How to use the degree classification calculator
- Set the year weighting. Use the buttons for 40:60, 1:2, 50:50 or final year only, or type your own weights next to each year. Tick Year 1 counts at my university if your first year carries weight too.
- Enter your module marks and credits for each year, as percentages, with the credits from your course handbook. Add or remove rows as you need.
- Know a year's average already? Put it in one row and leave the credits empty.
The weighted average and the usual class update as you type, with each year's average and the share it counts for. Copy result gives you a plain text summary. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.
How the average is worked out
First, each year's average is weighted by credits, so a 40-credit dissertation counts twice as much as a 20-credit module:
Year average = (mark 1 × credits 1 + mark 2 × credits 2 + ...) ÷ total credits
Then the year averages are combined using the year weights:
Overall = (Year 2 average × Year 2 weight + Year 3 average × Year 3 weight) ÷ (Year 2 weight + Year 3 weight)
Because the calculator divides by the total of the weights, you can type weights as percentages (40 and 60) or as parts (1 and 2). It shows the share each year really gets, so 1 and 2 shows as 33.3% and 66.7%.
A worked example
Year 2 has four 30-credit modules. Year 3 has a 40-credit dissertation and four 20-credit modules.
| Year | Marks (credits) | Year average |
|---|---|---|
| Year 2 | 58 (30), 64 (30), 61 (30), 67 (30) | 62.5% |
| Year 3 | 72 (40), 65 (20), 68 (20), 60 (20), 70 (20) | 67.83% |
Year 3: (72 × 40 + 65 × 20 + 68 × 20 + 60 × 20 + 70 × 20) ÷ 120 = 8,140 ÷ 120 = 67.83.
| Weighting (Year 2 : Year 3) | Overall | Usual class |
|---|---|---|
| 40:60 | 65.7% | 2:1 |
| 1:2 (33.3% and 66.7%) | 66.05% | 2:1 |
| 50:50 | 65.16% | 2:1 |
With 40:60 the sum is 62.5 × 0.4 + 67.83 × 0.6 = 25 + 40.7 = 65.7, which is 4.3 marks below a First. The stronger final year pulls the average up more as its weight grows.
Averages are shown rounded down to two decimal places, so a mark of 69.996 shows as 69.99 and is never displayed above its class. Universities have their own rounding rules.
The usual UK degree class boundaries
These are the usual boundaries for UK honours degrees. The University of Bristol, for example, sets them out like this:
| Class | Mark |
|---|---|
| First class | 70 and above |
| Upper second class (2:1) | 60 to 69 |
| Lower second class (2:2) | 50 to 59 |
| Third class | 40 to 49 |
| Fail | Less than 40 |
Loughborough University lists the same four thresholds of 70%, 60%, 50% and 40%.
Your university has its own rules
This calculator gives an estimate. Your degree class is decided by your university's regulations, which differ in ways that can change the result:
- Year weighting. At Warwick, "many of our three-year degrees use the year averages from the second and third years, weighted equally at 50% each". Northumbria University's 2021/22 guidance uses the best credits at Level 5 and Level 6 "weighted 60%:40%" in favour of the final year, or the final year alone if that is better for the student. The University of Manchester's School of Biological Sciences regulations for 2018 to 2019 counted the first year for 10%, the second year for 30% and the final year for 60%.
- Borderlines. At Bristol, "If your final programme mark falls within two marks of a higher classification boundary, it will be subject to review", and the higher class can be given if enough of your weighted marks are in it. Loughborough's Programme Board "has the discretion to lower any of these thresholds by 2 percentage points". The calculator flags a result within 2 marks of the next class.
- Discounting. Some universities leave out your weakest marks before working out the average. Northumbria's guidance, for example, splits each level into 1-credit chunks and "removes the lowest 20 of these from each level". This calculator does not discount anything, so leave out the marks your rules drop.
- Integrated master's and four-year degrees. These often weight three or four years. Use the Year 1 box and the weights for the years that count at your university.
Your course handbook or your university's academic regulations page has the exact rules. If something is unclear, ask your personal tutor or your department's office.
Questions and answers
What average do I need for a 2:1?
On the usual boundaries, 60 or above. A First is 70 or above, a 2:2 is 50 to 59 and a Third is 40 to 49. Check your university's regulations for borderline rules.
Does first year count towards my degree?
It depends on your university. At Loughborough, first-year marks do not count; the Manchester regulations quoted above counted the first year for 10%. If yours counts, tick Year 1 counts at my university and give it the weight your regulations use.
How are Year 2 and Year 3 usually weighted?
It varies. Warwick weights many three-year degrees 50:50, Northumbria's guidance uses 40:60, and some universities use the final year alone when that is better for the student. Your course handbook gives the exact weighting.
What does 69.5 mean for my degree?
It is below 70, so on the bare boundaries it is a 2:1, but it is within the range many universities review. Some round marks, and some look at the share of credits at the higher class. Check your university's borderline rules.
Why do credits matter?
A module with more credits counts for more of the year. A 40-credit dissertation counts twice as much as a 20-credit module, so the calculator weights each mark by its credits.
Sources
Checked on 7 October 2026. If a rule has changed, please tell us.
- University of Bristol: A guide to degree classification
- Loughborough University Student Handbook: Classifications
- University of Warwick: Results FAQs (end of year results)
- Northumbria University: How is your degree classified? (2021/22 student guidance, PDF)
- University of Manchester, School of Biological Sciences: Student progression, Level 3 BSc programmes