 and 3rd Class). Anyone achieving one of those levels (even a humble '3rd', like mine!), is entitled to add '(Hons)' after the abbreviation for their degree. A student who only achieves a 'pass' is not entitled to do so.

Chris

Incidentally, did you realize that a degree is actually a class of 'membership' of a university? There are some religious groups which prohibit their members from holding membership of any other organization. When graduates join these religious groups, they're obliged to contact the university and ask that their degree be withdrawn in order to comply with the rules of their religion.

[kags]

When I took my degree (20 years ago now), we had the choice of completing a dissertation and getting an Honours degree, or getting an ordinary degreee without the dissertation.

[Gef]

In Scotland you must study your subject for 4 years to get an honours degree. 3 years gets you an "ordinary" degree.

[Octavius]

A degree may be awarded with or without honours. Nowadays, nearly all candidates sit for honours. An ordinary degree (i.e. a degree without honours) is usually awarded to a candidate who marginally fails the honours examination, or significant parts of it. As kags has said above, on a course I did � which was an honours degree - people who failed their dissertation were effectively stripped of their honours so could not have (Hons) whereas the rest of us could.

[helliebobs]

Like kags said, I think it is to do with your dissertation. I have a BA in English and Jornalism, but having failed my dissertation and choosing not to re-sit it, I got the BA degree without the Honours part. I might add, it's made absolutely no difference to me getting a job!