British Academic Levels
The Franciscan International Study Centre teaches at the levels used by academic bodies in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Each module at the Centre is assigned:
- A module code, which helps us keep track of the modules a student has taken.
- A number of credits, which reflects the amount of study required for a module.
- A number of contact hours, which reflects the number of hours in the classroom.
- A level, which reflects the expected skills developed and learning outcomes of the module.
Module Code
The module code is unique to the module and tells us the level of the module and the course to which it belongs.
Credits
A module for which 10 credits are awarded is deemed to require 100 hours of study. This study is divided between contact hours and independent study hours.
Contact Hours
The contact hours are the number of lessons taught for the module: a contact “hour” typically lasts 45-50 minutes. A 10 credit module requires a minimum of 10 contact hours.
Levels
Higher education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is taught at levels 4 to 8. The FISC teaches at all of these levels.
Level 4 is the level of the first year of an undergraduate degree and is the first level of teaching in higher education.
Level 5 is the level of the second year of an undergraduate degree.
Level 6 is the level of the final year of an Honours Bachelors Degree.
Level 7 is the level of a Master’s degree.
Level 8 is the level of a doctorate.
More information about levels and credits in British higher education can be downloaded as a pdf from the Quality Assurance Agency
