24. Appendix K - Classification of Candidates

The average USM ranges used in the classifications reflect the following general Qualitative Class Descriptors agreed by the Teaching Committee:

  • Distinction: High quality work throughout the course. The candidate shows excellent knowledge of the material over a wide range of topics. The criteria for USMs in the distinction band are:
    • 90-100: The candidate shows remarkable ability and true insights. Dissertations in this band will be potentially worthy of publication.
    • 80-89: The candidate shows outstanding problem-solving skills and outstanding knowledge of the material over a wide range of topics, and is able to use that knowledge innovatively and/or in unfamiliar contexts.
    • 70-79: The candidate shows excellent problem-solving skills and excellent knowledge of the material over a wide range of topics, and is able to use that knowledge innovatively and/or in unfamiliar contexts.
  • Merit: The merit covers very good quality of work through out the course. The criteria for USMs in the merit band are:
    • 65-69: The candidate shows very good problem-solving skills, very good knowledge over a wide range of topics, or excellent command of some material and good or very good command of the rest. 
  • Pass: The pass covers a wide range of results from candidates who show adequate knowledge of most of the material, to candidates who show good knowledge of much of the material over a wide range of topics. The criteria for USMs in the pass band are:
    • 60-64: The candidate shows good or very good problem-solving skills, and good or very good knowledge of much of the material over a wide range of topics.
    • 50-59: The candidate shows basic problem solving skills and adequate knowledge of most of the material.
  • Fail: The candidate shows an inadequate grasp of the basic material. Candidates may have shown some understanding but the majority of work is likely to show major misunderstanding and confusion, and/or inaccurate calculations.
    • 40-49: The candidate shows reasonable understanding of at least part of the basic material and some problem solving skills. Although there may be some good work, the majority of work will contain errors in calculations and/or show incomplete understanding of the topics.
    • 30-39: The candidate shows some limited grasp of basic material over a restricted range of topics, but with large gaps in understanding. There need not be any good quality work, but there will be indications of some competence.
    • 0-29: The candidate shows an inadequate grasp of the basic material. The work is likely to show major misunderstanding and confusion, and/or inaccurate calculations.
[Note that the aggregation rules in some circumstances allow a stronger performance on some papers to compensate for a weaker performance on others.]