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Assignment start and due dates.

Enter the date you plan to start work and the due date of your assignment.

Required. Example: 12 31 2020

Assignment steps

Identify and refine your research question.

Your interest in your research questions will help you maintain focus on the dissertation process. The work you do may become the starting place for future research work and the next step in your career. Choose a topic that interests you and will help you advance your career. However, your choice of topic will depend on the requirements of your professors, advisors, program, department, college, university, and academic discipline. Review any documents or handbooks that outline the requirements and expectations.

• Examine the requirements, expectations, and methods used by your department, program, and advisor.
• University Digital Conservancy
• Digital Dissertations
• How to find dissertations and theses including older U of M print dissertations
• Set up a system for organizing your search results, citations, PDFs, primary sources, notes etc. using  citation management tools  (e.g. Zotero or EndNote) or other strategies. You can use these tools to create "in-text" citations and bibliographies or works cited lists as you write.
• In some cases, you will be given a research question or a list of topics to choose from by your advisor.In other cases, you will develop a topic based on your own research interests.
• Review departmental information to learn about faculty research areas and identify faculty who might be interested in working with you. Try  Experts@Minnesota .
• Do a  preliminary  study of the literature related to your topics to understand previous research, key themes, issues, variables, methodologies, limitations, terminology, controversies, and gaps in the current research. Identify significant researchers and scholars working in the area. Consult a variety of sources such as websites, research blogs, books, journal articles, conferences, organizations, and other sources.
• Narrow your ideas to 2 or 3 possible research questions. Evaluate your question using criteria like feasibility, scope (too narrow or too broad), your level of interest, and future benefit to your career.
• Discuss your ideas with classmates, colleagues, mentors, and other professors for comment and feedback.
• Organize your research ideas into a pre-proposal for use in discussion and negotiation with your advisor.
• Revise and modify as needed based on comments gathered.
• Be sure that you and your advisor are in agreement about the research questions before drafting the final proposal.
• The ULibraries have many print and ebooks on the process of writing dissertations. Search for: dissertations, academic; academic writing dissertations; and report writing dissertations.
• Dissertations, from the University of North Carolina Writing Center

Percent time spent on this step: 5

Develop the research design and methodology

The research design is the strategy or blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of your data (data can be numbers, images, texts, interview transcripts, etc.). Generally the design is the overall logical structure for your project and the methodology refers to the detailed steps for data collection and analysis. The type of design and method used is determined by the nature of your research question. Certain research designs and methods are core to specific fields of study or programs. Your design needs to be consistent with the requirements and expectations of your advisor, committee, and program.

• Understand that your choice of design and methods will influence the niche you develop for yourself within your department, your discipline, and the wider academic community.
• Read and review information about design and methodology (e.g. such as books on methodology) and study examples of how these strategies have been applied in research similar to yours (e.g. other dissertations, articles, etc.).
• Consider any philosophical and practical factors. Identify the theoretical approaches inherent in your design and methods.
• Use  Sage Research Methods Online  to learn more about design and methods.
• Search Libraries Search for books and articles on theory, design, methods, and analysis.
• Read about specific statistical techniques and software packages, for example, R, Tableau, NVivo, ATALAS.ti, SPSS, etc.. Some libraries and OIT labs have this software. Learn about  statistical consulting services , if needed.
• Learn about data management best practices. Data management plans assist you in planning the types of data you will collect, standards to document your data (metadata), security measures to protect the confidentiality of your subjects and intellectual property, and methods for archiving and sharing your data.
• Review  dissertations with similar designs and methods to learn about what worked well and what obstacles occurred.

Review literature & write a proposal or prospectus

Proposals generally include the title of your project, an introduction, literature review, and a description of the research design and methodology for your proposed dissertation. This is often used as the foundation for the first three chapters of the completed dissertation. Be sure to read other successful proposals as examples to guide your work. Check with your advisor, mentors, or department for examples.

• Writing an effective title  from UMN Center of Writing  
• Although this is the first section the reader comes to, you might want to write it last , since until then, you will not be absolutely sure what you are introducing.
• The introduction establishes the context for your research by briefly summarizing the current and background information about the topic. Use it to state the purpose of your work in the form of the hypothesis, question, or research problem, and briefly explain your rationale, theoretical perspective, design and methodological approach. Identify the significance and potential outcomes your project.
• The introduction might include acknowledgement of the previous work on which you are building, an explanation of the scope of your research, what will and will not be included, and a "road map" or "table of contents" to guide the reader to what lies ahead.
• Write in the future tense since it is a proposal. It can be changed and edited later once it becomes part of your dissertation.
• Tips for writing an introduction from University of North Carolina  
• Develop an in-depth understanding of your topic and clarify why your research is significant.
• Ensure that your research is a unique contribution.
• Understand the broader discipline and field(s) of which your topic is a part. Position or frame your topic in your field and establish the link between existing research and your question.
• Explore important methodologies, controversies, and research issues.
• Identify names of key researchers, core journals, other research centers, or possible sources of funding.
• Explain your rationale for the research design and methodology and your plan to use and describe why it is appropriate for your research.
• Your reading and study of the literature should be very comprehensive as you prepare your proposal and later write your final literature review. Now is the time to immerse yourself in your topic.
• The written literature review is selective and does not include every article or source your find on your topic. Think of yourself as a curator at a museum. Select the most meaningful, representative works for your "exhibit" but you will have had to have read and critically evaluate many more sources that you don't include in your literature review. 
• Build a workflow or system so you can keep track of sources (e.g. citation, PDF, etc.) including notes/rationale for sources you  are  using and for those you choose  not  to include (with your rationale for excluding them in case your advisor or committee have questions later).
• Determine the expectations and requirements for the proposal meeting, for example, find out what type of presentation, if any, is expected. Talk with colleagues who have completed this process to understand more about the meeting.
• Be sure that you have completed all the necessary forms from your department or college. 
• Meet with your subject librarians and or librarians from related subjects to learn about useful library databases, keywords, citation tools, and specialized services for researchers.
• Go to workshops or watch recorded workshops from the University Libraries.
• Use the Center for Writing, Student Writing Support resources , especially for graduate writers resources.
• Review other dissertations both for ideas on how the literature review can be organized and for useful articles and other sources.
• Review what you already have written and presented for your course work and other projects.
• Use subject-specific databases , in addition to, Libraries Search to explore the literature in your field.
• Search article databases outside your discipline. Explore interdisciplinary databases such as Web of Science , Google Scholar ,  Scopus ,  JSTOR ,  Worldcat , etc.
• Browse and search in the core journals in your field. Try the tool Browzine  to create a personal library. 
• Decide if you need sources that are international in scope and use additional search strategies as needed.
• Identify non-digitized sources. Depending on your research area contact library archives or special collections and consult with curators or other staff to learn more about relevant resources.
• Use Interlibrary Loan to request materials not available at UMN Libraries for free.
• Use subject headings or a thesaurus within a database to find similar sources by concept rather than just keyword match.
• Review the bibliographies of articles and books to identify additional sources.
• Do "cited reference" searches to identify researchers that have cited other specific books or articles of interest. Use specialized tools like Web of Science ,  Google Scholar and other databases to trace the citations both backward and forward in time.
• Track where you have searched and your search terms by keeping a research log or journal ( view example ). This will help you identify the most productive sources and not repeat what you have already done. If needed you will be able to report your search strategies.

Percent time spent on this step: 15

Gather and analyze your data

After your proposal is approved, the next step is to implement your research plan by gathering and analyzing your "data." Before you begin there are more steps to consider if you have not completed.

• Obtain any needed human subject or animal care approval from the Institutional Review Board .
• Create a strategy to organize your files, contacts, observations, field notes, and bibliographic information.
• Implement a small pilot study before proceeding with the full data collection. This will help you to test your approach to ensure you are collecting data that reflects your research question. Document details such as time involved and issues in the study for either you or the participants. Determine if any modifications to your study need to occur before proceeding.
• Identify and test a strategy for transforming and analyzing the data (e.g. coding data, transcribing interviews, running statistics, etc.).
• Test your analysis method with the small pilot study or sample of your data.
• Create graphs, tables, images, and other outputs that illustrate your results.
• Meet regularly with your advisor to discuss and resolve any questions.
• Use Sage Research Methods Online to learn more about design and methods.
• Search Libraries Search  for books and articles on data visualization, data mining, data processing, methods, and analysis.

Percent time spent on this step: 30

Write the Results and Discussion sections

• Use non-text objects to illustrate your results including tables, figures, images and visualizations. Illustrative objects should either be placed within the dissertation text or at the end of your dissertation.
• Summarize all your results whether they are statistically significant or not.
• Put raw data, survey instruments, and release forms, etc. into appendices if appropriate and required. Consider the Data Repository for the U of M (DRUM)  to archive data. 
• Include your research questions identified in the introduction. Describe how you have moved the field forward. Explain how your research enhances or fills a gap in existing research. Identify any unexpected or contradictory findings.
• Explain how your results relate to existing literature and if they are consistent with previous research.
• Describe how your results can be applied. This could take a variety of forms such as real world application, best practices or recommendations.
• Share the conclusion have reached because of your research.
• Explain limitations in your research and possibilities for future research on your topic.
• Meet with a subject librarian to do precise searching if you need to find additional sources.
• Meet with the Center for Writing for support with your writing process.

Percent time spent on this step: 25

Edit Dissertation draft & prepare for your defense

Although editing and revising occurs throughout the writing process, budget sufficient time to return to your draft for full-scale revision. Seeking feedback, reviewing, and editing your document helps you to:

• See your text from a reader's perspective.
• Bring together parts written at different times to create a coherent, connected whole.
• Make your ideas clear to others, which in turn, will result in better reader comments.
• Plan and negotiate your progress in consultation with your advisor and committee members.
• Examine the overall organization and identify what is no longer relevant and what sections need further development.
• Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist , from UW Madison
• Higher Order Concerns and Lower Order Concerns  from Purdue
• Ask colleagues and others for specific types of feedback to guide the comments. Connect with your dissertation support network and members of your committee to receive constructive feedback.
• Help your readers help you by giving them a direction, for example in an email, in which you explain what you want to accomplish in the draft and list your specific questions and concerns.
• Identify potential readers' expertise and skills when deciding which parts of your dissertation you want them to review. For example, perhaps only people working in your lab can constructively comment on your "methods," while friends in other disciplines would give useful feedback on the "introduction."
• Respond to all comments even though you may decide to not incorporate a suggestion.
• Negotiate with your advisor and committee members to establish a process for submitting drafts for their feedback.
• Check all calculations, visual details, and citations for accuracy and validity and remove sources you are no longer citing or add new ones.
• Prepare the bibliography, appendix, title page, and acknowledgements.
• Be sure you are formatting your document to meet the  dissertation submission and formatting requirements .
• You may or may not be expected to give a brief presentation at the beginning.
• Focus on the needs of your primary audience (your advisor and committee), either by consulting them directly or considering their feedback to your initial draft.
• Review your notes and rationale for making the decisions you made in your draft for example, including or excluding certain seminal theories, authors, and research methodologies.
• Remind yourself that at this point you are now the "expert" on your research and the goal of the defense is to present and share your expertise and seek feedback from interested readers.
• Dissertation Defense  from Texas A&M

Finish and submit your dissertation

Your dissertation defense committee will have informed you that you passed your defense, or passed with minor revisions needed. In some cases, substantial revisions are needed before the committee members agree to pass the dissertation. The procedures, requirements, and timelines for completing the dissertation process may vary depending on the department and college with which you are affiliated and the type of doctorate you will receive. Once any needed revisions have been completed and approved, you are ready to finish the dissertation and submit the final version.

