Each year exam boards meet to consider each student's performance according to University Regulation §8.3. For students starting Bachelors or Integrated Masters Degrees from the 2021/22 academic year onward, decisions about progression from one stage of the course to the next, and decisions about the final award or classification are set out in the Rules for Award. Appendix A to the Rules for Award (see rh menu) details the calculations used to determine your final classification and the minimum credit requirements by level of study for progression and for an award to be made.
External examiners from other universities audit our procedures and compare your attainment with students at other universities. They approve the examination questions and have access to your answer scripts and coursework for years 2 to 4.
Your end of year results will be made available to you via Tabula. You will receive an email to inform you of their release.
If you have achieved a mark in excess of 40% overall, passed modules worth 90 CATS credits and perform satisfactorily (a mark of at least 40%) in each of the required core modules for the course, the Board will allow you to proceed to the second year of your course. If you do not perform at this level the Board will identify the papers that you must resit in September. As there is no resit for PX152 Physics Laboratory or PX151 Astrophysics Laboratory I, these modules must be passed at the first attempt. It is extremely rare for a student, who has attempted all components of the laboratory, to fail this module.
Once the results have been published your tutor will be able to discuss your performance. If you are required to resit any papers you will receive an email from the Registry explaining the procedure and identifying the papers.
Following the September resits the exam board meets again to consider the candidates' performance. The possible outcomes are:
permitted to proceed to the second year of an honours degree course
To progress, students should achieve an overall mark of at least 40% and pass modules worth at least 90 CATS credits (the pass mark is 40%). Students should also pass the IoP core (this requirement does not apply for students on GF13 or F3N2). Students not achieving this level will be required to resit some of their examinations in September. If they are successful in these resits they will be allowed to proceed to the final year of the BSc course. If they are unsuccessful they will be required to withdraw.
MPhys & MMathPhys Progression
To continue on an integrated masters degree programme, students must achieve an overall mark over 60%. In addition, Physics (F303) and Phys with Astro (F3FA) students must also obtain a CATS weighted average mark in examined physics modules in excess of 60%, while Maths/Physics (FG31) students must obtain an average of at least 53% in their Maths-taught core modules. Students not achieving these requirements will normally be transferred to the 3rd year of the BSc degree programme. Mathematics and Physics students narrowly failing to achieve the requirements to continue on the MMathPhys may be permitted to transfer to the 3rd year of the MPhys Physics programme provided their performance in physics examination papers is above the 60% level. Students not achieving these requirements will be transferred to the 3rd year of the BSc degree programme.
To continue on an integrated masters degree programme, students must obtain an average of 50% overall and must pass modules worth at least 90 CATS credits. Physics students (F303 or F3FA) must also obtain a CATS weighted average mark in examined physics modules in excess of 50%. Students with a third year mark less than this will normally be treated as though they were final year BSc students and, if their marks are sufficient, will be awarded a BSc degree classified according to the normal BSc criteria. They will not be allowed to proceed to the fourth year.
For the award of a Bachelors degree a student must pass modules worth a minimum of 270 CATS credits across the degree course including a minimum of 90 credits at FHEQ level 6. Students who are deemed to have failed at the honours level will be considered for the award of a pass degree for which they will typically need a mark of 35% or more.
For the award of an Integrated Masters degree a student must pass modules worth a minimum of 360 CATS credits across the degree course including a minimum of 90 credits at FHEQ level 7.
Full details can be viewed in Appendix A of the Rules for Award.
A student required by a board of examiners to withdraw from the University has the right of appeal against that decision, as described in the University pages on Appeals. You may also appeal against a decision if you believe you have information relating to special circumstances, that the board was unaware of and there is a good reason for your not having brought forward this information earlier. The final grounds for appeal are evidence for malpractice relating to the examination process. Any such appeal must be made in writing within 10 days of the decision to the Appeals Committee of the Board of Science. Students contemplating such an appeal should contact their personal tutor at the earliest opportunity.
A student unhappy with the class awarded by the exam board does not normally have the right of appeal.
