University of Birmingham
degree classification calculator
Quick answer: Birmingham weights Stage 2 at 25% and Stage 3 at 75%, and its borderline algorithm is judged on the unrounded mark: 68.0 to 69.5 qualifies, but 67.6 does not, even though it rounds to 68. Getting the higher class then needs three things at once — 120 credits at Stages 2 and 3 in the higher class with 60 of them at Stage 3, 100 Stage 3 credits at or above your current class, and a final-year project mark in the higher class.
Birmingham degree classification calculator
Stage 2 25% : Stage 3 75%Stage 1 / year one (does not count)
Stage 2 / year two (weight 25%)
Stage 3 / final year (weight 75%)
What do I need for a First?
Enter the marks you already have above. These boxes are the credits still to come in each year: a year with no marks yet is counted as all still to come. Change them if that is not right for you.
| Class | Mark needed in every remaining module |
|---|
Class boundaries
| Class | Weighted mark | Uplift rule |
|---|---|---|
| Class I (First) | 70% or above | or 68.0% with at least 120 credits at 70% or above, including 60 of them in the final year, and 100 credits in the final year at 60% or above, and your final-year project or dissertation mark in the higher class |
| Class II-i (2:1) | 60% or above | or 58.0% with at least 120 credits at 60% or above, including 60 of them in the final year, and 100 credits in the final year at 50% or above, and your final-year project or dissertation mark in the higher class |
| Class II-ii (2:2) | 50% or above | or 48.0% with at least 120 credits at 50% or above, including 60 of them in the final year, and 100 credits in the final year at 40% or above, and your final-year project or dissertation mark in the higher class |
| Class III (Third) | 40% or above | or 38.0% with at least 120 credits at 40% or above, including 60 of them in the final year, and your final-year project or dissertation mark in the higher class |
What do I need for a First?
The planner under the calculator works backwards from Birmingham’s own algorithm. Enter the marks you have so far, leave the years you have not finished empty (or set how many credits are still to come), and it shows the lowest mark you would need in every remaining module to reach each class. It runs the same calculation as the calculator, using the year weights and the secondary rules in the table above, so a class reached through one of those routes shows the lower figure.
The answer is a single mark repeated across every remaining module. Real marks vary, and where only some credits count or a class can be reached through a share of high marks, an uneven spread can sometimes get there with a slightly lower average. “Already secured” means the algorithm gives that class even at 0 in what is left, but you still have to pass those modules.
Stage 1 is weighted zero, Stage 2 a quarter, Stage 3 three quarters
Regulation 7.3.1(e) sets the proportions for the whole university, not per School: a Bachelor’s degree (levels C to H) is 0 / 25% / 75%, and an undergraduate Master’s (levels C to M) is 0 / 20% / 80%. A year in industry normally counts 12.5% — half of Stage 2’s weighting — unless the programme specification says otherwise.
The mark is rounded, but the borderline test is not
Module marks are integers and the overall mark is rounded to an integer, x.5 upwards. The borderline algorithm, though, is run on the mark before rounding: the Code of Practice states outright that 67.5 to 67.999 is not enough to be considered for a First, even though it rounds to 68. The eligible band is 68.0 up to (but not including) 69.5, and the same shape at 58.0, 48.0 and 38.0. This page applies the rule as written, so a mark of 67.8 is a 2:1 with no borderline consideration at all.
Three conditions, all of which must hold
For a Bachelor’s degree the algorithm raises the class only if all of these are true: at least 120 credits across Stages 2 and 3 are in the higher class, at least 60 of them at Stage 3; at least 100 Stage 3 credits are in the same class as or higher than your overall mark; and the mark for your final-year project or dissertation is in the higher class. The third one is about which module a mark belongs to rather than about the numbers, so the calculator asks you to confirm it — left unticked, it assumes the condition is not met.
Below 40 the third condition is automatic
At the 38.0–39.5 borderline the overall mark is itself a fail, so “100 Stage 3 credits in the same class as or higher than the overall mark” is satisfied by any 100 credits. The calculator leaves that condition out of the Third-class row rather than pretending to test it.
A passed resit is worth exactly the pass mark
Where failure is retrieved by reassessment, repetition or substitution, the mark used for your classification is the pass mark for that module — 40 at levels C, I and H — not the mark you actually achieved. If you fail again, the higher of the two fail marks is used.
Adjusted Regulations are a different scheme
Some Schools operate under the Code of Practice on Adjusted Regulations, which has its own classification scheme. If your programme is one of them, this page does not describe it and your School will have told you.
What this calculator does not do
It applies the published algorithm to the marks you enter. It cannot know your programme’s approved variances, any extenuating circumstances, capped resit marks, or how a Board of Examiners will use its discretion. Where a rule is a judgement rather than a formula, the page says so rather than guessing.
Sources
Every figure on this page is read from Birmingham’s own regulations:
- University of Birmingham — Regulations, Section 7: Assessment, Progression and Award (2025-26) — 7.3.1(e)(i) the stage proportions of 0 / 25 / 75 for a Bachelor’s and 0 / 20 / 80 for an undergraduate Master’s, (v) the year-in-industry weighting, (ix) the classification bands, and 7.2.6(k) the mark used after a resit.
- University of Birmingham — Code of Practice on Taught Programme and Module Assessment and Feedback (2025-26) — 5.5.2 on how the module, stage and overall marks are calculated and rounded, including (d)(iv) that the borderline algorithm uses the unrounded mark; and 7.7 the Borderline Classification Algorithm in full — its eligibility bands in 7.7.3 and its three conditions for a Bachelor’s degree in 7.7.4.
Regulations change between intakes. Your own cohort’s handbook is always authoritative.