• Many departments have their own handbooks to guide students through the process with timelines and specific academic style guidelines. Consult the details in the doctoral handbook for your department and college.
• Review the  Dissertation submission requirements .
• Review information about Copyright and Dissertations & Theses . You own the copyright usually and it is wise to consider your next with the content.
• You will retain your rights to your dissertation when submitting it to the UDC.
• The UDC copy of your dissertation will be freely available for you and others to read and link to with a permanent URL. Learn more about the benefits of the UDC for your dissertation.
• A copy of your dissertation is submitted to ProQuest/UMI Dissertation Publishing making information about your dissertation available through ProQuest Digital Dissertations. The full text of your dissertation will be available through libraries that subscribe to this product or copies may be purchased. You may also opt to make your dissertation available on an open access basis via ProQuest Open Access Publishing.

How To Write The Results/Findings Chapter

For quantitative studies (dissertations & theses).

By: Derek Jansen (MBA). Expert Reviewed By: Kerryn Warren (PhD) | July 2021

So, you’ve completed your quantitative data analysis and it’s time to report on your findings. But where do you start? In this post, we’ll walk you through the results chapter (also called the findings or analysis chapter), step by step, so that you can craft this section of your dissertation or thesis with confidence. If you’re looking for information regarding the results chapter for qualitative studies, you can find that here .

Overview: Quantitative Results Chapter

• What exactly the results/findings/analysis chapter is
• What you need to include in your results chapter
• How to structure your results chapter
• A few tips and tricks for writing top-notch chapter

What exactly is the results chapter?

The results chapter (also referred to as the findings or analysis chapter) is one of the most important chapters of your dissertation or thesis because it shows the reader what you’ve found in terms of the quantitative data you’ve collected. It presents the data using a clear text narrative, supported by tables, graphs and charts. In doing so, it also highlights any potential issues (such as outliers or unusual findings) you’ve come across.

But how’s that different from the discussion chapter?

Well, in the results chapter, you only present your statistical findings. Only the numbers, so to speak – no more, no less. Contrasted to this, in the discussion chapter , you interpret your findings and link them to prior research (i.e. your literature review), as well as your research objectives and research questions . In other words, the results chapter presents and describes the data, while the discussion chapter interprets the data.

Let’s look at an example.

In your results chapter, you may have a plot that shows how respondents to a survey  responded: the numbers of respondents per category, for instance. You may also state whether this supports a hypothesis by using a p-value from a statistical test. But it is only in the discussion chapter where you will say why this is relevant or how it compares with the literature or the broader picture. So, in your results chapter, make sure that you don’t present anything other than the hard facts – this is not the place for subjectivity.

It’s worth mentioning that some universities prefer you to combine the results and discussion chapters. Even so, it is good practice to separate the results and discussion elements within the chapter, as this ensures your findings are fully described. Typically, though, the results and discussion chapters are split up in quantitative studies. If you’re unsure, chat with your research supervisor or chair to find out what their preference is.

What should you include in the results chapter?

Following your analysis, it’s likely you’ll have far more data than are necessary to include in your chapter. In all likelihood, you’ll have a mountain of SPSS or R output data, and it’s your job to decide what’s most relevant. You’ll need to cut through the noise and focus on the data that matters.

This doesn’t mean that those analyses were a waste of time – on the contrary, those analyses ensure that you have a good understanding of your dataset and how to interpret it. However, that doesn’t mean your reader or examiner needs to see the 165 histograms you created! Relevance is key.

How do I decide what’s relevant?

At this point, it can be difficult to strike a balance between what is and isn’t important. But the most important thing is to ensure your results reflect and align with the purpose of your study .  So, you need to revisit your research aims, objectives and research questions and use these as a litmus test for relevance. Make sure that you refer back to these constantly when writing up your chapter so that you stay on track.

As a general guide, your results chapter will typically include the following:

• Some demographic data about your sample
• Reliability tests (if you used measurement scales)
• Descriptive statistics
• Inferential statistics (if your research objectives and questions require these)
• Hypothesis tests (again, if your research objectives and questions require these)

We’ll discuss each of these points in more detail in the next section.

Importantly, your results chapter needs to lay the foundation for your discussion chapter . This means that, in your results chapter, you need to include all the data that you will use as the basis for your interpretation in the discussion chapter.

For example, if you plan to highlight the strong relationship between Variable X and Variable Y in your discussion chapter, you need to present the respective analysis in your results chapter – perhaps a correlation or regression analysis.

Need a helping hand?

How do I write the results chapter?

There are multiple steps involved in writing up the results chapter for your quantitative research. The exact number of steps applicable to you will vary from study to study and will depend on the nature of the research aims, objectives and research questions . However, we’ll outline the generic steps below.

Step 1 – Revisit your research questions

The first step in writing your results chapter is to revisit your research objectives and research questions . These will be (or at least, should be!) the driving force behind your results and discussion chapters, so you need to review them and then ask yourself which statistical analyses and tests (from your mountain of data) would specifically help you address these . For each research objective and research question, list the specific piece (or pieces) of analysis that address it.

At this stage, it’s also useful to think about the key points that you want to raise in your discussion chapter and note these down so that you have a clear reminder of which data points and analyses you want to highlight in the results chapter. Again, list your points and then list the specific piece of analysis that addresses each point. 

Next, you should draw up a rough outline of how you plan to structure your chapter . Which analyses and statistical tests will you present and in what order? We’ll discuss the “standard structure” in more detail later, but it’s worth mentioning now that it’s always useful to draw up a rough outline before you start writing (this advice applies to any chapter).

Step 2 – Craft an overview introduction

As with all chapters in your dissertation or thesis, you should start your quantitative results chapter by providing a brief overview of what you’ll do in the chapter and why . For example, you’d explain that you will start by presenting demographic data to understand the representativeness of the sample, before moving onto X, Y and Z.

This section shouldn’t be lengthy – a paragraph or two maximum. Also, it’s a good idea to weave the research questions into this section so that there’s a golden thread that runs through the document.

Step 3 – Present the sample demographic data

The first set of data that you’ll present is an overview of the sample demographics – in other words, the demographics of your respondents.

For example:

• What age range are they?
• How is gender distributed?
• How is ethnicity distributed?
• What areas do the participants live in?

The purpose of this is to assess how representative the sample is of the broader population. This is important for the sake of the generalisability of the results. If your sample is not representative of the population, you will not be able to generalise your findings. This is not necessarily the end of the world, but it is a limitation you’ll need to acknowledge.

Of course, to make this representativeness assessment, you’ll need to have a clear view of the demographics of the population. So, make sure that you design your survey to capture the correct demographic information that you will compare your sample to.

But what if I’m not interested in generalisability?

Well, even if your purpose is not necessarily to extrapolate your findings to the broader population, understanding your sample will allow you to interpret your findings appropriately, considering who responded. In other words, it will help you contextualise your findings . For example, if 80% of your sample was aged over 65, this may be a significant contextual factor to consider when interpreting the data. Therefore, it’s important to understand and present the demographic data.

 Step 4 – Review composite measures and the data “shape”.

Before you undertake any statistical analysis, you’ll need to do some checks to ensure that your data are suitable for the analysis methods and techniques you plan to use. If you try to analyse data that doesn’t meet the assumptions of a specific statistical technique, your results will be largely meaningless. Therefore, you may need to show that the methods and techniques you’ll use are “allowed”.

Most commonly, there are two areas you need to pay attention to:

#1: Composite measures

The first is when you have multiple scale-based measures that combine to capture one construct – this is called a composite measure .  For example, you may have four Likert scale-based measures that (should) all measure the same thing, but in different ways. In other words, in a survey, these four scales should all receive similar ratings. This is called “ internal consistency ”.

Internal consistency is not guaranteed though (especially if you developed the measures yourself), so you need to assess the reliability of each composite measure using a test. Typically, Cronbach’s Alpha is a common test used to assess internal consistency – i.e., to show that the items you’re combining are more or less saying the same thing. A high alpha score means that your measure is internally consistent. A low alpha score means you may need to consider scrapping one or more of the measures.

#2: Data shape

The second matter that you should address early on in your results chapter is data shape. In other words, you need to assess whether the data in your set are symmetrical (i.e. normally distributed) or not, as this will directly impact what type of analyses you can use. For many common inferential tests such as T-tests or ANOVAs (we’ll discuss these a bit later), your data needs to be normally distributed. If it’s not, you’ll need to adjust your strategy and use alternative tests.

To assess the shape of the data, you’ll usually assess a variety of descriptive statistics (such as the mean, median and skewness), which is what we’ll look at next.

Step 5 – Present the descriptive statistics

Now that you’ve laid the foundation by discussing the representativeness of your sample, as well as the reliability of your measures and the shape of your data, you can get started with the actual statistical analysis. The first step is to present the descriptive statistics for your variables.

For scaled data, this usually includes statistics such as:

• The mean – this is simply the mathematical average of a range of numbers.
• The median – this is the midpoint in a range of numbers when the numbers are arranged in order.
• The mode – this is the most commonly repeated number in the data set.
• Standard deviation – this metric indicates how dispersed a range of numbers is. In other words, how close all the numbers are to the mean (the average).
• Skewness – this indicates how symmetrical a range of numbers is. In other words, do they tend to cluster into a smooth bell curve shape in the middle of the graph (this is called a normal or parametric distribution), or do they lean to the left or right (this is called a non-normal or non-parametric distribution).
• Kurtosis – this metric indicates whether the data are heavily or lightly-tailed, relative to the normal distribution. In other words, how peaked or flat the distribution is.

A large table that indicates all the above for multiple variables can be a very effective way to present your data economically. You can also use colour coding to help make the data more easily digestible.

For categorical data, where you show the percentage of people who chose or fit into a category, for instance, you can either just plain describe the percentages or numbers of people who responded to something or use graphs and charts (such as bar graphs and pie charts) to present your data in this section of the chapter.

When using figures, make sure that you label them simply and clearly , so that your reader can easily understand them. There’s nothing more frustrating than a graph that’s missing axis labels! Keep in mind that although you’ll be presenting charts and graphs, your text content needs to present a clear narrative that can stand on its own. In other words, don’t rely purely on your figures and tables to convey your key points: highlight the crucial trends and values in the text. Figures and tables should complement the writing, not carry it .

Depending on your research aims, objectives and research questions, you may stop your analysis at this point (i.e. descriptive statistics). However, if your study requires inferential statistics, then it’s time to deep dive into those .

Step 6 – Present the inferential statistics

Inferential statistics are used to make generalisations about a population , whereas descriptive statistics focus purely on the sample . Inferential statistical techniques, broadly speaking, can be broken down into two groups .

First, there are those that compare measurements between groups , such as t-tests (which measure differences between two groups) and ANOVAs (which measure differences between multiple groups). Second, there are techniques that assess the relationships between variables , such as correlation analysis and regression analysis. Within each of these, some tests can be used for normally distributed (parametric) data and some tests are designed specifically for use on non-parametric data.

There are a seemingly endless number of tests that you can use to crunch your data, so it’s easy to run down a rabbit hole and end up with piles of test data. Ultimately, the most important thing is to make sure that you adopt the tests and techniques that allow you to achieve your research objectives and answer your research questions .

In this section of the results chapter, you should try to make use of figures and visual components as effectively as possible. For example, if you present a correlation table, use colour coding to highlight the significance of the correlation values, or scatterplots to visually demonstrate what the trend is. The easier you make it for your reader to digest your findings, the more effectively you’ll be able to make your arguments in the next chapter.

