Honours (Hons)

This is usually attributed to a higher standard of degree as opposed to a ‘ordinary’ or ‘pass’ degree.
A honours degree would suggest that the student has a certain amount of aptitude or skill
towards the subject matter.

First class honours

This is the highest level of degree that can be awarded and only a minority (around 10%) achieve
this in any one year.

Ordinary degree

This is a pass but without honours.

BSc

Stands for Bachelor of Science, and is usually a 3 year undergraduate course.

MSci

Stands for Master in Science and is a usually a 4 year undergraduate course.

MSc

Stands for Master of Science and is usually a 1 year post graduate course.

MA

Stands for Master of Arts and is usually a 1 to /2 year post graduate course.

UK degree letters:

• BA stands for Bachelor of Arts
• BAcc stands for Bachelor of Accounting
• BArch stands for Bachelor of Architecture
• BCJ stands for Bachelor of Criminal Justice
• BEng or BE stands for Bachelor of Engineering
• BFin stands for Bachelor of Finance
• BMid stands for Bachelor of Midwifery
• BSc(Eng) stands for Bachelor of Science in Engineering
• DBA stands for Doctor of Business Administration
• EngD stands for Doctor of Engineering
• MB or BM stands for Bachelor of Medicine
• M.A. stands for Master of Arts
• M.S. or M.Sc. stands for Master of Science
• MBA stands for Master of Business Administration
• MEcon stands for Master of Economics
• PhD or DPhil stands for Doctor of Philosophy