Honours Degrees
Honours Degree courses
An Honours Degree course leads to a qualification such as a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of law (LLB). Courses typically take three years to complete full time (or four years for certain programmes that include a year of work experience and/or a year abroad).
You can study for an Honours Degree on a full-time or part-time basis at a college or university, or more flexibly in your own time, e.g. through The Open University, where you build up credits. When you have completed an honours degree you will have achieved a Level 6 qualification.
Many colleges work in partnership with local universities that quality assure their higher education programmes. This means you may be able to achieve a full Honours Degree through your local college, but receive accreditation from a university. An example is a BA (Hons) Professional Development (Health and Social Care) which is a one year top up degree course after completion of a two year foundation degree in health and social care.
Types of honours degree courses
- 3 year Degree (UK and Wales - 4 years in Scotland)
- 2 years Accelerated Degree - a three year degree condensed into 2
- Sandwich Degree - usually 4 years to include one year work experience
- Combined Degree - you study two subjects 50/50
- Interdisciplinary (modular) Degree - you study a range of subjects from different academic departments e.g. American Studies
- 3 or 4 year Degree including study/work abroad
- Distance learning/flexible learning degrees - you study all or part of your course online
Entry requirements
Entry requirements vary according to institution but will usually include evidence of Level 3 studies and a qualification at Level 2 in English language and maths. You will need to research the types of qualifications and grades accepted at each institution before you make your application.
Doing your research
If you are ready to do a degree but not sure what course you want to do go to the section Choosing a course/subject for tips and links to more information about doing your research.
Applications for full-time Honours Degree courses – whether run at a college or university – are made through UCAS.