Step 7 – Test your hypotheses

If your study requires it, the next stage is hypothesis testing. A hypothesis is a statement , often indicating a difference between groups or relationship between variables, that can be supported or rejected by a statistical test. However, not all studies will involve hypotheses (again, it depends on the research objectives), so don’t feel like you “must” present and test hypotheses just because you’re undertaking quantitative research.

The basic process for hypothesis testing is as follows:

• Specify your null hypothesis (for example, “The chemical psilocybin has no effect on time perception).
• Specify your alternative hypothesis (e.g., “The chemical psilocybin has an effect on time perception)
• Set your significance level (this is usually 0.05)
• Calculate your statistics and find your p-value (e.g., p=0.01)
• Draw your conclusions (e.g., “The chemical psilocybin does have an effect on time perception”)

Finally, if the aim of your study is to develop and test a conceptual framework , this is the time to present it, following the testing of your hypotheses. While you don’t need to develop or discuss these findings further in the results chapter, indicating whether the tests (and their p-values) support or reject the hypotheses is crucial.

Step 8 – Provide a chapter summary

To wrap up your results chapter and transition to the discussion chapter, you should provide a brief summary of the key findings . “Brief” is the keyword here – much like the chapter introduction, this shouldn’t be lengthy – a paragraph or two maximum. Highlight the findings most relevant to your research objectives and research questions, and wrap it up.

Some final thoughts, tips and tricks

Now that you’ve got the essentials down, here are a few tips and tricks to make your quantitative results chapter shine:

• When writing your results chapter, report your findings in the past tense . You’re talking about what you’ve found in your data, not what you are currently looking for or trying to find.
• Structure your results chapter systematically and sequentially . If you had two experiments where findings from the one generated inputs into the other, report on them in order.
• Make your own tables and graphs rather than copying and pasting them from statistical analysis programmes like SPSS. Check out the DataIsBeautiful reddit for some inspiration.
• Once you’re done writing, review your work to make sure that you have provided enough information to answer your research questions , but also that you didn’t include superfluous information.

If you’ve got any questions about writing up the quantitative results chapter, please leave a comment below. If you’d like 1-on-1 assistance with your quantitative analysis and discussion, check out our hands-on coaching service , or book a free consultation with a friendly coach.

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This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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Thank you. I will try my best to write my results.

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this was great explaination

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• Dissertation

What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started

Published on 26 March 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

A dissertation is a large research project undertaken at the end of a degree. It involves in-depth consideration of a problem or question chosen by the student. It is usually the largest (and final) piece of written work produced during a degree.

The length and structure of a dissertation vary widely depending on the level and field of study. However, there are some key questions that can help you understand the requirements and get started on your dissertation project.

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Table of contents

When and why do you have to write a dissertation, who will supervise your dissertation, what type of research will you do, how should your dissertation be structured, what formatting and referencing rules do you have to follow, frequently asked questions about dissertations.

A dissertation, sometimes called a thesis, comes at the end of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. It is a larger project than the other essays you’ve written, requiring a higher word count and a greater depth of research.

You’ll generally work on your dissertation during the final year of your degree, over a longer period than you would take for a standard essay . For example, the dissertation might be your main focus for the last six months of your degree.

Why is the dissertation important?

The dissertation is a test of your capacity for independent research. You are given a lot of autonomy in writing your dissertation: you come up with your own ideas, conduct your own research, and write and structure the text by yourself.

This means that it is an important preparation for your future, whether you continue in academia or not: it teaches you to manage your own time, generate original ideas, and work independently.

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During the planning and writing of your dissertation, you’ll work with a supervisor from your department. The supervisor’s job is to give you feedback and advice throughout the process.

The dissertation supervisor is often assigned by the department, but you might be allowed to indicate preferences or approach potential supervisors. If so, try to pick someone who is familiar with your chosen topic, whom you get along with on a personal level, and whose feedback you’ve found useful in the past.

How will your supervisor help you?

Your supervisor is there to guide you through the dissertation project, but you’re still working independently. They can give feedback on your ideas, but not come up with ideas for you.

You may need to take the initiative to request an initial meeting with your supervisor. Then you can plan out your future meetings and set reasonable deadlines for things like completion of data collection, a structure outline, a first chapter, a first draft, and so on.

Make sure to prepare in advance for your meetings. Formulate your ideas as fully as you can, and determine where exactly you’re having difficulties so you can ask your supervisor for specific advice.

Your approach to your dissertation will vary depending on your field of study. The first thing to consider is whether you will do empirical research , which involves collecting original data, or non-empirical research , which involves analysing sources.

Empirical dissertations (sciences)

An empirical dissertation focuses on collecting and analysing original data. You’ll usually write this type of dissertation if you are studying a subject in the sciences or social sciences.

• What are airline workers’ attitudes towards the challenges posed for their industry by climate change?
• How effective is cognitive behavioural therapy in treating depression in young adults?
• What are the short-term health effects of switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes?

There are many different empirical research methods you can use to answer these questions – for example, experiments , observations, surveys , and interviews.

When doing empirical research, you need to consider things like the variables you will investigate, the reliability and validity of your measurements, and your sampling method . The aim is to produce robust, reproducible scientific knowledge.

Non-empirical dissertations (arts and humanities)

A non-empirical dissertation works with existing research or other texts, presenting original analysis, critique and argumentation, but no original data. This approach is typical of arts and humanities subjects.

• What attitudes did commentators in the British press take towards the French Revolution in 1789–1792?
• How do the themes of gender and inheritance intersect in Shakespeare’s Macbeth ?
• How did Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia influence nineteenth century utopian socialist thought?

The first steps in this type of dissertation are to decide on your topic and begin collecting your primary and secondary sources .

Primary sources are the direct objects of your research. They give you first-hand evidence about your subject. Examples of primary sources include novels, artworks and historical documents.

Secondary sources provide information that informs your analysis. They describe, interpret, or evaluate information from primary sources. For example, you might consider previous analyses of the novel or author you are working on, or theoretical texts that you plan to apply to your primary sources.

Dissertations are divided into chapters and sections. Empirical dissertations usually follow a standard structure, while non-empirical dissertations are more flexible.

Structure of an empirical dissertation

Empirical dissertations generally include these chapters:

• Introduction : An explanation of your topic and the research question(s) you want to answer.
• Literature review : A survey and evaluation of previous research on your topic.
• Methodology : An explanation of how you collected and analysed your data.
• Results : A brief description of what you found.
• Discussion : Interpretation of what these results reveal.
• Conclusion : Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your findings contribute to knowledge in your field.

Sometimes the order or naming of chapters might be slightly different, but all of the above information must be included in order to produce thorough, valid scientific research.

Other dissertation structures

If your dissertation doesn’t involve data collection, your structure is more flexible. You can think of it like an extended essay – the text should be logically organised in a way that serves your argument:

• Introduction: An explanation of your topic and the question(s) you want to answer.
• Main body: The development of your analysis, usually divided into 2–4 chapters.
• Conclusion: Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your analysis contributes to knowledge in your field.

The chapters of the main body can be organised around different themes, time periods, or texts. Below you can see some example structures for dissertations in different subjects.

• Political philosophy

This example, on the topic of the British press’s coverage of the French Revolution, shows how you might structure each chapter around a specific theme.

This example, on the topic of Plato’s and More’s influences on utopian socialist thought, shows a different approach to dividing the chapters by theme.

This example, a master’s dissertation on the topic of how writers respond to persecution, shows how you can also use section headings within each chapter. Each of the three chapters deals with a specific text, while the sections are organised thematically.

Like other academic texts, it’s important that your dissertation follows the formatting guidelines set out by your university. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

Formatting guidelines concern things like:

• line spacing
• page numbers
• punctuation
• title pages
• presentation of tables and figures

If you’re unsure about the formatting requirements, check with your supervisor or department. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

How will you reference your sources?

Referencing means properly listing the sources you cite and refer to in your dissertation, so that the reader can find them. This avoids plagiarism by acknowledging where you’ve used the work of others.

Keep track of everything you read as you prepare your dissertation. The key information to note down for a reference is:

• The publication date
• Page numbers for the parts you refer to (especially when using direct quotes)

Different referencing styles each have their own specific rules for how to reference. The most commonly used styles in UK universities are listed below.

You can use the free APA Reference Generator to automatically create and store your references.

APA Reference Generator

The words ‘ dissertation ’ and ‘thesis’ both refer to a large written research project undertaken to complete a degree, but they are used differently depending on the country:

• In the UK, you write a dissertation at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a thesis to complete a PhD.
• In the US, it’s the other way around: you may write a thesis at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a dissertation to complete a PhD.

The main difference is in terms of scale – a dissertation is usually much longer than the other essays you complete during your degree.

Another key difference is that you are given much more independence when working on a dissertation. You choose your own dissertation topic , and you have to conduct the research and write the dissertation yourself (with some assistance from your supervisor).

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

• An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
• A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
• A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

At the bachelor’s and master’s levels, the dissertation is usually the main focus of your final year. You might work on it (alongside other classes) for the entirety of the final year, or for the last six months. This includes formulating an idea, doing the research, and writing up.

A PhD thesis takes a longer time, as the thesis is the main focus of the degree. A PhD thesis might be being formulated and worked on for the whole four years of the degree program. The writing process alone can take around 18 months.

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Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started. Scribbr. Retrieved 15 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/what-is-a-dissertation/

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The formula for Masters Degree Grades

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Frequently asked questions.

It depends. If you’re looking for a job after completing your Master's, your grades wouldn’t matter that much. However, good grades will still give you a better reputation as a student and as a potential employee. If you are planning to pursue PhD after Masters, your grades will definitely matter as it reflects your overall academic performance.

Masters involve a lot of independent studying which is difficult to do for some students. There are also higher expectations for postgraduate students when it comes to coursework.

However, just like studying for a Bachelor's degree, students will be able to easily pass if they commit themselves to work hard and spend enough time studying.

Studying masters in the UK will be challenging but it will definitely be worth it.

Masters degree grades follow a pattern, but the grading system for degrees varies from one country to another. Here’s what you need to know about the formula for masters degree grades when it comes to studying a masters in the UK.

What are masters degree grades?

Your Master's degree grades are determined by creating a weighted average. A combination of your results from different assignments that you have completed throughout the course will affect your overall master's degree grade. However, if you’re studying Integrated Masters, your grade will be calculated differently. In Integrated Masters, more weighting will be applied to the latter period of your studies.

Every piece of work is graded differently and different factors will affect your grade depending on the requirements. For example, an essay will be graded completely differently than a presentation or an exam.

Assignments that form part of a degree assessment are marked according to standards that are required by the validating body. In the UK this is the QAA . Some of these will be ‘double-blind marked’. This means that two lecturers or tutors will be reviewing your work and then agree on a grade they would like to give you.

Assessment and weighting

Masters degrees in the UK are worth 180 credits in total. You will earn your credits through a combination of modules, projects, and dissertation - some will be compulsory and some will be optional.

Each module is usually worth 10 to 30 credits depending on the length and the amount of assessment they require. Most universities will have different ways of splitting those 180 credits. For example, you may have six modules each worth 10 credits in your first year. Then get three modules that are worth 20 credits each in your second year and 60 credits for your dissertation in your third year.

Assessments can include:

• Written assessments
• Examinations
• Presentations
• Bibliographies
• Reflective journals

All the mentioned assessments will be weighted differently for each module. The formula for achieving your masters degree grades will depend on your professor, your university, and your chosen subjects.

Masters degree grades and your dissertation

Most universities will require you to do a postgraduate dissertation or thesis during the last year of your study. A dissertation will usually be worth around 60 credits or higher. A masters dissertation is a lengthy written study or piece of coursework on a topic chosen by a student.

