Joint honours degree


A joint honours degree is a specific type of degree offered generally at the Honours Bachelor's degree level by certain universities in Ireland, the UK, Canada, Malta, and Australia. In a joint honours degree, two subjects are studied concurrently within the timeframe of one honours.

Requirements

A joint honours degree typically requires at least half, often almost all, of the credits required for each of its respective subjects. The two subjects do not have to be highly related; indeed, a true joint honours degree overlaps faculties, not just subjects. However, students often pick two subjects that are interrelated in some fundamental way.
Usually, joint honours degrees have higher requirements for entry than a single honours degree, requiring the approval of both departments concerned. The two subjects are then taken at the same levels and at the academic standards as those taking either subject as a single honours major. It is usual for these degrees to entail more study than a single honours degree ; whereas this would normally apply to the only one subject major for a single honours student. In some cases, students would have significantly more final year project work and could be examined on this by both departments in question. Many British universities now have a dedicated Centre for Joint Honours Degrees which assists students with timetable structuring, etc.

Differences

A joint honours degree is different from BA degree where two subjects are listed in the degree title. In a single honours degree, one of these is a major and the other a minor; In a BA/BSc/BEng both subjects are majors. A joint honours degree is also different from a double degree scheme: a double degree entails two separate degrees each of which with their own electives, etc.

Examples

Selected examples of joint honours degrees: