Student Handbook 2025/26

Postgraduate Degree Classifications

Award requirements for LLM/MA/MSc

To be eligible for a Master of LLM (LLM), Master of Arts (MA) or Masters of Science (MSc), a student must meet all of the following requirements:

       i.        take 180 credits, including a minimum 150 credits at level 7. Any credits below level 7 must be at levels 5 or 6; a maximum 15 may be taken at level 5.

      ii.        either:

     iii.        achieve a Classification Mark of 50.0 or higher.

Award requirements for PG Diploma

To be eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma a student must meet all of the following requirements:

       i.        take 120 credits, including a minimum 90 credits at level 7. Any credits below level 7 must be at levels 5 or 6; a maximum 15 may be taken at level 5.

      ii.        either:

      iii.        achieve a Classification Mark of 50.0 or higher.

Award requirements for PG Certificate

To be eligible for a PG Certificate, a student must meet all of the following requirements:

       i.        take 60 credits, including a minimum 45 credits at level 7. Any credits below level 7 must be at levels 5 or 6.

      ii.        either

iii.            achieve a Classification Mark of 50.0 or higher.

Overall Classification

Postgraduate awards are classified using the Classification Mark, as below. The Classification Mark is the mean average mark for the full programme of study.

Classification Mark	Classification
70.0 – 100.0	Distinction
60.0 – 69.9	Merit
50.0 – 59.9	Pass

Examination Boards may use the borderline classification policy to recommend a higher award classification than that indicated by a student’s Classification Mark where specified criteria are met and the Subject Examination Board agrees, with collective academic judgement, that the higher classification better reflects the student’s overall performance. The specified criteria are as follows:

Borderline Policy:

• Each student with a Classification Mark within 1.5 per cent of a borderline (except at the pass/fail border) is determined to fall within the ‘zone of consideration’ and will be considered as a possible case for application of the borderline policy;
• A student falling within the zone of consideration and with at least half of their final year credits (half of ‘all’ credits for postgraduate taught awards) with marks at the level of the upper classification (or higher), will be raised to the higher classification.
• Where a student studies on a part-time basis, all modules comprising the full-time equivalent final year will be used in the borderline policy.

To view the award regulations for Queen Mary degrees, please visit the Directorate of Governance and Legal Services webpage at https://www.qmul.ac.uk/governance-and-legal-services/policy/

For more information on Queen Mary’s award regulations, please visit this webpage: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/policy/