First class honours?

jwof2006

Hey lads,
I'm a first year and am just wondering what is meant by first class honours? Does everybody in the course leave with the same degree or are some people who were top of the class recognised as such? Is there third class honours? Also does your grades in first year count towards this?
thanks:)

Maldesu

There are different levels of degree you can get depending on your final grades.

1st class honours is the degree award you get when you final GPA is 3.68 or more.
2nd class Grade 1 is 3.08-3.67
2nd class Grade 2 is 2.48-3.07
Pass is 2.0-2.47

What or how it is phrased on your degree I don't know.
Depending on what degree you are doing is when the grades apply. For the DN500, it is only the 2nd and 3rd years. In some 4 year programs, it can be the last two years. I'm not sure if any of the first year grades are used, but it is something the school website probably can tell you.

Musefan

For my course (psychology), if you got a first in first year, then you got 1000euro as a scholarship. Just a point to note! It applies to all other courses as far as I know.

pljudge321

Musefan wrote: »

For my course (psychology), if you got a first in first year, then you got 1000euro as a scholarship. Just a point to note! It applies to all other courses as far as I know.

No, it's usually just if you come top of you're class. Otherwise UCD would be paying out millions every year.

prettygurrly

3.68? why not 3.5 equating to 70% as it is in most unis...nuig, queens and tcd being ones i actually know about...

Well for starters the max GPA in Queens is 4.3 whereas it is 4.2 in UCD.

Raphael

For main course, there's the fact that 3.8 = A- = 70%, so UCD actually has a lower standard

prettygurrly

ah well that makes sense so...i was just basing it on a max of 5 so it wasn't making sense. Queens (for my masters at least) used percentages to deem a distinction. Even more so then 3.62 is very high for a max of 4.2 in UCD can you equate that to percentage?

Raphael

Raphael wrote: »

For main course, there's the fact that 3.8 = A- = 70%, so UCD actually has a lower standard

UCD certainly has a low standard alright, so many people in my class got a first not having a clue about the course.

beardedmaster

Still though, a lower % of UCD students get 1st Class Honours degrees than any other university in Ireland.

http://www.universityobserver.ie/2012/10/31/rate-of-first-class-honours-in-ucd-drops-by-7-since-2009/

Polar Ice

beardedmaster wrote: »

Still though, a lower % of UCD students get 1st Class Honours degrees than any other university in Ireland.

http://www.universityobserver.ie/2012/10/31/rate-of-first-class-honours-in-ucd-drops-by-7-since-2009/

That fluctuates year on year. UCD seems to come middle of the field normally.
Grade inflation is a big problem and has been very noticeable in certain universities.

Raphael

prettygurrly wrote: »

ah well that makes sense so...i was just basing it on a max of 5 so it wasn't making sense. Queens (for my masters at least) used percentages to deem a distinction. Even more so then 3.62 is very high for a max of 4.2 in UCD can you equate that to percentage?

3.8 = A- = 70%
3.6 = B+ = 66.6%

3.68 is somewhere in the middle - converting it to percentage is meaningless, because it's calculated by comparing GPAs - you can get 100% in a course, and it will stand you just as well as 76.6% in GPA terms (both are A+ - 4.2). Broadly it means getting an average grade somewhere between a B+ and an A-.

Seanchai

If somebody has completed 45 credits (9 modules of 5 credits each) out of a 60 credit course, and has a 3.29 GPA thus far, could somebody confirm the grade they'll need in the final fifteen credits (3 modules of 5 credits each) to get an overall GPA of 3.68 (1st Class Honours, apparently), or indeed what the highest overall GPA is that they could get?

rosualt

Seanchai wrote: »

If somebody has completed 45 credits (9 modules of 5 credits each) out of a 60 credit course, and has a 3.29 GPA thus far, could somebody confirm the grade they'll need in the final fifteen credits (3 modules of 5 credits each) to get an overall GPA of 3.68 (1st Class Honours, apparently), or indeed what the highest overall GPA is that they could get?

[3.68x4]-[3.29x3] would give 4.85 to make an average of 3.68, but seeing as 4.85 isn't a real GPA a first class honours wouldn't be possible. The highest GPA you could get for the course would be around 3.52, if you got a 4.2 for the last three modules.

Miss Lockhart

What about courses where pass was always 50 - 59%, 2:2 60 - 65%, 2:1 66 - 69%, and 1:1 70+%.

Have they been brought in line with other courses or are there different GPA ranges for them still?

greens

I got 67 in one of the modules and in the result I got B.
Should I get B+ ?
According to http://www.ucd.ie/registry/assessment/student_info/modulargradesexplained.pdf

goose2005

greens wrote: »

I got 67 in one of the modules and in the result I got B.
Should I get B+ ?
According to http://www.ucd.ie/registry/assessment/student_info/modulargradesexplained.pdf

Maybe your actual grade was 66.6%, rounded up to 67 but still only a B?

greens

goose2005 wrote: »

Maybe your actual grade was 66.6%, rounded up to 67 but still only a B?

My actual grade is 67.

TimeToShine

beardedmaster wrote: »

Still though, a lower % of UCD students get 1st Class Honours degrees than any other university in Ireland.

http://www.universityobserver.ie/2012/10/31/rate-of-first-class-honours-in-ucd-drops-by-7-since-2009/

I find it hard to believe that 1 in 5 students in UCD graduated with a first class in 2009, in my course i'd say there are at most 10 out of 200 who might get a first, there has to be some courses that are bumping that number up big time.