General Regulations for the First and Second Public Examination

Differences from 2017/18 to 2018/19

Part 1 General

  • 1.1. These regulations apply to the following degrees of the University:

Table 1

Bachelor of Arts

Master of Engineering

Bachelor of Fine Art

Master of Mathematics

Master of Biochemistry

Master of Mathematics and Computer Science

Master of Chemistry

Master of Mathematics and Philosophy 

Master of Computer Science

Master of Mathematics and Physics 

Master of Computer Science and Philosophy

Master of Physics 

Master of Earth Sciences

Master of Physics and Philosophy

  • 1.2. In these regulations where the context admits:

    • (1) the expression ‘statutory residence’ means residence at any place authorised by the Regulations for Residence in the University (‘the Residence Regulations’);

    • (2) references to divisions and faculty boards shall include a reference to the Committee for the Ruskin School of Art; and

    • (3) ‘college’ means any college, society, or Permanent Private Hall or any other institution designated by Council by regulation as being permitted to present candidates for matriculation.

  • 1.3. Any member of the University may be admitted to a degree to which these regulations apply if he or she:

    • (1) has kept statutory residence for the period prescribed in these regulations for the degree in question; and

    • (2) has employed himself or herself in study and hearing lectures and has (unless exempt) passed the First and Second Public Examinations in accordance with the requirements laid down by regulation.

Part 2 Residence

  • 2.1. A member reading for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts or of Fine Art must unless regulation 2.2 below applies keep nine terms of statutory residence.

  • 2.2. A member who has taken Honour Moderations in Classics as the First Public Examination or who intends to apply for Honours in the Second Public Examination in Mathematics and Philosophy (Part II) or Physics and Philosophy (Part C) must keep twelve terms of statutory residence.

  • 2.3. A member reading for any of the Master's degrees referred to in regulation 1.1 above must keep twelve terms of statutory residence.

  • 2.4. The Proctors may, for any reason judged by them to be sufficient and on such conditions as they think fit, excuse a member reading for a degree to which these regulations apply from up to three terms of statutory residence.

  • 2.5.

    • (1) If any member is dissatisfied with a decision by the Proctors under regulation 2.4 above, he or she, or his or her college, may within fourteen days of the date of the decision appeal in writing to the Chair of the Education Committee of Council.

    • (2) The appeal shall be adjudged expeditiously by the Chair or another member of that committee, other than one of the Proctors, nominated by the Chair.

  • 2.6. Applications for dispensation under regulation 2.4 above must be made through the applicant's college.

  • 2.7. A member who is granted dispensation from statutory residence under regulation 2.4 above must nevertheless, unless expressly exempted, pay in respect of any term for which he or she is excused residence any university fee which would have been payable if he or she had actually resided.

  • 2.8. Council may permit time spent outside Oxford, as part of an academic programme approved by it, to be counted towards residence for the purposes of these regulations.

Part 3 First Public Examination

  • 3.1. The First Public Examination shall include Honour Moderations, Moderations, and Preliminary Examinations in the subjects respectively listed in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3

  • 3.2. The examinations shall be conducted by Moderators under the supervision of the divisional and faculty boards assigned to each subject respectively in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3

Table 1: Honour Moderations

Subject

Board(s)

Archaeology and Anthropology

Social Sciences Division

Classics

Faculty of Classics

Table 2: Moderations

Subject

Board(s)

Law

Faculty of Law

Table 3: Preliminary Examinations (For the explanation of the asterisks see regulation 3.10)

Subject

Board(s)

Ancient and Modern History

Faculties of Classics and History

*Archaeology and Anthropology

Social Sciences Division

Biological Sciences

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Biomedical Sciences

Medical Sciences Division

Chemistry

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Classical Archaeology and Ancient History

Social Sciences Division and Faculty of Classics

*Classics

Faculty of Classics

Classics and English

Faculties of Classics and English Language and Literature

Computer Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Computer Science and Philosophy

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Earth Sciences

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Economics and Management

Social Sciences Division

Engineering Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

English and Modern Languages

Faculties of English Language and Literature and Medieval and Modern Languages

English Language and Literature

Faculty of English Language and Literature

European and Middle Eastern Languages

Faculties of Medieval and Modern Languages and Oriental Studies

Fine Art

Committee for Ruskin School of Art

Geography

Social Sciences Division

History

Faculty of History

History and Economics

Faculty of History and Social Sciences Division

History and English

Faculties of History and English Language and Literature

History and Modern Languages

Faculties of History and Medieval and Modern Languages

History and Politics

Faculty of History and Social Sciences Division

History of Art

Faculty of History

Human Sciences

Social Sciences Division

Materials Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics and Computer Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics and Philosophy

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Modern Languages

Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Medical Sciences Division

Music

Faculty of Music

Oriental Studies

Faculty of Oriental Studies

Philosophy and Modern Languages

Faculties of Philosophy and Medieval and Modern Languages

Philosophy and Theology

Faculties of Philosophy and Theology and Religion

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences Division

Physics

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Physics and Philosophy

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics

Medical Sciences Division and Faculties of Philosophy and Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics

Theology and Oriental Studies

Faculties of Theology and Religion and Oriental Studies

Theology and Religion

Faculty of Theology and Religion

 

  • 3.3. The boards shall from time to time make and publish Special Regulations respecting the examinations under their supervision and shall publish lists of subjects and (where appropriate) of books which may be offered for examination, maintaining as far as possible a distinction between the subjects and any books prescribed in the First and Second Public Examinations respectively.

  • 3.4. Special Regulations made and lists drawn up by boards under regulation 3.3 above shall not have effect until:

    • (1) they have been approved by or on behalf of the Education Committee of Council;

    • (2) in the case of regulations made and lists drawn up by faculty boards or other bodies within the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions, they have also first been approved by the Humanities Board or the Social Sciences Board as appropriate;

    • (3) they have then been duly published, and if necessary approved by Congregation, in accordance with the procedure laid down in sections 13-18 of Statute VI.

  • Method of examining
  • 3.5. Subject to regulation 3.6 below the examinations shall be conducted in writing.

  • 3.6. A board may specify by Special Regulation that an examination shall be partly aural, oral, practical, or visual.

  • Admission to the First Public Examination
  • 3.7. No person who is not a student member of the University may be admitted to the First Public Examination.

  • 3.8. Candidates may be admitted to Honour Moderations at any time not earlier than the third term from matriculation, but no candidate who has exceeded the sixth term from matriculation inclusively, or the eighth term in the case of candidates for Honour Moderations in Classics, shall be capable of obtaining Honours.

  • 3.9. Candidates may be admitted to each of the Moderations listed in Table 4, not earlier than the term from matriculation specified in each case.

Table 4: Admission to Moderations

Moderations

Earliest term from matriculation

Law

2nd

 

  • 3.10.

    • (1) Candidates shall not be admitted to any of the Preliminary Examinations which has the same title as any Honour Moderations or Moderations, and which is one of those marked with an asterisk in Table 3, unless they have either failed the examination for the Honour Moderations or Moderations with the same title or, subject to the consent of the Proctors, have been prevented by illness or other urgent and reasonable cause from taking that examination.

    • (2) If any member of the University is dissatisfied with a decision by the Proctors under paragraph (1) above, he or she, or his or her college, may within fourteen days of the date of the decision appeal in writing to the Chair of the Education Committee of Council.

    • (3) The appeal shall be adjudged expeditiously by the Chair or another member of the committee, other than one of the Proctors, nominated by the Chair.

  • 3.11. Candidates may be admitted to each of the Preliminary Examinations listed in Table 5, not earlier than the term from matriculation specified in each case.

Table 5: admission to preliminary examinations

Preliminary Examination

Earliest term from matriculation

Ancient and Modern History

3rd

Biological Sciences

3rd

Biomedical Sciences

3rd

Chemistry

2nd

Classical Archaeology and Ancient History

3rd

Classics

2nd

Computer Science

3rd

Computer Science and Philosophy

3rd

Earth Sciences

2nd

English and Modern Languages:

 

English

3rd

Modern Language

2nd

Fine Art

3rd

History

3rd

History and Economics

3rd

History and English

3rd

History and Modern Languages

3rd

History and Politics

3rd

Mathematics

3rd

Mathematics and Computer Science

3rd

Mathematics and Philosophy

3rd

Modern Languages

2nd

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

2nd

Music

3rd

Oriental Studies:

 

Arabic, Chinese, Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Japanese, Turkish

3rd

Other languages

2nd

Philosophy and Modern Languages

2nd

Philosophy and Theology

3rd

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

2nd

Physics

3rd

Physics and Philosophy

3rd

Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics

2nd

Theology and Oriental Studies

3rd

Theology and Religion

3rd


  • Regulations under which a candidate may be examined
  • 3.12. A person admitted as a candidate for the First Public Examination within three terms of the term in which they were originally due to be examined for the First Public Examination, shall be entitled to be examined in accordance with the regulations pertaining to the original examination, if they so wish.

