Honours degree

Not to be confused with Honorary degree or Latin honors.

Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or both, rather than an "ordinary", "general" or "pass" bachelor's degree. Honours degrees are sometimes indicated by "Hons" after the degree abbreviation, with various punctuation according to local custom, e.g. "BA (Hons)", "B.A., Hons", etc. In Canada, honours degrees may be indicated with an "H" preceding the degree abbreviation, e.g. "HBA" for Honours Bachelor of Arts[1] or Honours Business Administration.[2]

Examples of honours degree include the honors bachelor's degree in the United States;[3] the bachelor's degree with honours in the United Kingdom,[4] the Netherlands,[5] Bangladesh,[6] Hong Kong,[7] and India;[8] the honours bachelor's degree in Ireland;[9] the bachelor with honours and bachelor honours degree in New Zealand; the bachelor with honours and honours bachelor's degree in Canada;[10] and the bachelor honours degree in Australia.[11] In South Africa the bachelor honours degree is a postgraduate degree that follows on from the completion of a bachelor's degree.[12] The undergraduate master of arts degree awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland in place of the bachelor of arts may be awarded as an honours or non-honours degree; these are at the same level as equivalent bachelor's degrees.[13][14] At master's level, the integrated master's degrees in British universities, which students enter at the same level as bachelor's degrees, are also honours degrees.[15]

Many universities and colleges offer both honours and non-honours bachelor's degrees. In most countries where honours degrees are granted, they imply a higher level of achievement than a non-honours degree. In some countries (e.g. Australia), an honours degree may also involve a longer period of study than a non-honours degree.[11] Students who complete all the requirements for a non-honours bachelor's degree but do not receive sufficient merit to be awarded an honours degree would normally be awarded a non-honours degree (sometimes known as a "pass", "general" or "ordinary" degree), although students who do not complete the requirements for an integrated master's honours degree may receive a bachelor's honours degree.[16] In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, almost all bachelor's degrees are awarded as honours degrees; in contrast, honours degrees are rarely awarded in the United States.

The current British undergraduate degree classification system, with its division into first, upper and lower second, and third class honours, was developed in 1918 to distinguish between students on the basis of their academic achievement.[17] The concept of an "honours" degree goes back much further than this, however, as there were examinations for honours in the original regulations of the University of London in 1839,[18] and Nevil Maskelyne being recorded as taking a bachelor's degree with honours at Cambridge in 1754.[19] Other countries and territories influenced by this system include Australia, Brunei, Canada, New Zealand, Malta, Singapore, South Africa, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.

  1. ^ "Undergraduate Programs: Bachelor of Arts degree". University of Waterloo. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2021. What is the abbreviation for an honours Bachelor of Arts? The common abbreviations are BA or HBA.
  2. ^ "Ivey HBA Program Brochure". Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Structure of the U.S. Education System: Bachelor's Degrees". U.S. Department of Education. February 2008. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. ^ The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies. Quality Assurance Agency. November 2014. p. 17. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Honours at the UvA | University of Amsterdam, Netherlands". 11 November 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. ^ "IUB at a glance | Independent University, Bangladesh". www.iub.edu.bd. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Bachelor's Degree with Honours". Open University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Bangalore University rolls out honours scheme for UG course". Times of India. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  9. ^ "National Framework of Qualifications". Quality and Qualifications Ireland. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Bachelors Degree". York University. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Bachelor Honours Degree: An Explanation" (PDF). Australian Qualifications Framework Council. November 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  12. ^ "The Higher Education Qualifications Framework" (PDF). South African Qualifications Authority. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Studying for a degree in Arts". Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  14. ^ The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies. Quality Assurance Agency. November 2014. p. 29. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Faculty Handbook. Durham University. What do I need to pass to get a degree?. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Alternative Exit Awards". University of Kent. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  17. ^ Alderman, Geoffrey (14 October 2003). "Tear up the class system". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  18. ^ Regulations of the University of London on the subject of the examinations for degrees in Arts. March 1839. p. 9.
  19. ^ Arthur Thomas Malkin (1836). "Maskelyne". The Gallery of Portraits with Memoirs. Vol. VI. Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. p. 20.