While creating a dissertation, all students will be guided by faculty supervisors or professors and will require an extensive amount of time for research and writing. A dissertation is usually divided into chapters and will usually have around 15,000-25,000 words depending on the chosen topic.

In some universities, students might not be required to undertake a dissertation. In that case, students will be required to score highly throughout the rest of their course in order to graduate and finish their Masters degree.

Masters degree results and classifications

Once you have finished your Master's degree, your credits will then translate into either a Distinction, Merit, Pass or Fail. Different universities may have different boundaries but as a general rule:

• Distinction - 70%+
• Merit - 60-69%
• Pass - 50-59%
• Fail - 40-49%

Students who study Integrated Masters will get different results from the one mentioned above. The grading for Integrated Masters will be similar to the grades given in a bachelor's degree:

• First-Class Honours - 70%+
• Upper Second Class Honours - 60-70%
• Lower Second-Class Honours - 50-60%
• Third-Class Honours - 45-50%
• Pass - 40-45%
• Fail - below 40%

How do I get a Distinction in my Masters?

To get a distinction in your Masters, you will need to have at least a 70% or higher grade by the end of your degree. Everyone has unique strategies on how to achieve a Distinction grade but here are a few things you can do to achieve your goal:

• Don’t leave your coursework and dissertation to the last minute. Assignments are given in advance at university to help you prepare enough and do your best on each assignment. Plan ahead and have a proper schedule on when to do your assignments.
• Make the most of the support available to you. You will have professors and supervisors who will be there to help you during your masters, reach out to them or other relevant academics for opinions, insights, and advice.
• Research your dissertation topic thoroughly, do not choose a topic mainly because of your personal interest.
• Explore different angles of various dissertation topics before you make your final choice.

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What is an Undergraduate Dissertation?

While most discussions of ‘dissertations’ focus on postgraduate study, undergraduate students also frequently complete undergraduate dissertations as one part of their overall degree. This article will provide an overview of the undergraduate dissertation and its standard requirements at UK universities.

What is a Bachelor’s or Undergraduate Dissertation?

An undergraduate dissertation (or Bachelors dissertation) is essentially an extended piece of research and writing on a single subject. It is typically completed in the final year of a degree programme and the topic is chosen based on a student’s own area of interest. It allows the student to explore a narrow topic in greater depth than a traditional module. The student works with a single supervisor chosen from their departmental faculty, and this individual provides guidance and support throughout the course of the research.

How does Undergraduate Dissertation differ from Postgraduate Dissertation?

The bachelor’s dissertation varies significantly from postgraduate dissertations. First, it is considerably shorter in length, averaging only 10,000 – 15,000 words. While this is much shorter than a Masters or PhD dissertation, it is much longer than any other piece of writing required in undergraduate programmes.

Secondly, the undergraduate dissertation is not required to contain the same level of originality as postgraduate work. Students are still expected to complete the work independently and cite all sources, but they do not need to present any new ideas. It is sufficient to conduct thorough, sustained research and present a critical discussion of a relatively narrow research topic. It is not necessary to discuss the philosophical context of the research or to design a distinct methodology. However, it is important to note that the best bachelor’s dissertations demonstrate genuine critical thinking skills and an ability to combine information derived from many different sources.

Finally, the undergraduate dissertation also varies in the type of research conducted, which will be more focused on texts and documents rather than active field research. For the most part students will examine secondary sources or easily accessible primary sources, and they will not be required to pursue obscure or costly data sources. In some disciplines a practical element may be incorporated into the dissertation, but this is usually performed with less independence than would be expected at the postgraduate level.

Undergraduate Dissertation Requirements

• Topic selection : At the end of the penultimate year of study students will be asked to select an area of research for the dissertation. You should be sure to choose a topic that is likely to hold your interest over a long period of time, as it is difficult and dangerous to change your topic once your research period has begun.
• Finding a supervisor : Depending on the university, there may be a formal process in place for allocating supervisors or students may simply approach a member of faculty that they are interested in working with. It can be helpful to meet with potential supervisors before registering an intended research area, as they can help you to refine your proposed topic and give you suggestions for specific research questions. Once the formal dissertation period begins you will meet with your supervisor regularly to discuss your progress and refine your study.
• Early research : Most students begin general reading around their chosen subject area in the summer before the final year. This period is truly key in developing a broad awareness of the subject, and it prepares you for more targeted research once your final year commences.
• Research outline : Once the undergraduate dissertation module begins (usually at the start of year 3) you will be asked to draft a brief dissertation outline of about 2-3 pages in length. This should include a summary of  chapters  and a full bibliography. By now you should have decided upon a narrower aspect of your topic, and this should be formulated into a research title with the help of your supervisor.
• Refined research and writing : At this stage, your research will be much more targeted, in order to pursue your proposed dissertation agenda. You should also begin writing as soon as possible. Most departments require students to submit a substantial piece of writing (3,000-5,000 words) by the end of the first term. Remember that you should submit at least one draft to your supervisor before this deadline, in order to give you time to make necessary revisions.
• Final dissertation : When you’ve completed the writing process you should have roughly three or four chapters, as well as an Introduction and Conclusion. It must all be formatted according to university guidelines, and you must be certain to properly cite all if your sources.
• Binding and submission : Unlike undergraduate essays, the undergraduate dissertation must be professionally bound before being submitted. This is usually done on campus but you need to allow enough time for the process before your submission deadline. The final due date is usually at the end of the second term of the student’s final year.

The marking system for undergraduate dissertations is the same that is used for all other aspects of the undergraduate degree. Students must generally achieve a minimum mark of 40 to pass, but most will aspire to higher marks than this. Marks of 60-69 earn a classification of 2:1 or B; Marks over 70 earn a First classification or A.

The dissertation is marked as a stand-alone module and it is combined with other module marks to determine the overall degree classification. There is no standard rule for UK universities regarding the weight of the dissertation mark when calculating the degree average, so it’s best to check with your university to understand their individual regulations.

For many students, the undergraduate dissertation provides their first taste of prolonged independent research. This can be a daunting experience but it is helpful to remember that your departmental supervisor can be called upon frequently for advice and support. If you work at a consistent and dedicated pace you will have no problem completing the dissertation on time. You will also develop important research skills that can prepare you for postgraduate study.

Bryan Greetham, 2009. How to Write your Undergraduate Dissertation (Palgrave Study Skills). Edition. Palgrave Macmillan.

Manchester Metropolitan University, 2008. Guidance on the Writing of Undergraduate Dissertations. Available: http://www.ioe.mmu.ac.uk/cpd/downloads/UNDERGRAD%20DISSERTATION%20HANDBOOK.pdf. Last accessed 08 Apr 2013.

University of Warwick, 2010. Dissertation Guidelines for Undergraduate Study. Available: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/currentstudents/undergraduatemodules/ce302dissertation/dissertation_guidelines_2010.pdf. Last accessed 08 Apr 2013. Nicholas Walliman, 2004. Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide for Success (SAGE Study Skills Series). 1 Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd.

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Our university grade calculator takes a percentage mark for each of your university courses (assignments or modules) or academic years, together with the percentage or credit weighting, and returns a weighted average for the parts you have completed so far.

How do I calculate my weighted university grade?

In order to work out your weighted average grade for your university year, module, or assignment, we take the marks (or grades) multiplied by their respective weights, sum them together, and then divide the total by the sum of the weights. An example is shown below, and the calculation is shown at the bottom of the results.

Example calculation

Student A is studying a degree in Computer Science and has undertaken three modules so far. They want to calculate their average weighted grade for the three modules.

Student A's average mark is therefore calculated at 64.5%.

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If you wish to carry out an unweighted calculation, simply leave all the weight boxes blank, or make them equal. If you want to work out the mark you require on your final exam, you can use our final grade calculator tool .

What mark do I need from the rest of my course?

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Grade Points

Grading System Explanation

Only courses for which the grades of A+, A, A-,, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, or S have been received are acceptable in fulfillment of graduate degree requirements. The letter grades A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, and F are included in computing grade point averages for academic retention. If a graduate student repeats a course with the permission of the Graduate Dean, only the most recent (last) grade will be counted in the grade-point average. Graduate students will not receive graduate credit for Pass / Fail grades. They may not receive a grade of Pass / Fail in a 400-level course graded Pass / Fail on an elective basis.

400-level courses

Most 400-level courses may be taken for graduate credit. The Graduate Catalog will indicate those 400-level courses which may be taken for graduate credit. No grades of Pass / Fail may be given for a 400-level course for graduate credit. The instructor in a 400-level course which can be taken for graduate credit has the discretion to decide whether to require additional work for graduate credit.

Except for the WU grade, a W indicates authorized withdrawal from a course prior to the date indicated in the Schedule of Classes Information for the term in which the course was taken. The student's record will reflect the courses from which the student had withdrawn with the symbol W and the week of withdrawal.

An INC grade should be assigned when, for reasons beyond their control, students engaged in passing work are unable to complete all class assignments. INC is not included in grade-point computation. An INC must be changed to a completed grade within one year from the close of the term in which the course was taken or graduation, whichever comes first. Should the student fail to complete the course within the time period designated, that is, one year from the close of the term in which the course was taken or graduation, whichever comes first, the Incomplete will be converted to a grade of F and the grade will be computed in the student’s grade point average.

To complete the work from the original registration, a student should not register for the course again, but should complete the work for the original registration if the original registration is within the normal time limits established for the degree.

When the work is completed in a course for which DEF has been assigned, the grade is changed to a letter grade by the instructor, except in the case of theses and dissertations. When a thesis or dissertation has been submitted to the Graduate School as approved, the grade is automatically changed to S. If a thesis or dissertation is found unacceptable and the student is dismissed from the program, the grade of U is automatically assigned upon receipt by the Graduate School of the action dismissing the student.

Students enrolling for an Audit must designate their intent to enroll on an Audit basis at the time of registration, or prior to the end of the second week of a sixteen-week semester (prior to the end of the second week of an eight-week summer session). An equivalent prorated amount of time would be allowed for courses of shorter duration. Students registering for short courses must register for Audit prior to the beginning of those classes.

Students cannot designate a course for Audit from within SalukiNet Self-Service. Instead, they should first register for the course in SalukiNet Self-Service, then fill out a Course Request Form (CRF) which designates the change from regular registration to Audit. The CRF must be submitted to the Graduate Registration office.

Students registering for a course on an Audit basis receive no credit.

Auditing students' CRFs must be marked accordingly, and such students pay the same tuition and fees as though they were registering for credit. Students are expected to attend regularly and to determine from the instructor the amount of work expected of them. If an auditing student does not attend regularly, the instructor may determine that the student should not have a satisfactory (AU) audit grade. If the audited class is unsatisfactory, a grade of UAU will appear on the student's transcript.

Changing of grades

At the completion of a course the final grade assigned to a student is the responsibility of the instructor of the course. Grades given at the end of the course are final and may not be changed by additional work or by submitting additional materials; however, clerical errors in recording grades can be corrected. To correct a clerical error, the assigned instructors should submit a grade change card together with an explanation and justification of the grade change for the approval or disapproval of the department chair, the appropriate college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School. In cases of theses and dissertations, for which DEF grades are given, the Graduate School changes the DEF grades upon presentation and acceptance of the thesis and dissertation and receipt of the departmental approval papers. In courses for which INC and DEF grades have been given, assigned instructors have the responsibility of determining the final grade to be assigned and notifying the Office of Admissions and Records of the final grade by means of the grade change card.

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Knowing this can help you achieve a better degree by being aware of what grades you need to get in an assesment, or even simply put your mind at rest that you're on track.

Module A has of four marked assessments, one worth 70% and three worth 10% each.

