Will a distinction average in engineering actually grant you first class honours? (1 Viewer)

[Hiyahodestructo]

I mean, in order for any university to maintain their prestige, they'd have to limit the number of people attaining first class honours, surely? That, coupled with what i'm sure are a lot of internationals who really buckle down and study...is 75 just a minimum, and if it is, what is the average where you could expect to get first class honours at the end of your degree?

 

[tommykins]

p. sure engineering is 75+ for first class, 85+ is uni medal.

 

[Hiyahodestructo]

Wouldn't there be a set limit of people who can get first class honours? I mean, what if a quarter of the engineering intake for a specific discipline are internationals who study and get a distinction average?

I just imagined there would be be like a given percentage or something.

 

[ianc]

just be aware that some schools calculate the honours WAM differently to the WAM that appears on your academic transcript -- i know elec eng use their own system that places much more weight on 3rd and 4th yr subjects.

 

[shannonm]

" Will a distinction average in engineering actually grant you first class honours? "

Yes, a 'weighted' (depending on how your school does it) wam of 75 will always give first class hons

('weighted as in for example 40% 4th year subjects, 30% 3rd year subjects, etc.) I think some schools totally disregard first year results for this 'honors weighting'


"Wouldn't there be a set limit of people who can get first class honours? I mean, what if a quarter of the engineering intake for a specific discipline are internationals who study and get a distinction average?"
This is naturally regulated through scaling of courses.
There is no given percentage for first class hons , but there are 'recommended' grade distribution levels for the individual subjects which make up the wam

 

[KD]

Wouldn't there be a set limit of people who can get first class honours? I mean, what if a quarter of the engineering intake for a specific discipline are internationals who study and get a distinction average?

I just imagined there would be be like a given percentage or something.

There is no percentage. To get honours you must reach a certain standard (>75 WAM). The standard should not change based on numbers or quality of students. If you got honours in 2000 it will mean the same thing as getting it in 2020.

As for individual subjects. Most (not all) are not scaled. Again it is about meeting a standard not a percentage of the class.

 

[laluna]

KD is right. it depends on meeting certain standards - in the case of elec engineering, EE&T use their own method of calculating honors WAM which places more emphasis on the senior year subjects. for elec engineering,

WAM >65 = honors class 2 division 2
WAM >70 = honors class 2 division 1
WAM >75 = honors class 1

as KD said, most subjects are not scaled. so it doesn't matter if half a class fails, they'll still keep those scores. i've been in courses where almost 3/4 of the class failed, but that was a long time ago and nowadays they'll usually give you supplementary exams (depends on your lecturer).

 

[ianc]

As for individual subjects. Most (not all) are not scaled. Again it is about meeting a standard not a percentage of the class.

in elec eng most courses ARE scaled because everyone does so badly

 

[sinophile3]

I dunno whether internationals are usually hard studiers. The mandarin-speaking teammates I had for ENGG1000 were pretty lazy..