  • 3.13. A person admitted as a candidate for the First Public Examination four or more terms after the term in which they were originally due to be examined for the First Public Examination shall normally be examined in accordance with the current regulations.

  • Passing the First Public Examination

    3.14. A candidate shall be deemed to have passed the First Public Examination if he or she has satisfied the Moderators in any one of the parts of the examination as set out in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3

    3.15. Any person who has satisfied the Moderators in Part I of the First Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine shall be deemed to have passed the First Public Examination.

[For students starting the FPE before MT 2019:

  • 3.16.

    • (1) A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in his or her initial examination for the First Public Examination shall be permitted to re-enter for the examination on one further occasion in accordance with the special regulations governing re-sits in the programme concerned.

      (2) A further exceptional opportunity to re-sit the examination at the next opportunity shall require application to and approval on behalf of the Education Committee.

      (3) A candidate who passes the First Public Examination whether at the first attempt or after re-sitting the examination shall be deemed to have reached the University's threshold standard for embarking on the Final Honour School.]

 [For students starting the FPE from MT 2019:

  • 3.16.

    • (1) A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in his or her initial examination for the First Public Examination shall be permitted to re-enter for the examination on one further occasion in accordance with the special regulations governing re-sits in the programme concerned. This resit attempt shall normally be taken at the next opportunity, but may be deferred once, i.e. it must be taken at one of the next two opportunities. Candidates shall be required to resit the same papers for which they were examined at the first attempt.

      (2) A further exceptional opportunity to re-sit the examination shall require application to and approval on behalf of the Education Committee. If granted, this exceptional resit attempt shall normally be taken at the next opportunity, but may be deferred once, i.e. it must be taken at one of the next two opportunities. Candidates shall be required to resit the same papers for which they were examined at the previous attempts.

      (3) A candidate who passes the First Public Examination whether at the first attempt or after re-sitting the examination shall be deemed to have reached the University's threshold standard for embarking on the Final Honour School.]

Part 4 Second Public Examination

  • 4.1. The Second Public Examination shall, except in the case of the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Art, consist of a Final Examination in the Honour Schools in each of the subjects listed in Table 6.

Table 6: honour schools

Subject

Board(s)

Ancient and Modern History

Faculties of Classics and History

Archaeology and Anthropology

Social Sciences Division

Biological Sciences

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Cell and Systems Biology

Medical Sciences Division

Chemistry

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Classical Archaeology and Ancient History

Social Sciences Division and Faculty of Classics

Classics and English

Faculties of Classics and English Language and Literature

Classics and Modern Languages

Faculties of Classics and Medieval and Modern Languages

Classics and Oriental Studies

Faculties of Classics and Oriental Studies

Computer Science (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Computer Science and Philosophy (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Earth Sciences (four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Economics and Management

Social Sciences Division

Engineering Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

English Language and Literature

Faculty of English Language and Literature

English and Modern Languages

Faculties of English Language and Literature and Medieval and Modern Languages

European and Middle Eastern Languages

Faculties of Medieval and Modern Languages and Oriental Studies

Experimental Psychology

Medical Sciences Division

Geography

Social Sciences Division

Geology (three-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

History

Faculty of History

History and Economics

Faculty of History and Social Sciences Division

History and English

Faculties of History and English Language and Literature

History and Modern Languages

Faculties of History and Medieval and Modern Languages

History and Politics

Faculty of History and Social Sciences Division

History of Art

Faculty of Modern History

Human Sciences

Social Sciences Division

Jurisprudence

Faculty of Law

Literae Humaniores

Faculties of Classics and Philosophy

Materials, Economics, and Management

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences and Social Sciences Divisions

Materials Science

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics and Computer Science (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics and Philosophy

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (after transfer to that Honour School for the Part C examination from the Honour Schools of Mathematics, Physics, or Physics and Philosophy)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Mathematics and Statistics (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Medical Sciences

Medical Sciences Division

Modern Languages

Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Medical Sciences Division

Music

Faculty of Music

Neuroscience

Medical Sciences Division

Oriental Studies

Faculty of Oriental Studies

Philosophy and Modern Languages

Faculties of Philosophy and Medieval and Modern Languages

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences Division

Philosophy and Theology

Faculties of Philosophy and Theology and Religion

Physics (three-year and four-year)

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division

Physics and Philosophy

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and Faculty of Philosophy

Psychology, Philosophy, and Linguistics

Medical Sciences Division and Faculties of Philosophy and Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics

Theology and Religion

Faculty of Theology and Religion

Theology and Oriental Studies

Faculties of Theology and Religion and Oriental Studies

  • 4.2. The examinations shall be conducted by the Public Examiners under the supervision of the divisional or faculty boards assigned to each school in Table 6.