Knowing the grades of the 70% assessment, and one 10% assessment it is possible to calculate your average grade so far over 80% of this module by inputting your results as follows.

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How does the uk university grading system work.

Whether you’re already studying or are about to, it is important to understand how the UK university grading system works.

When it comes to studying an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK, grading systems vary. Whether you’re about to start your degree, or you are close to the third year of your course, it’s important to understand how your final grade will be calculated. Luckily, it’s easy to understand.

University grading: degree classifications explained

Universities in the UK follow a standard grading system for degree classifications based on the overall percentage achieved. The four university grade boundaries are:

• First-Class Honours (1st) (70% and above): Exceptional academic performance
• Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1) (60-70%): Strong performance, most common degree class
• Lower Second-Class Honours (2:2) (50-60%): Satisfactory performance, widely accepted by employers
• Third-Class Honours (3rd) (40-50%): Minimum passing grade for an honours degree

What is the postgraduate grading system in the UK?

The British postgraduate grading system differs quite a bit from the undergraduate one. Depending on whether you are undergoing an Integrated Masters Degree or a Standalone Masters Degree the grading system will differ. Like undergraduate, Masters Degrees are graded by creating a weighted average, combining all your module results from the year(s).

An integrated masters is one which follows directly from an undergraduate course. Common in Science degrees, where you apply for a four year course. In your second year you will be able to choose to either complete a Bsc (Bachelor of Science) or follow the path to achieve an MChem (Masters in Chemistry) etc. Integrated Masters degrees are graded the same as undergraduate degrees.

Standalone Masters include Masters Degrees by Research and Taught Masters Degrees. Masters degrees by research commonly referred to as MRes or MPhil are focused more on individual research skills with less taught modules. These degrees are usually graded as a pass or a fail.

Taught Masters degrees require a total of 180 credits. These credits are split between assignments, assessments and a dissertation or final project. Each module will have a certain amount of credits attached. For example, you may have single modules weighted at 15 credits, double modules (that span over two semesters) at 30 credits and a dissertation weighted at 60 credits. As taught, Masters Degrees are typically only a year long, every module counts to your final grade.

Instead of a First, Upper Second, Lower Second and Third, there are only three grade classifications for a Masters Degree. These are Distinction, Merit and Pass. The boundaries for these may vary depending on your university, however the common boundaries are shown below.

• Distinction: much like a First at undergraduate level, a Distinction is awarded when you achieve a percentage grade of 70% and above.
• Merit: you’ll be awarded a Merit if you achieve a grade average between 60-69%.
• Pass: a pass is awarded when you receive a grade average between 50-59%.
• Fail: If you do not receive at the minimum an average of 50%, the Masters qualification is not awarded. If you do think you are heading towards failing, try not to stress. You can speak with your module leaders about retaking any assignments or examinations to bump up your grade.

What can I do if I think I am going to fail my degree?

If you feel as if you are heading towards failing your undergraduate or postgraduate degree try not to panic. Easier said than done but you do have plenty of options.

As an undergraduate, you have three or four years to make up the credits you need to pass your course. Therefore, you are able to retake any modules you have failed in other years. For example, if you fail a Film module in first year, you can retake this module in your second year. If you fail numerous modules you are able to retake the entire year.

Another option is to retake any failed assignments or examinations throughout the year. This is easily done through referral or deferral assessments. Referral assessments are like resits, whilst deferrals allow students to postpone any assessments or extend any coursework deadlines. To qualify for a deferral you will need to prove that your performance has been affected by a personal circumstance (e.g. medical condition). To be granted a deferral you will need to fill out an application. Referrals and deferrals can be implemented at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Finally, if you feel as if your grade is an unfair reflection on your work you can submit an appeal. If you do this, your mark will be re-marked or looked back over by an examination board or your lecturers. Simply speak with your lecturers if this is something you would like to do.

Interested in going to university? View our university rankings and league tables to help you with your decision.

undergraduate Universities

Undergraduate uni's.

Uni of Kent

413 courses

Uni of Roehampton

268 courses

Ravensbourne

Northeastern Uni

Escape Studios

West London IoT

Uni of Bedfordshire

327 courses

Uni of Surrey

435 courses

238 courses

Goldsmiths, UOL

273 courses

Uni of Suffolk

111 courses

Swansea Uni

771 courses

Uni of East London

317 courses

UWE, Bristol

252 courses

Uni of Portsmouth

545 courses

Middlesex Uni

470 courses

Uni of Sunderland

200 courses

Cardiff Met Uni

305 courses

Uni of Chester

398 courses

246 courses

Uni of Winchester

154 courses

Uni of Hertfordshire

419 courses

Uni for Creative Arts

323 courses

528 courses

Coventry Uni

445 courses

Leeds Beckett Uni

325 courses

Uni of Bradford

197 courses

Uni of Leicester

267 courses

444 courses

Staffordshire Uni

272 courses

Heriot-Watt Uni

208 courses

Uni of Westminster

336 courses

Anglia Ruskin Uni

464 courses

Kingston Uni

376 courses

Queen's Uni

411 courses

Leeds Arts University

Uni of Essex

797 courses

353 courses

Wrexham Uni

168 courses

Uni of Huddersfield

458 courses

Uni of C.Lancashire

512 courses

Uni of Brighton

257 courses

ARU Writtle

104 courses

Bath Spa Uni

292 courses

Edge Hill Uni

243 courses

Uni of Hull

274 courses

Nottingham Trent

539 courses

Edinburgh Napier

184 courses

Uni of Reading

391 courses

Want to learn more about a university?

Get your questions answered by sending them an enquiry now.

Section 6. Academic Progress and Grading Policies: Grading: Course-Based

• Academic Progress and Grading Policies
• Academic Progress Benchmarks
• Academic Progress

Course Grading Scales

Degree audit, completion, and graduation, grade appeal, grades of incomplete, grade point average, kam grades and credit award, progress grading, repeating a course, transcript requests: course-based programs.

• Grading: Tempo Learning®
• Leave of Absence

Letter grade A (Superior)

Point value: 4.0

Student met all participation requirements; completed all assignments, group projects, and papers; met the evaluation criteria for the course as specified in the syllabus; and submitted superior quality work.

Letter grade B (Above Average)

Point value: 3.0

Student met all participation requirements; completed all assignments, group projects, and papers; met the evaluation criteria for the course as specified in the syllabus; and submitted satisfactory quality work.

Letter grade C (Average)

Point value: 2.0

Student met the majority of participation requirements; completed most assignments, group projects, and papers; and met the majority of evaluation criteria for the course as specified in the syllabus.

Letter grade D (Marginal)

Point value: 1.0

Letter grade F (Fail)

Point value: 0.0

Student did not meet the criteria for a passing grade.

Letter grade I (Incomplete)

Incomplete grades can be granted only to students who have already met the minimum criteria for active weekly participation in a course (including weekly postings in online courses) and have completed the majority of the coursework. Incompletes can be awarded where, due to extenuating circumstances, a student has not been able to complete all course requirements within the term, including but not limited to written assignments, group projects, and research papers, as applicable. All incomplete grades are awarded at the discretion of the course instructor.

Students are eligible for graduation when they meet the requirements listed in the Walden University Catalog in effect when they entered the university, unless a prior request to follow a different catalog was approved. Semester- and quarter-based students are only eligible for conferral at the end of the final academic term for which they are registered.

Students obtaining a certificate or graduate degree embedded in a higher degree must apply for conferral of the embedded credential prior to award of the higher degree. Students obtaining an embedded certificate or graduate degree are only eligible for conferral at the end of their registered academic term in which the embedded credential requirements have been satisfied. Separate graduation applications are required for each degree type.

Students must be in their final academic term to student submit a Graduation Application , which is required in order to be conferred. Students can find the application on the myWalden university portal. Students are responsible for ensuring that all personal information is correct on the graduation application. Students will be charged a fee of $25 to reprint a corrected hard-copy diploma or certificate and $10 for an electronic-only copy.

Upon receiving the Graduation Application, the Office of the Registrar will conduct a preliminary review of the student’s record and validate the degree requirements, ensuring that the student is nearing degree completion. Degrees will not be conferred until the Office of the Registrar has completed a final review of the degree audit and has validated that the following requirements have been successfully met:

• All grades are posted.
• All program requirements are completed.
• Required GPA is obtained.
• Dissertation or doctoral study is submitted, approved by the CAO, and published.

Upon conferral of the degree, the student will receive email confirmation via their Walden email address. The email will provide instructions on requesting an official transcript and attending the commencement ceremony, for those eligible. Please note: Only students earning a degree are eligible to attend the commencement ceremony. Students earning a certificate only are not eligible to attend. Diplomas or certificates will be mailed to the student’s address as requested on the Graduation Application approximately 4–6 weeks after the degree conferral has been processed. Electronic diplomas or certificates will be sent within 10 business days of degree conferral.

The diploma indicates the student’s degree and major field of study but not the concentration or specialization. However, the concentration or specialization is indicated on the official transcript. Diplomas are 11” x 14”. Certificates are 8½” x 11”.

If a student has an outstanding financial obligation to the university, his or her transcripts and diploma or certificate will not be released, either to the student or to a third party.

For questions regarding graduation or diplomas or certificates, please email [email protected] .

For questions regarding graduation applications, please email [email protected] .

Second Graduate Degree

The university will not award a graduate degree with the same major or discipline more than once regardless if the original degree was from Walden or a non-related institution. This includes courses taken toward a different specialization within the degree for which a student was previously awarded. For graduate degrees, two degrees are understood to be the same if they are the same degree or contain a majority of the same core or required courses. An award from a previous non-related institution with the same degree name and major or discipline as the one being sought at Walden is presumed to be the same degree. Appeals for exceptions to this policy must demonstrate that the first degree differs significantly in the core or required curricula from the second degree being sought.

This policy does not apply to certificates.

Commencement

The university honors its graduates twice a year, at summer and winter commencement ceremonies. Graduates are encouraged to invite guests to share in the celebration of their accomplishments.

Students are responsible for ensuring they meet the eligibility requirements to attend the commencement ceremony prior to making arrangements to attend. There are no exceptions to the eligibility requirements to attend the commencement ceremony. Students who have their degrees conferred in the first half of the year are eligible to attend the summer ceremony; students who have their degrees conferred in the second half of the year are eligible to attend the winter ceremony. For exact dates of eligibility and upcoming commencement locations, please find more information on Walden’s Commencement website . Invitations to the ceremony are sent via email to eligible graduates during an open registration period; the student’s degree must be conferred to complete the online registration process.

Graduates attending commencement are responsible for purchasing their regalia for the ceremony. All graduates may purchase regalia and graduation merchandise from Jostens online Walden page or by calling their dedicated Walden line at 1-800-854-7464.

For more information, students can send an email to [email protected] .

A grade appeal is an appeal that is limited to reconsideration of a final grade in a course. The criteria for reconsideration are limited to one of the following:

• There was a mathematical error in the calculation of the final grade.
• The grade was determined in a manner that differed from the grade calculation formula in the course syllabus.
• The grade was determined in a manner sufficiently egregious to warrant review by others (rare).

If students believe a grade has been assigned in error, they must first contact the course instructor to attempt to resolve the matter informally. If the matter is not resolved, then students may submit an online petition for grade review.

Petitions must be filed within 30 calendar days of the award of the original grade to be considered for grade review.

All changes of grade, regardless of circumstance, require the course instructor to complete and submit a Change of Grade request form online. If the grade being changed is currently an “I” (Incomplete), the instructor submits the request form electronically. The Office of the Registrar then posts the grade change to the student’s record.

If the grade being changed is not currently an I (Incomplete), regardless of circumstance, the appropriate dean or executive director, or designee, must also send approval of the change for all major courses to the Office of the Registrar. This approval is required in addition to the Change of Grade form.

