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“St Andrews gives you more leeway in choosing your degree than any other university in the UK and the lecturers are always willing to help if you don’t understand something.”
Julia (Princeton, New Jersey, USA)
Assessment Modules are normally assessed in the semester in which they are taught. Assessment of modules is by examination, continuous assessment (coursework) or, in most cases, a combination of these. Students who fail the assessment for a particular module may be offered an opportunity to be re-assessed.
Passing a module entitles the student to receive the credits for that module. The student will also receive a grade for each module taken which will appear on a transcript available on the completion of their studies.
Specialism and Depth at Honours Level Years At the end of your second year, if your work has reached the required standard, then you can make a final choice of Honours programme from the Second level subjects that you have studied. It is in the final two years that you will be able to specialise and gain an intimate knowledge of your chosen subject(s). Students who do not meet the Faculty threshold to progress to an Honours degree may qualify to progress to the MA/BSc General Degree (see page 18).
Honours programmes are of different types. Single Honours degrees involve the study of just one subject in the final two years, whereas Joint Honours degrees involve the study of two subjects (where each subject constitutes a proportion of the programme). There are also some interdisciplinary degrees such as Mediaeval Studies (in which up to three subjects may be taken in varying proportions). In certain Honours programmes most modules are taken in one (major) subject, and the rest in other subjects.
Honours degrees are classified according to how well a student has performed in the final two years (or in the final three for MChem, MMath, MPhys & MSci degrees), and are therefore awarded with Honours in First Class, Second Class (2.1 or 2.2), or Third Class.
Contact Hours Typically a first-year Arts or Divinity student can expect to have 12–15 hours of classes whilst a first-year Science or Medicine student can expect to have 15–20 hours (including laboratory work).
Teaching Methods Class size varies from subject to subject. First and Second level classes are larger than more advanced classes in most subjects. The basic method of teaching undergraduate students is by a series of lectures given by specialists in particular subjects. In addition, teaching may also involve:
• Small group tutorials and seminars, usually consisting of between two and twenty students, where selected topics are discussed and analysed on the basis of prepared written work and/or presentations by students; these are important in ensuring that students develop their analytical and communication skills and also help promote the excellent relationship between staff and students which exists at St Andrews.
• Further reading and research – lecture notes are often a valuable guide through the available material, to complement and direct students’ own research and reading (often from specified reading lists) and to develop an understanding of their chosen subject.
• Laboratory work, where advanced equipment and techniques may be used to conduct experiments under expert supervision.
• Fieldwork (in the vicinity of St Andrews and elsewhere). • Audio-visual and computer assisted learning.
Honours students sometimes take part in residential reading parties. These weekend ‘mini-conferences’ allow students and staff to discuss their subject in an informal atmosphere and are usually held at ‘The Burn’. This is a large country house in Angus, set in its own beautiful grounds and used as a conference centre by the Scottish universities.
“I do no think that in my day there was a single member o the Proeoriate wo was unpopular, the all in their own particular way eacted and reeived due repec, and were all held in high affecion by their youthful disciple.”
Laurence James Douglas Gibson, 1895-1900 – Student Reminiscences
Choosing your Degree Peter Adamson
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