Taught Postgraduate Programmes
For students first registering before September 2006
Admission and Registration
3.1 The title and programme specification for each taught postgraduate programme, the name of the award(s) to which it leads, and all awards made to students, shall be subject to the approval of Senate.
3.2 Senate may approve programmes which lead to the award of Master's degrees. Such programmes may provide for other approved awards for students who do not complete or satisfy the Examiners in the programme for a Master's degree but who otherwise satisfy the criteria for such an intermediate award.
3.3 A taught postgraduate programme shall normally be designed for applicants who hold a first degree from a UK University or its equivalent. The Registry and Brunel International provide advice on the level of a wide range of academic and professional qualifications held by applicants for postgraduate programmes in order to assist Schools during the admissions process. Recommended levels of English language competence, for those applicants whose first language is not English, are set by the Learning and Teaching Committee.
3.4 The programme specification for a taught postgraduate programme shall specify the entry requirements for the programme. The University may admit to a taught postgraduate programme those applicants who meet the prescribed entry requirements for the programme and who are recommended for admission by the Head of School.
3.5 Students shall be admitted to a named taught postgraduate programme. If the programme is offered in more than one mode of study, the mode of study shall be specified on initial registration. Students who seek to change their programme or mode of study shall follow the procedures specified by the authorised member(s) of staff.
3.6 Senate may recognise, as part of the period of study required for an award of the University, studies or experiential learning undertaken prior to registration, provided that such experiential learning or studies are appropriately documented and certified and were normally completed within 5 years of the application or will have been completed by the end of the first academic year of registration. No more than 50% of the credits for any award may be accredited in this way.
3.7 The authorised member of staff shall be required, when recommending the admission of a student with Advanced Standing, to follow any guidelines issued by the Learning and Teaching Committee or other committee designated by Senate and to record formally the exemptions accorded to such students when they were admitted.
3.8 Admission and initial registration for taught postgraduate programmes normally occurs at the beginning of an academic year. Irrespective of their start date, students must enrol in September each year. The programme specification shall be issued to each student at initial registration and shall be reissued if it is changed significantly during his or her period of registration.
3.9 The minimum and maximum period of registration for a taught postgraduate programme shall be specified in the programme specification, but the taught modules for the award of the degree of Master or for a Postgraduate Diploma or Graduate Diploma shall normally be completed within a period not exceeding 4 years, regardless of the mode of study or delivery, or of the registration status of the student. The modules comprising a Postgraduate Certificate or Graduate Certificate shall normally be completed in not more than 2 years.
3.10 Registration lapses at the end of the appropriate maximum period. Candidates whose registration has lapsed or been terminated are not entitled to present a dissertation, nor to attend the University or its examinations, unless they have been re-registered. The Learning and Teaching Committee may, in exceptional circumstances, consider an application for re-registration or for an extension, for a specified period of time, for completion of the work, if it is supported by the Head of School. Further guidance on the requirements for resumption of study is published by the Learning and Teaching Committee.
3.11 Taught postgraduate programmes may lead to the following awards:
| Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) | |
| Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) | |
| Degree of Master: | Master of Arts (MA) Master of Business Administration (MBA) Master of Education (MEd) Master of Engineering (MEng) Master of Laws (LLM) Master of Research (MRes) Master of Science (MSc) Master of Technology (MTech) |
3.12 The programme specification may include provision for a Master's award to be made with 'merit' or with 'distinction'.
3.13 Students will be registered for the highest award available in the relevant programme specification. This will normally be the degree of Master. Where Senate has approved the award of a postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate ab initio, students will be registered for the relevant award.
3.14 A student may not normally be registered for two programmes of the University at the same time. Assessment
3.15 Senate may approve a programme with more rigorous requirements for satisfying the Examiners than are prescribed in this Regulation, but shall not normally approve regulations which set lower requirements. Where the Regulation allows for flexibility in the drawing up of the assessment requirements for a programme or allows the Board of Examiners to exercise discretion, national custom and practice within the relevant discipline(s) as well as the views of External Examiners and the requirements of professional accrediting bodies shall be taken into account.