Electronically submitted written petitions and related documentation are reviewed by the dean or executive director, or designee, who consults the appropriate parties as necessary. The dean or executive director, or designee, may render a decision or appoint a committee to investigate the matter further concerning major courses. The associate dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Studies, or designee, may render a decision or appoint a committee to investigate the matter further concerning general education courses. The decision of the dean or executive director or their designees is final and is not subject to appeal. The dean or executive director or their designee notifies the student, instructor, and registrar of that decision.

Walden strongly discourages grades of “I” (Incomplete). However, Walden understands that there are certain circumstances under which a grade of “I” is appropriate.

Grades of “I” are given at the discretion of the course instructor. Normally, they are granted only if students have already met the minimum criteria for active weekly participation in a course (including weekly postings in online courses) and have acceptably completed the majority of the coursework, including discussions and assignments, prior to the last day of classes.

Students must request a grade of “I” prior to the last day of classes. The request should list missing assignments and say when students plan to turn them in, no later than 80 calendar days from the last day of classes. Discussion assignments may not be made up after the last day of classes. Coursework submitted within the allowed time period, not to exceed 80 calendar days from the last day of classes, will be graded and included in computation of an overall course grade that will replace the “I” grade. Failure to complete the specified coursework within the allowed time will cause the grade of “I” to default to an “F” (Fail) or “U” (Unsatisfactory), depending on the course grading scheme.

Graduate Students

Students in graduate programs must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above to graduate. The GPA is calculated according to the point values in the grading scale.

Grades of “W” (Withdraw) are nonpunitive and do not figure into the GPA. Withdrawals, however, may be counted toward credits attempted for financial aid academic progress requirements.

RN-Entry MSN students completing undergraduate provisional coursework must also earn a “C” or better in each course and an overall GPA of 3.0. 

Undergraduate Students

Students in undergraduate programs must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above to graduate. The grade point average is calculated according to the point values in the grading scale.

Grades “W” (Withdraw) do not figure into the GPA. Withdrawals, however, may be counted toward credits attempted for financial aid academic progress requirements.

BSN and BSN AIM students must earn a “C” or better in each nursing course and an overall GPA of 2.0. 

Calculating GPA

As of June 5, 2009, Walden University began calculating a Program GPA for all current students. All courses completed during a student’s program apply toward the Program GPA. This GPA is used to verify satisfactory academic progress, verify degree validation, and determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid. This includes students who may change concentrations or specializations, catalog versions, or modalities within a program. All courses taken in that program apply toward the student’s university Program GPA.

All courses attempted while a student is enrolled in a program will contribute to the Program GPA. Walden coursework completed under a previously awarded degree may fulfill program requirements of a future degree; however, these courses will not impact the Program GPA of the new program. That is, any course that counts toward the Program GPA for a completed degree will not count toward the Program GPA of a future degree. Certificates are excluded from this rule, whereas Walden courses taken as part of a completed certificate do impact the GPA of any future certificate or degree program which includes those courses already completed as part of the earned certificate.

The Program GPA will be included on a student’s transcript. The transcript reflects the student’s entire cumulative academic history in credit-bearing courses, and individual program-specific transcripts will not be provided for students whose academic history includes multiple programs or degree levels.

Prior to June 5, 2009, the GPA comprised all courses taken at the student degree level.

Exceptions: Students who graduated on or before May 24, 2009

• Will not have the Program GPA included on their transcripts. Graduates in this category may find their GPA below their final term of enrollment in the validated program.
• And who return to the university in a second program of the same level as the initial program will not have a separate Program GPA reflected on their transcript for the initial program.

Prior to August 28, 2017, courses completed under a previously awarded certificate did not impact the Program GPA of a future certificate or degree.

Please see the  Financial Aid Programs  section of this Walden University Student Handbook for additional information.

Grades Used to Calculate GPA and Included on Transcript

Grade:   a, b, c, d, f.

Used in GPA Calculation: Yes

Included on Transcript: Yes

Grade:   S, U

Used in GPA Calculation: No

Included on Transcript: Yes, temporarily (see  Grades of Incomplete  section)

Tempo Learning®

Students in Tempo programs should refer to Grading Tempo Learning® .

Doctoral students in a KAM-based or mixed-model program are continuously registered in a research forum (e.g., SBSF 7100, SBSF 7101/MGMT 9000, EDUC 8800/9001/9002, DISS 9000) for the duration of their program. Each course is assigned to a faculty mentor, who is responsible for submitting course grades. At the beginning of each quarter, the students, together with their mentors, make plans for the academic accomplishments and progress for that quarter. At the end of the quarter, the mentors provide students a grade for the course based on those plans. Students can receive a grade of “S” (Satisfactory) or “U” (Unsatisfactory).

Although a grade of “S” is considered to be equivalent to a letter grade of “B” or better, the university does not convert a grade of “S” to a letter grade.

Upon completion of an entire KAM, students receiving a grade of “S” are awarded the appropriate number of credits. While course grades are transcripted and 6 credit hours are earned each quarter, the credits do not count toward the total credits needed to graduate. Students receiving two consecutive Unsatisfactory grades for their research forum will be reviewed by the dean (or designee) for approval to continue in the program.

Repeating a KAM Demonstration

Students whose KAM demonstrations receive a grade of “U” (Unsatisfactory) are not awarded any credits. With permission from the dean, or designee, these students may repeat the KAM demonstration once.

Doctoral students at Walden University must complete a variety of courses, some of which are taken multiple times until a specific program requirement is completed (e.g., KAMs, the dissertation or doctoral study). Each term, students are graded on their progress: Satisfactory (“S”) or Unsatisfactory (“U”). Although the expectation is that students will make satisfactory progress, the following policies relate to instances where a student receives more than one “U” in these courses, indicating lack of adequate academic progress and possible dismissal.

SBSF 7100 and EDUC 8800: Students in KAM-based and some mixed-model programs are enrolled in SBSF 7100 or EDUC 8800 during their entire program, including the quarters when they are working on their dissertation. Students receiving two consecutive Unsatisfactory (“U”) grades in SBSF 7100 or EDUC 8800 are viewed as not making satisfactory academic progress. For students with an approved prospectus on file with Student Research Administration and who are in the process of completing their dissertations, two Unsatisfactory (“U”) grades at any point will be viewed as not making satisfactory academic progress. In either instance, the student will be reviewed by the associate dean or designee for approval to continue in the program.

Doctoral Companions are courses in which students in course-based and mixed-model programs work on the early stages of the capstone, such as the prospectus. Students must be enrolled in other doctoral coursework while in a companion course.

The following doctoral companion courses do not earn academic credit. These courses are exempt from the progress grading policy:

Doctoral Companion Courses (No Credit)

The following doctoral companion courses earn academic credit. Therefore, the progress grading policy is applicable to the following courses:

Doctoral Companion Courses (Credit)

Capstone Courses are courses in which students in course-based and some mixed-model programs make progress toward completing their doctoral capstone (i.e., a dissertation, doctoral study, or project study). Students also earn academic credit toward their capstone in these courses, and they remain in the capstone course until completion of the capstone project. Students who receive an unsatisfactory grade in the capstone courses may be required by their program director to engage with specific university student support services, which may result in actions including, but not limited to, enrollment in a student success course. Students receiving two Unsatisfactory (“U”) grades at any point will be reviewed by the associate dean (or designee) for approval to continue in the program. Current capstone courses include:

Capstone Courses

Students who fail a course may be required to retake that course if it is a requirement for their program or if the failing grade endangers their academic progress. Students may also choose to repeat a course that was passed in order to earn a better grade. Regardless of why the course is being repeated, the highest grade earned will be used to compute the grade point average. Both course registrations and grades, however, remain on the transcript record. Students who repeat a course may apply the course credits to the completion of degree requirements only once.

In addition, consistent with Walden’s policy on Students’ Misuse of Their Own Scholarly Work in Code of Conduct , assignments submitted for the repeated courses are expected to reflect new approaches and insights into that topic and students may not merely copy and paste substantial sections from one assignment to be submitted again. Any use of prior work is at the discretion of the instructor and prior approval is required before submitting prior work.

Undergraduate students who receive a grade of “D” or lower in a required course may repeat that course.

Undergraduate students may retake a required course only one time. Students who fail a required course twice will be dismissed from the university. A required course is an individual course that must be completed as part of specific university, program, specialization, or concentration requirements and cannot be substituted by other courses in the university. Students will not be dismissed for failing a non-required course twice unless their cumulative GPA falls below acceptable academic standards.

Graduate students who receive a grade of “C” or lower or receive a “U” (Unsatisfactory) grade in a required or elective course may repeat that course.

Graduate students may retake a course only one time. Students who fail a required course twice will be dismissed from the university. A required course is an individual course that must be completed as part of specific university, program, specialization, or concentration requirements and cannot be substituted by other courses in the university. Students will not be dismissed for failing a non-required course twice unless their cumulative GPA falls below acceptable academic standards.

Students who fall into this situation should refer to Gaining Readmission  and Readmission After Dismissal for Low GPA or Failing the Same Required Course Twice .

Requests for official transcripts must be submitted through Parchment Exchange . The student will need to create an account with Parchment to request his or her official transcript. Once an account is created, the student will follow the steps to have the official transcript sent via mail or electronically. Transcripts are $15 per copy.

Requests for unofficial transcripts must be submitted through the myWalden University Portal. There is no cost for unofficial transcripts.

Transcript requests are processed daily, however, please allow 5–7 business days for the mailed transcript to be processed, and 1–2 business days for the electronic transcript to be processed. Transcript requests cannot be held for grading or degree conferral.

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Grade Calculator

Use this calculator to find out the grade of a course based on weighted averages. This calculator accepts both numerical as well as letter grades. It also can calculate the grade needed for the remaining assignments in order to get a desired grade for an ongoing course.

Final Grade Calculator

Use this calculator to find out the grade needed on the final exam in order to get a desired grade in a course. It accepts letter grades, percentage grades, and other numerical inputs.

Related GPA Calculator

The calculators above use the following letter grades and their typical corresponding numerical equivalents based on grade points.

Brief history of different grading systems

In 1785, students at Yale were ranked based on "optimi" being the highest rank, followed by second optimi, inferiore (lower), and pejores (worse). At William and Mary, students were ranked as either No. 1, or No. 2, where No. 1 represented students that were first in their class, while No. 2 represented those who were "orderly, correct and attentive." Meanwhile at Harvard, students were graded based on a numerical system from 1-200 (except for math and philosophy where 1-100 was used). Later, shortly after 1883, Harvard used a system of "Classes" where students were either Class I, II, III, IV, or V, with V representing a failing grade. All of these examples show the subjective, arbitrary, and inconsistent nature with which different institutions graded their students, demonstrating the need for a more standardized, albeit equally arbitrary grading system.

In 1887, Mount Holyoke College became the first college to use letter grades similar to those commonly used today. The college used a grading scale with the letters A, B, C, D, and E, where E represented a failing grade. This grading system however, was far stricter than those commonly used today, with a failing grade being defined as anything below 75%. The college later re-defined their grading system, adding the letter F for a failing grade (still below 75%). This system of using a letter grading scale became increasingly popular within colleges and high schools, eventually leading to the letter grading systems typically used today. However, there is still significant variation regarding what may constitute an A, or whether a system uses plusses or minuses (i.e. A+ or B-), among other differences.

An alternative to the letter grading system

Letter grades provide an easy means to generalize a student's performance. They can be more effective than qualitative evaluations in situations where "right" or "wrong" answers can be easily quantified, such as an algebra exam, but alone may not provide a student with enough feedback in regards to an assessment like a written paper (which is much more subjective).

