Centre for Student Success

These are the guidelines used to determine the eligibility for an academic award of students who started studying one of the University of Liverpool’s online Masters programmes in or after March 2011. Students who started studying prior to March 2011 and who have not graduated by October 2011 have their eligibility for a postgraduate award assessed in a slightly different way; see here for details.

 

Students should be aware that whilst these are the guidelines used by the Board of Examiners, the final decision over the eligibility of a student for an academic award is at the discretion of the Board of Examiners.
Please note that ‘final grade’ is the end-of-module grade or dissertation grade that has been approved by the Board of Examiners.
 

Masters Degrees

• A Masters degree with Distinction will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed eight modules and the dissertation (180 Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 70 for the Dissertation
  • In addition to the above requirement for their dissertation, has achieved a final grade of at least 70 for at least two modules (30 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 70 or above
  • Passed all modules and their Dissertation at the first attempt*
     
• A Masters degree with Merit will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed eight modules and the dissertation (180 Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 60 for the Dissertation
  • In addition to the above requirement for their dissertation, has achieved a final grade of at least 60 for at least two modules (30 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 60 or above
  • Passed all modules and their Dissertation at the first attempt*
     
• A Masters degree will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least eight modules and the dissertation (180 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 50 or above
  • Has no more than one module (15 Credit Points) with an end-of-module grade of 40-49*

* Unless the Board of Examiners has recognised there were
mitigating circumstances for the original grade.
 

Postgraduate Diplomas

• A Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least eight modules (120 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 70 for at least four modules (60 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 70 or above
  • Passed all modules at the first attempt*

• A Postgraduate Diploma with Merit will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least eight modules (120 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 60 for at least four modules (60 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 60 or above
  • Passed all modules at the first attempt*

• A Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least eight modules (120 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 50 or above
  • Has no more than one module (15 Credit Points) with an end-of-module grade of 40-49*

* Unless the Board of Examiners has recognised there were
mitigating circumstances for the original grade.
 

Postgraduate Certificates

• A Postgraduate Certificate with Distinction will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least four modules (60 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 70 for at least two modules (30 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 70 or above
  • Passed all modules at the first attempt*

• A Postgraduate Certificate with Merit will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least four modules (60 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Achieved a final grade of at least 60 for at least two modules (30 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 60 or above
  • Passed all modules at the first attempt*

• A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded to a student who has:
  • Completed at least four modules (60 or more Credit Points of study)
  • Gained an overall average grade of 50 or above
  • Has no more than one module (15 Credit Points) with an end-of-module grade between 40-49*

* Unless the Board of Examiners has recognised there were
mitigating circumstances for the original grade.
 

The Overall Average Grade

The overall average grade of a student is determined as follows:

• The final grade for each module is multiplied by 15 (the Credit Point value of a module).
• The final grade for the Dissertation (if any) is multiplied by 60 (the Credit Point value of a Dissertation).
• The resulting values are added together and averaged.
   

Examples

Table 1 shows an example of how to calculate the overall grade average. In this example, the student would be awarded a Master’s degree with Distinction. They have:

• Completed 180 Credit Points of study
• A final grade of 70 or more for their Dissertation
• A final grade of 70 or more for 90 Credit Points of study
• An overall average grade of 70 or more

Table 1

Module	Final Grade	Credit Points	Final Grade x Credit Points	Overall Average Grade
1	69	15	1035
2	67	15	1005
3	60	15	900
4	54	15	810
5	78	15	1170
6	79	15	1185
7	65	15	975
8	63	15	945
Dissertation	78	60	4680
		180	12705	70.6

 

Table 2 shows another example of how to calculate the overall grade average. In this example, the student would be awarded a Master’s degree with Merit. They have:

• Completed 180 Credit Points of study
• A final grade of 60 or more for their Dissertation
• A final grade of 60 or more for at least 90 Credit Points of study
• An overall average grade of 60 or more

Table 2

Module	Final Grade	Credit Points	Final Grade x Credit Points	Overall Average Grade
1	55	15	825
2	58	15	870
3	53	15	795
4	75	15	1125
5	68	15	1020
6	54	15	810
7	51	15	765
8	59	15	885
Dissertation	67	60	4020
		180	11115	61.8

 

Table 3 shows a third example of how to calculate the overall grade average. In this example, the student would be awarded a Master’s degree. They have:

• Completed 180 Credit Points of study
• An overall average grade of 50 or more
• Only 15 Credit Points of study with an end-of-module grade of 40-49

Table 3

Module	Final Grade	Credit Points	Final Grade x Credit Points	Overall Average Grade
1	52	15	780
2	51	15	765
3	57	15	855
4	42	15	630
5	62	15	930
6	66	15	990
7	55	15	825
8	59	15	885
Dissertation	52	60	3120
		180	9780	54.3

 

Table 4 shows an example of a student who fails their fifth module twice and who therefore cannot be awarded a Master’s degree. However, they qualify for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate with Distinction. They have:

• Completed 60 Credit Points of study
• A final grade of 70 or more for 30 Credit Points of study
• An overall average grade of 70 or more

Table 4

Module	Final Grade	Credit Points	Final Grade x Credit Points	Overall Average Grade
1	78	15	1170
2	72	15	1080
3	69	15	1035
4	64	15	960
		60	4245	70.8

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