Education :

Higher Education



Finding out about HE courses and understanding UCAS

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is the central organisation that processes applications for full-time undergraduate courses at UK universities and colleges. Their website www.ucas.com is a comprehensive resource about Higher Education and the application process.

Finding out about courses

UCAS Course search gives access to all full-time undergraduate courses. Choose courses starting in 2008. This is updated during the summer to include courses starting in 2009. Select Subject search, find the name of the subject you're interested in by selecting from the alphabet and scrolling down the list. You can then choose to look at all courses, all single subject courses or all courses combined with another subject.

There are links from the course information to details about individual universities and colleges including financial support available.

Whatever type and level of qualification you currently have or are working towards you can find out whether a particular course is likely to be accessible to you. Look at the general and specific requirements both for subjects studied, types of qualification accepted and the number of points needed under the UCAS Tariff.

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education produces reports on all HE institutions in the UK. Bear in mind that reports are historical and that staff move on and departments change.

The UCAS Tariff

The UCAS Tariff is a points system used to report achievement for entry to higher education in a numerical format. It establishes agreed equivalences between different types of qualifications.

UCAS Tariff
It shows how many points are accrued according to the grades achieved.
GCE/VCE Qualification Points BTEC Nationals Key Skills
        360     DDD  
        320     DDM  
        280     DMM  
    AA   240   DD MMM  
    AB   220        
    BB   200   DM MMP  
    BC   180        
    CC   160   MM MPP  
    CD   140        
  A DD   120 D MP PPP  
  B DE   100        
  C EE   80 M PP    
A D     60        
B       50        
C E     40 P      
D       30       Level 4
E     A 20       Level 3
      B 17        
      C 13        
      D 10       Level 2
      E 7        
                 
         
D = Distinction; M = Merit; P = Pass
  • For the first time in 2006 the Diploma in Foundation Studies (Art and Design) was recognised in the allocation of points.
  • Additional qualifications included in the Tariff for 2007 entry include OCR Nationals, and BTEC Nationals in Early Years Practical
  • From 2008 onwards points are being awarded for the International Baccalaureate

More details and for comparable information about other qualifications can be found on UCAS