Although a written analysis of each individual student's work may be a more effective form of feedback, there exists the argument that students and parents are unlikely to read the feedback, and that teachers do not have the time to write such an analysis. There is precedence for this type of evaluation system however, in Saint Ann's School in New York City, an arts-oriented private school that does not have a letter grading system. Instead, teachers write anecdotal reports for each student. This method of evaluation focuses on promoting learning and improvement, rather than the pursuit of a certain letter grade in a course. For better or for worse however, these types of programs constitute a minority in the United States, and though the experience may be better for the student, most institutions still use a fairly standard letter grading system that students will have to adjust to. The time investment that this type of evaluation method requires of teachers/professors is likely not viable on university campuses with hundreds of students per course. As such, although there are other high schools such as Sanborn High School that approach grading in a more qualitative way, it remains to be seen whether such grading methods can be scalable. Until then, more generalized forms of grading like the letter grading system are unlikely to be entirely replaced. However, many educators already try to create an environment that limits the role that grades play in motivating students. One could argue that a combination of these two systems would likely be the most realistic, and effective way to provide a more standardized evaluation of students, while promoting learning.

Grades & the Grading System

Most courses at the University are graded with regular grades. Exceptions include: most house-numbered courses (independent study, colloquium, etc.) and some law, medicine, pharmacy and public health courses. Course descriptions indicate a course's available grading basis.

Regular Grades:

A, B, C, D, and E constitute the regular grades used at the University of Arizona for undergraduate, graduate, law, and pharmacy courses.  Regular grades are included in the calculation of the grade-point-average (GPA).

The College of Law employs the use of plus and minus grades; A+, E+, and E- are not options in this grading system. For purposes of raising grades on the basis of class participation, an instructor's discretion is limited to raising a grade by one grade increment only. For example, a B- may be raised only to a B, and a B+ only to an A-. These plus/minus grades are limited to courses and students in the Juris Doctorate program.

The grade-point average is the arithmetic mean of the grade points earned for all credits taken at the University of Arizona for University Credit or by Credit by Exam , where regular grades are awarded. Ordinarily cumulative GPAs are calculated using only the courses at the program level of the student. For example, the undergraduate GPA is based on undergraduate courses only ( see Graduate Credit for Seniors , Grade Replacement Opportunity , and Second Start Readmission , Academic Renewal for exceptions).

Some courses may require the student to have earned a minimum grade of C in pre-requisite courses. It is recommended that students check the requisites and enrollment requirements in the Schedule of Classes or Course Catalog when registering or planning their class schedules.

Alternative Grading:

S, P, F grading:   Superior/Pass/Fail grades are typically assigned for individual studies courses. These grades are not included in the calculation of GPA and do not meet criteria for   Undergraduate Dean's List, Honors & Awards .

For house numbered courses with a choice of grading systems (senior capstone, colloquium, etc.), departments have the option of awarding regular grades (A, B, C, D, E) or alternative grades (S,P,F) as departmental policy dictates. All students enrolled in the same section of a course must be graded by the same system.

Faculty are required to assign an S, P, or F grade for dissertation/thesis units each term the student is enrolled, to reflect the work completed during that term. As with all courses, the option of awarding an I remains available in extenuating circumstances.

Medical Grades : Pre-clerkship courses are graded on a pass/ fail basis. Clerkship courses are graded on an honors/ high pass/ pass/ fail system (H, HP, P, F). See the College of Medicine Grading System for more information.

Pass/Fail Option:

For certain courses, a student may elect to register under the Pass/ Fail option. If a course is taken under the pass/fail option, the grade of P or F will be permanently recorded. Pass/ Fail grades are NOT included in the GPA.

Students registering for a course under the pass/fail option must meet the prerequisites or otherwise satisfy the instructor of their ability to take the course.

Students may change from Pass/ Fail enrollment to enrollment for a regular grade, or vice versa, until the deadline specified on Dates and Deadlines . Exceeding this deadline requires special permission of the student's college dean through the Change of Schedule process.

Each department determines which of its courses will be available under the Pass/ Fail option, subject to approval by  the instructor of the course.

Enrollment in courses that offer only Pass/ Fail grades will not count toward the student's maximum Pass/ Fail option courses per term of accumulatively.

Graduate students may take courses offered by the College of Law for Pass/ Fail for graduate credit.

* Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the student's academic dean through the Change of Schedule process.

I Incomplete Grade:

The grade of  I  may be awarded only at the end of a term, when the following criteria is met:

all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed

the student is unable to finish due to extenuating circumstances

it would be possible for the student to earn a passing grade once the remaining coursework is completed

Instructor discretion is used to confirm the above criteria. The grade of  I  is not to be awarded in place of a failing grade or when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such cases, a grade other than  I  must be assigned.  Students should work with the instructor to receive an incomplete grade before the end of the class.

Instructors must use the  Report of Incomplete Grade  form as a contract with the student as to what course work must be completed by the student for the  I  grade to be removed and replaced with a grade. Both the instructor and student sign this agreement and both should retain copies.

After the course work is completed, the instructor will assign the appropriate grade. The new grade will be included in the calculation of the student's GPA.

If the incomplete grade is not removed by the instructor by the last day of finals one year later, the  I  grade will convert to a failing grade.

Prior to conversion from an I to a failing grade:

For undergraduate courses, an extension of one additional year may be granted if approved by the instructor and the dean of the student's college.

For graduate courses, the one-year extension must be approved by the instructor and Graduate College dean through a Petition for Extension of Course Work.

After conversion from an I to a failing grade:

For undergraduate courses, an extension will only be considered if the student submits an appeal to the University General Petition Committee.

For graduate courses, an extension beyond 2 academic years may be considered only by the Graduate College.

W Withdrawal, Dropping a Course:

A grade of W is assigned when a student withdraws from (drops) a course after the specified deadline . The W will appear on the student's permanent record but does not affect the student's grade-point-average (GPA). For more information, see the Change of Schedule policy.

WC Withdrawal, Complete Withdrawal and Retroactive Withdrawal from the University:

The grade of WC (withdrawal-complete) is awarded for all classes processed in the complete withdrawal.  WC grades are NOT included in the GPA .

For more information, see Leaving the University .

O Audit Grade:

The grade of O is awarded for courses taken for audit.  Audit grades are not awarded unless the student is registered for audit. Audit grades are NOT included in the GPA.  See the   audit policy  for details and the use of WO and XO grades.

The grade of CR is a passing grade awarded for courses taken by   Credit by Exam . Failing grades are not recorded.  The CR grade is NOT included in the GPA.

MG Missing Grade - No Grade Submitted:

The MG grade indicator is entered when an instructor fails to submit grades for all students in a course by the grade reporting deadline. If grades are issued for some but not all students in a class, those students who were not awarded a grade by the instructor will have the 'MG' indicator applied by the Office of the Registrar.

Related Guidelines & Links:

Access Your Grades

Grades and Grade Point Average (GPA) Calculation

Spring 2020 Revised Policies FAQs (03/2020)

Policy Amendment Memos:

Grades & the Grading System Policy Amendment Memo (11/2023)

Course Withdrawal (W Grade) Policy Memo (Updated 06/2020)

Revised Academic Grading & Eligibility Policies Memo (03/2020)

Alternative Grade System Memo (05/2017)

Grades & Grading System Policy Memo (Amendment, 03/2017)

Related Policies:

Change of Grade

Grade Appeal

Repeating a Course & Grade Replacement

Undergraduate Dean's List, Honors & Awards

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Understanding Your Grades

Unt's grading system.

UNT's grading system uses the letters A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, I, PR, NPR, and W.

The letter Z is used to indicate that a grade was not properly received and/or recorded for a course.

Note: No grade points are allowed for grades F, I, NP, P, PR, NPR, W, or Z.

A complete record of all previously used grades and grading systems is detailed on the official transcript.

Note:  Use of WF grade was discontinued fall 2018.

Additional Resources

For more information on grade reports or the grading system used at UNT, please refer to the Academics section of the UNT Catalog .

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US Grading System: Everything you need to know about the American grading system

From the average course length and higher tuition fees to the importance of college football, there’s a lot that sets universities in America apart from those in other countries.

But for a student hoping to study abroad in the US , one of the more confusing things to understand is the US grading system.

You may have heard that American universities use letter grades when marking assignments, or you might already be familiar with the term ‘GPA,’ but how does it all fit together to give you a grade at the end of your studies?

Don’t worry, because we’ve got you covered. From how individual assignments are graded to how to calculate your GPA, here’s everything you need to know about the grading system in the USA.

Table of Contents

1. how are individual assessments graded in america, 2. what are quality points and how do they affect your grade, 3. what is a gpa and why is it important, 4. how is your gpa calculated, 5. what degree classifications are there in the us.

Every time you complete an individual assignment, your lecturer or instructor will give you a letter grade to tell you how well you performed.

The letter grading system ranges from A to F, and which letter you get depends on what percentage you score in the assignment, either by answering questions correctly or demonstrating that you’ve met the course requirements.

Grading system in the US (Grade conversion)

Anything between A and D is a pass, while F marks a failed assignment. You can also break each grade down even further if you wish, meaning you could class a B grade as a B+, B= or B-.

One thing to point out is that there has been no E grade in the American grading system since the 19th century, when parents and students would sometimes wrongly presume that the E stood for ‘excellent.’

Also read: How does the UK university grading system work?

Though individual assignments are mostly marked using the letter grade system, your grades aren’t the only thing used to determine your overall qualification.

This is where the US grading system gets a little more complicated. At most US universities, your grades will often correspond to something called a quality point, which is then calculated towards your GPA (more on this next).

Though every school, college and higher education institution uses a different scale, most use a 4.0 scale — referred to as a four point scale — that accompany your letter grades. 

For example, if you receive an A grade, this will correspond to four points, while a B will get you three points, and so on until you reach F, which gives you no points.

Your overall grades then provide a Grade Point Average (GPA), which is the standard way of measuring academic achievement in the US.

The purpose of a GPA is to paint a picture of what kind of student you are, based on your performance throughout your degree.

If you passed all of your classes with high grades, you will most likely have a GPA that’s close to a 4.0. Alternatively, if you struggled with some classes but excelled in others, you may have a GPA of 2.5 to 3.0.

Getting a good GPA is really important if you want to apply for scholarships, enroll in a master’s degree or find a graduate job, as one of the first things admissions tutors or potential employers will do is look at your GPA.

So now you know what a GPA is, the next step is to figure out how it’s calculated.

Each course you take has a set number of ‘units’ or ‘credits’ depending on the content and the set number of hours needed to complete weekly classes and homework.

Your average GPA is calculated by adding all the quality points achieved in each unit together and then dividing this by overall the number of course credits or units (credit hours) you attempted.

This number represents your GPA.

So for example, say you take one three-unit class and receive an A grade and then also get a C in a four-unit class. 

For the first class, you need to times the three units by the four quality points for an A, giving you a total of 12-grade points.

For the second class, times the four units by two (the number of points you get for a C grade) to get eight points. Now, if you add these two numbers together you have accumulated 20 points over seven units. 

Divide the total points by the total number of units to find your GPA, which in this case is 2.86, which falls just short of a 3.0 (B) average.

To Convert A Grade in India to the US 4.0 GPA Scale

At the end of the average undergraduate degree in the UK , students either graduate with First-Class Honours (70%+), an Upper Second-Class Honours or 2:1 (60-70%), a Lower Second-Class Honours or 2:2 (50-60%) or Third-Class Honours (40-50%).

If you achieve anything above 40%, you will pass your degree, while scoring higher than 70% will get you a first, the highest possible classification.