3.16 Each module in a programme shall be assessed for the award of credits. A module may be assessed by means of coursework, test, assignment, report, portfolio, practical or written or viva voce examination, or a combination of these methods, as specified in the syllabus approved by School Board, or comparable committee. The method and schedule of assessment shall be notified to the student at the start of the academic year by the School providing the module.
3.17 Each assessment for a module shall be marked and/or graded as follows:
| Grade | Mark Range |
| A | 70% to 100% |
| B | 60% to 69% |
| C | 50% to 59% |
| D | 40% to 49% |
3.18 The pass mark for credit shall be 40%.
3.19 Marks below 40% may be graded as follows by the Board of Examiners:
| CF | Condoned Fail | where credit is awarded, although the student's performance is not deemed satisfactory; see paragraph 3.27 |
| F | Fail | where no credit is awarded; |
| P | Aegrotat Pass | credit awarded, mitigating circumstances applied. |
3.20 A Panel may use Grade E for interim feedback to students where their marks are in the range of 35%-39%.
Requirements for award
3.21 In order to be eligible for an award of the University a student registered for a taught postgraduate programme must complete, in accordance with the programme specification, approved modules normally to the value of the credits shown below:
| Postgraduate Certificate | Minimum of 60 credits |
| Postgraduate Diploma | Minimum of 120 credits |
| Master's degree | Minimum of 180 credits |
3.22 In order to be eligible for the award of the degree of Master a student shall be required to pass a dissertation with a value of at least 60 and normally not more than 90 credits. The dissertation must be undertaken under the University's supervision.
3.23 A dissertation for the award of Master shall normally be submitted by full-time students within 6 months following completion of the taught modules or within one academic year following completion of the taught modules for all other students, unless otherwise specified in the programme specification.
3.24 The programme specification for a Master's degree shall include guidance on the form, nature and length of the dissertation. Programme specifications may require students to undertake work towards their dissertation whilst undertaking taught modules. Students shall be informed of their progress on such dissertation work at the end of each term but shall not be awarded marks for the dissertation until it is completed to the satisfaction of the Examiners.
3.25 Programme specifications may permit students to study, within their period of registration, modules not provided by the University up to a maximum of 50% of the credits for the taught element of the programme. Details of such individual arrangements must be reported to the relevant School committee(s). Students may be awarded a pass/fail grade for such modules for the purposes of determining eligibility for an award, but marks for these modules shall be discounted from any calculation for the award of a merit or distinction.
3.26 The programme specification shall set out the requirements for progression and award, where these are more strict that those set out in this Regulation. In order to satisfy the Examiners that s/he is of Master's standard, a candidate shall be required to achieve an average mark for the taught modules of 50% or more and a mark of 50% or more in the dissertation.
3.27 A Board may condone marks less than the pass mark for modules not totalling more than one third of the taught credits required for the award and/or may require a candidate to be reassessed in modules not totalling more than one third of the taught credits required for the award, provided that the total number of credits to be condoned or reassessed does not exceed 50% of the credits attributable to the taught modules for the award. The lower threshold for condonation shall be specified in the programme specification. A failure in the dissertation may not be condoned for the award of a Master's degree.
3.28 A Board may permit a student to be reassessed where a module mark is between 40- 49%, provided that it is possible for the student to achieve the standard required for a Master's award.
3.29 The maximum mark for a second attempt as the assessment for a module shall be 50%. A candidate may not be assessed in any module or part thereof on more than two occasions.
3.30 A student who fails to complete any assessment by the due date, or fails to be present at any test or examination, without reasons acceptable to the Board shall be deemed to have failed that assessment(s).
3.31 A Board of Examiners shall award to each student the highest award for which s/he meets the specified criteria.
3.32 A candidate whose dissertation is deemed by the Examiners to be unsatisfactory for the award of a Master's degree may, if eligible:
- be required to revise the dissertation or to present another one, on one further occasion only, within a time-limit specified by the Board which shall be not less than three months;
- be recommended for an intermediate award;
- be failed.