  • 4.3. The Second Public Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Art shall consist of a Final Honour School under the supervision of the Committee for the Ruskin School of Art.

  • 4.4. The boards shall from time to time make and publish Special Regulations respecting the examinations under their supervision and shall publish lists of subjects and (where appropriate) of books which may be offered for examination.

  • 4.5. Special Regulations made and lists drawn up by boards under regulation 4.5 above shall not have effect until:

    • (1) they have been approved by or on behalf of the Education Committee of Council;

    • (2) in the case of regulations made and lists drawn up by faculty boards or other bodies within the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions, they have also first been approved by the Humanities Board or the Social Sciences Board as appropriate;

    • (3) they have then been duly published, and if necessary approved by Congregation, in accordance with the procedure laid down in sections 13-18 of Statute VI.

  • Method of examining
  • 4.6. Every candidate in a Second Public Examination shall be examined in writing; and any candidate who seeks Honours may be examined viva voce where Special Regulations made by the divisional board, board of a faculty, or other body responsible for an examination (or jointly by the relevant bodies where an examination is a joint responsibility) expressly provide.

  • 4.7. A board may specify by Special Regulation that an examination shall be partly aural, oral, practical, or visual.

  • Admission to the Second Public Examination
  • 4.8. No person who is not a student member of the University may be admitted to the Second Public Examination.

  • 4.9. No person may be admitted to the Second Public Examination unless he or she has passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 4.10. No person may be admitted as a candidate in any Final Honour School unless he or she:

    • (1) has satisfied the conditions, if any, which are required by regulations (including Special Regulations) relating to the School in which he or she is a candidate; and

    • (2) will by the end of the term in which the examination is taken have kept statutory residence for the number of terms which, under Part 2 or 5 of these regulations or the Regulations for Senior Student Status, is appropriate to his or her status and to the School in which he or she is a candidate.

  • Maximum time allowed for Honours
  • 4.11. No person may be admitted as a candidate in any Final Honour School after the lapse of twelvefifteen terms from the term of matriculation inclusively, except in the following cases:

    • (1) A candidate who has obtained Honours in some other Final Honour School may be admitted not more than sixnine terms after the date on which he or she first obtained Honours in a Final Honour School.

    • (2) A candidate who has obtained Honours (or has satisfied the Moderators under the Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations) in Honour Moderations may be admitted as a candidate in Part II of the examination in Chemistry or in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry or in Materials Science up to the end of the eighteenthtwenty-first term.

    • (3) A candidate in any of the following Final Honour School examinations may be admitted up to the end of the fifteentheighteenth term:

      • (a) any Final Honour School, if the candidate has obtained Honours (or has satisfied the Moderators under the Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations) in Honour Moderations in either the fifth or sixth term, or the eighth term in the case of Honour Moderations in Classics, from matriculation;

      • (b) the second part of any Final Honour School which is divided into two parts, except the Honour School of Biological Sciences, the Honour School of Cell and Systems Biology, the Honour School of Experimental Psychology, the Honour School of Geology, andthe Honour School of Neuroscience, the Honour School of Physics (three-year course), and the Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics; 

      •  (c) the third part of any Final Honour School which is divided into three parts;

      • (d) the Honour School of Classics and Modern Languages, English and Modern Languages, European and Middle Eastern Languages, Jurisprudence, Modern Languages, Modern Languages and Linguistics, History and Modern Languages, or Philosophy and Modern Languages, if the candidate is certified by his or her college to have spent an academic year of approved residence in an appropriate country or appropriate countries;

      • (e) the examination in Chinese or Japanese, or, if the candidate is certified to have spent an academic year abroad on a course approved by the Board of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, the examination in Arabic, or Hebrew, or Persian, or Turkish, in the Honour School of Oriental Studies.

    • (4) A person whose position is not covered in any of paragraphs 4.11 (1)-(3) may be admitted as a candidate in a Final Honour School for which there is at least one other candidate, subject to the approval of the Education Committee.