In America, the grading system in education is set up completely differently.

Instead of being awarded an honours classification, your GPA is your final grade, and is calculated using the method we explained above, by taking all your individual grades for each class into consideration.

The highest GPA you can graduate with is a 4.0, which is the equivalent to scoring 90-100%, or a first in the UK. A score of 80-89% overall provides a GPA of 3.0, while 70-79% is equivalent to a 2.0.

At the bottom end of the scale, the lowest GPA you are allowed to graduate with is 1.0, which is equivalent to scoring 60-69% in the UK. In America, anything less than 60% is counted as a fail.

Interested in studying abroad in the US? Learn more about all the top universities in America on our website and let us help you find your perfect course and university today!

You might also like: Difference between School, College and University in the UK

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There’s a kind of racism embedded in DEI

Too many programs describe ‘the black experience’ in confining ways. instead, we can achieve true diversity without erasing individuality..

I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in southern New Jersey. My neighborhood was so white I could have been used as a landmark when giving directions.

Sadly, as one of the few Black kids in the neighborhood and one of the even fewer who spent any time with white peers, I was a daily target of racist bullying. In fact, one could say it was a pastime of sorts. In some neighborhoods, kids got together to play tag or a pickup football game; in my neighborhood, picking on me was the organized game. Who I saw as a friend or an enemy changed all the time. Someone being nice to me on Tuesday would be leading a racist horde on Wednesday, only to be friendly again on Thursday. (It’s amazing I don’t have trust issues.)

Some of the adults weren’t much better. I remember one of my teachers standing with another teacher as I and other students walked into class. Out of nowhere, my teacher told me to “walk like Richard Pryor.” When I told her I did not want to, she raised her voice: “Do it.” Both teachers laughed as I did my best impression, not completely sure which Richard Pryor act I was expected to emulate. (At the very least, they could have narrowed it down to a scene or two.)

My only reprieve came when I did something considered “Black”: like praise a rap song, dance, or do well in a basketball game. All my other attributes were ignored.

So I was excited about graduating from the eighth grade and going to a regional high school with a large Black population. I could finally leave my misfit status behind and enter a diverse environment where I would feel included. It’s not that my white peers had succeeded in making me feel inferior, but not having to deal with their attempts would be a breath of fresh air. The energy I spent upholding mental and emotional armor against their attacks could be spent on more fulfilling things.

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However, these hopes were quickly dashed. The Black peers I encountered the most did not accept me either. To them, having grown up in a predominantly white neighborhood had made me white — too white for their tastes. Politeness on my part was considered weakness. My general disposition was not “real” enough in their minds. In this school, too, I was usually left alone if I was behaving in ways coded Black, but there was more to me than that.

The most disheartening aspect was that both my previous white tormentors and my new Black ones were implying the same thing: You’re not fulfilling our ideas of what a Black person is, and for that you must pay.

I do not tell this story to garner pity. (I’m not big on the whole “victim” thing.) I do not tell it to guilt my childhood antagonists. (There’s no benefit in doing that.) I do not tell it to gain some kind of catharsis. (At this point, I’m over it.) I tell it because I am now a mid-career college professor, and these types of bullies have not gone away. They are now academics and administrators at prestigious universities; they are now running HR departments; they are chief editors of prestigious journals. They are prizewinners for their work in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The problem with most DEI

Once, I committed the sin of saying that knowledge of standard written English may be valuable to all students, regardless of skin color. For this, I endured vitriol. Because standard English came from England and was used by imperialists and slaveholders, I was told, it was inherently racist to teach it to nonwhites. On a now-defunct academic listserv, I was accused of white supremacy, of being unconcerned with how such thoughts, coming from my Black body, were doing harm to other Black people.

These academics would deride me to each other while ignoring my explanations and clarifications. Many who did not participate in these online degradation ceremonies cheered on those who did. For wanting to teach standard English, and for wanting to have a real conversation about its efficacy in American life, I was deemed a pariah.

It was remarkably reminiscent of the bullying I experienced while growing up.

To be clear, I was not being denigrated for simply having a particular outlook; my transgression was having that outlook while Black .

This story illustrates a distinct kind of racism that goes unacknowledged in its particularity. I am describing a kind of racism that more easily masquerades as magnanimity, empathy, and righteousness. I am describing a kind of racism that, often, is unwittingly embraced by its very targets. I am describing “prescriptive racism.”

Unlike traditional racism — the belief that particular races are, in some way, inherently inferior to others — prescriptive racism dictates how a person should behave. That is, an identity type is prescribed to a group of people, and any individual who skirts that prescription is deemed inauthentic or even defective. President Biden displayed prescriptive racism when he said “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, you ain’t Black,” a statement that implicitly prescribes how Black voters should think.

“Prescriptive racism” is probably a new term for most readers, but it’s not exactly a novel concept. It has a historical analogue: the concept of the “ uppity Negro ,” a Black person who dared to act like an equal to whites. One of this term’s most famous usages is attributed to Lyndon B. Johnson , who apparently said: “These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness.” Clearly, “uppity” was meant to describe people of color who exercised “agentic” power — that is, they were competent and did not need a white person’s heroism. These “uppity” Black people were forgetting their scripted lines, as it were.

However, prescriptive racism casts a broader net, disadvantaging people for not abiding by a long list of things a Black person shouldn’t do. A prescriptive racist may not mind that a Black person has a master’s degree, but he may scoff at the sight of a Black man watching the Masters — especially if Tiger isn’t playing. A white prescriptive racist would look at a Black person speaking standard English the way a Black person would look at a white person wearing a dashiki. Lest you think that last statement is mere speculation, I have met several people who have voiced derision and irritation upon hearing standard English come out of my mouth. My use of language was an affront to their expectations and sensibilities.

Many prescriptive racists are often people of the same minority group. A Black person lambasting another Black person for acting in ways deemed racially inauthentic — for example, speaking in dialects coded “white” — is engaging in prescriptive racism.

And prescriptive racism is not just a social phenomenon; it is now being institutionalized. More and more, it is erroneously labeled diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it is winning out over initiatives more in line with the civil rights movement and classical liberal values like individuality, free speech, reason, and even equality. It is becoming policy in academia, corporate America, and even the military. To put it another way, contemporary DEI is prescriptive racism.

In academia, I’ve found, Blackness is a role, a “pre-script,” to which Black people are expected to conform if they want to be accepted or, sometimes, acknowledged at all. A Black scholar cannot simply study and write about Plato; she has to write about Plato from a Black perspective . Nobody shows much interest in a Black graduate student drafting a dissertation on American Transcendentalism that isn’t focused on its relevance to the Black experience. In this sense, applying for graduate school or a professorship is akin to auditioning for “Black person” in some live-action role-playing event.

The term “politically Black” adds yet another layer to prescriptive racism. Often, Black scholars doing “Black scholarship” must do it in a politically Black way: a way that conforms to a particular political and decidedly countercultural position. This is what the journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones meant when she said, in a now-deleted tweet , “There is a difference between being politically Black and being racially Black. . . . We all know this and should stop pretending that we don’t.” For many involved in social justice — be they academics, politicians, or activists — progressive ideology is the only authentic form of political Blackness.

Political Blackness made much more sense several decades ago. Both Malcolm X and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. could have been construed as politically Black. Why? Because, when these men lived, whether Black Americans were gay or straight, Islamic or Christian, working class or middle class, none of them could sit at the front of the bus in the Jim Crow South. However, in this third decade of the 21st century, the efficacy of political Blackness has waned significantly. Though things are not perfect and racist environments still exist, policy changes have afforded Black Americans opportunities and resources traditionally denied them. As a result, “the Black experience” has become so varied that the use of “the” is questionable.

The idea of an indefinite abject oppression that justifies essentialism and political Blackness does not reflect reality . The facts that roughly 80 percent of Black Americans are working class or higher and that the number of Black immigrants has skyrocketed (strongly suggesting that the United States isn’t a fundamentally anti-Black country) are just two of many things that illustrate this. But activists who still want power must fabricate an insidious specter of oppression, and an essential victimhood has to be prescribed, whether they are homeless or Oprah Winfrey. If you are a Black American who does not abide by this prescription, be you liberal or conservative, you are seen as weakening the political power of Black Americans.

The inherent paradox of contemporary social justice is the essentialism that says “you are bad if you stereotype other people, but you are also bad if you don’t.”

The concept of microaggressions illustrates this. In a definition made popular by clinical psychologists mainly from Columbia University, microaggressions are subtle insults, intentional or unintentional, “that send denigrating messages to people of color because they belong to a racial minority group.” Yet it is prescriptive racism to suggest that Black people, regardless of context, interpret every term or experience the same way.

For example, according an article in Harvard Business Review , “I believe the most qualified person should get the job” counts as a microaggression because, apparently, it means to racial and ethnic minorities “that someone is being given an unfair advantage because of their race.” But that idea itself is a stereotype that essentializes minorities as people who, as a whole, would be offended by that particular statement. The idea that a Black person could agree with that statement is unthinkable. If one were to point out this contradiction to a person who believes such a statement is an insult to minorities, one shouldn’t be surprised if the person — whether white or nonwhite — commits an act of prescriptive racism: “Well, they should be offended.”

When people refer to “the Black experience,” they are, in effect, telling you who I am, what I’ve been through, and how I interpret the world. But they have no right to do that.

What to do about prescriptive racism

None of this is to say racism does not exist. I know we do not live in a utopia of racial harmony. However, too many initiatives to improve race relations have done more harm than good, and they are winning out.

Instead, I think we can achieve true diversity without erasing individuality.

To accomplish this, I and a few others have cofounded Free Black Thought , a nonprofit newsletter and podcast representing “the rich diversity of Black thought beyond the narrow spectrum of views promoted by mainstream outlets as defining ‘the Black perspective.’” We come from a classical liberal standpoint, meaning we believe people should be treated as sovereign individuals and not deindividuated members of a group. In other words, we’re sticking it to the prescriptive racists.

The “free” in Free Black Thought is both an adjective and a verb. We want to promote thought free from the tyranny of prescription, which means we publish and promote a wide array of ideological points and artistic expression, highlighting Black artists and thinkers typically neglected in mainstream media. But we also seek “to free” Black thought by offering alternatives to K-12 curricula informed by critical social justice, like BLM in Schools and Woke Kindergarten, to let schools know that other ways to promote true DEI do exist.

Sadly, prescriptive racism is being lobbed at students throughout primary and secondary education , from math to ethnic studies . This is why Free Black Thought has partnered with the Institute for Liberal Values to create curricula and resources that promote “empowered education” over dogmatic “prescriptive” DEI agendas and are accessible to teachers and parents . We promote such classical liberal values as equality, free speech, and, of course, individual liberty, which are the keys to social justice when universally applied.

At the end of the day, the founders of Free Black Thought are exercising our freedom of association to combat an almost tyrannical conformity imposed from an annoyingly indignant moral high ground.

For me, DEI done right is DEI based on traditional liberal values. These values make for social justice if we can live up to them fairly and universally.

To come full circle, experiencing racism in my childhood may have been arduous, and perhaps I was victimized. But that didn’t make me a victim. It opened my eyes to the nonsense of race and identity, and it forced me to embrace my individuality. For that, I am grateful. Prescriptive racism and other forms of prescriptive essentialism rob people, especially young people, of their ability to make their own paths and cultivate their own individuality. After all, we want our youth to think, not to have a group ideology think for them. They all, regardless of race, should be emboldened to let their thoughts be free.

Erec Smith is a research fellow at the Cato Institute, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition at York College of Pennsylvania, and cofounder of Free Black Thought.