Each year exam boards meet to consider each student's performance according to University Regulation §8.3.
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 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 Registry explaining the procedure and identifying the papers.
Following the September resits the exam board meets again to consider each candidate's performance. The possible outcomes are:
permitted to proceed to the second year of an honours degree course
required to withdraw
When you resit an examination, the mark you carry forward is the lesser of 40% or the mark you obtained in the resit.
To progress, students should achieve an overall mark in excess of 40% and pass at least 90 CATS at the 40% level. 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 either 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 upper 2nd Class Honours performance. 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 a 2i classification may be permitted to transfer to the 3rd year of the MPhys Physics programme provided their performance in Physics examination papers is at the 2i level, or above. 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 overall 2nd Class Honours performance and must pass at least 90 CATS credits. Physics students (F303) 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 students who pass 90 credits in the final year, the final year board classifies their degree on the basis of their cumulative marks over the course according to the usual scheme and the University's conventions. 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. Students who have not met these criteria will be offered resits.
The MPhys and MMathPhys degrees are only awarded as honours degrees. Students on these programmes obtaining an cumulative mark of less than 40% or otherwise failing to satisfy the requirements for their degree will be considered for the award of a BSc on the basis of their first 3 years' work.
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.
The pass mark for modules at levels 1 to 3 is 40%. The pass mark for all level 4 modules is 50%. While any mark below the pass mark on such modules will count to the overall credit for the year, the module will appear as a fail on your transcript.