  • 4.12. The candidate's college shall be required to notify the University of any change in the candidate's status between entry and the date of the examination.

  • 4.13. No person whose name has been recorded as achieving a classified result by the Public Examiners (other than a candidate who has been declared to have deserved Honours under the Regulations for the Conduct of Examinations) shall be admitted again as a candidate in the same Final Honour School, but this regulation shall not affect the regulations concerning the Final Honour Schools of Modern Languages and Oriental Studies which enable candidates under certain conditions to offer themselves again in the same School. A person who does not achieve a classified result at the first attempt may be admitted again as a candidate in the same Final Honour School on one further occasion. [For students starting the FHS from MT 2019: This resit attempt shall normally be taken at the next opportunity, but may be deferred once, i.e. it must be taken at one of the next two opportunities. Candidates shall be required to resit the same papers for which they were examined at the first attempt.]

  • 4.14.

    • (1) No person whose name has been placed in any Results List by the Public Examiners (with the exceptions in regulations 4.12 and 4.13 above) shall be admitted as a candidate in a second Final Honour School having papers in common with the first, except with the permission of the Proctors.

    • (2) If any member of the University is dissatisfied with a decision by the Proctors under paragraph (1) above, he or she, or his or her college, may within fourteen days of the date of the decision appeal in writing to the Chair of the Education Committee of Council.

    • (3) The appeal shall be adjudged expeditiously by the Chair or another member of the committee, other than one of the Proctors, nominated by the Chair.

  • Regulations under which a candidate may be examined
  • 4.15. A person admitted as a candidate in any Final Honour School within six terms of the term in which they were originally due to be examined shall be entitled to be examined in accordance with the regulations pertaining to the original examination, if they so wish.

  • 4.16. A person admitted as a candidate in any Final Honour School seven or more terms after the term in which they were originally due to be examined shall normally be examined in accordance with the current regulations.

  • Passing the Second Public Examination
  • 4.17. Candidates shall be deemed to have passed the Second Public Examination if they either have obtained Honours, or satisfied the examiners, in any one of the Honour Schools listed in Table 5, and Table 6, or in the Final Examination in Fine Art.

Part 5 Foundation Course at the Department for Continuing Education

  • 5.1. Any member of the University who has successfully completed the course for a Foundation Certificate at the Department for Continuing Education (whether or not he or she was a member when he or she did so) may apply for admission to the Degree of Bachelor of Arts if he or she has:

    • (1) kept statutory residence in accordance with regulations 5.2 and 5.3 below; and

    • (2) passed the Second Public Examination.

  • 5.2. A person who has successfully completed the course for the Foundation Certificate in English Literature may be admitted as a candidate in the Final Honour School of English Language and Literature if by the end of the term in which the examination is held he or she has kept statutory residence for six terms.

  • 5.3. A person who has successfully completed the course for any Foundation Certificate may not be admitted as a candidate in any Final Honour School more than nine terms inclusively from the term of matriculation.

Part 6 Degrees Awarded on passing the Second Public Examination

  • 6.1. The Degree of Bachelor of Arts shall be awarded to members of the University who have obtained Honours, or have satisfied the examiners but have not obtained Honours, in any Final Honour School other than the School of Fine Art or the Schools listed in Table 7 below, subject to these regulations and to the Special Regulations for the Second Public Examination concerned.

  • 6.2. The Degree of Bachelor of Fine Art shall be awarded to members of the University who have obtained Honours, or who have satisfied the examiners, in the Final Honour School for that degree, subject to these regulations and to the Special Regulations for that School.

  • 6.3. The Master's Degrees to which these regulations apply shall be awarded to members of the University who have obtained Honours in the Second Public Examination in the relevant Final Honour Schools, as set out in Table 7 below, subject also to the conditions laid down in the Special Regulations for each School.

Table 7: master’s degrees

Degree

Final Honour School

Master of Biochemistry

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Master of Chemistry

Chemistry

Master of Computer Science

Computer Science (four-year course)

Master of Computer Science and Philosophy

Computer Science and Philosophy (four-year course)

Master of Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences

Master of Engineering

Engineering Science

 

Materials Science

Master of Mathematics

Mathematics (four-year course)

 

Mathematics and Statistics (four-year course)

Master of Mathematics and Computer Science

Mathematics and Computer Science (four-year course)

Master of Mathematics and Philosophy

Mathematics and Philosophy (four-year course)

Master of Physics

Physics (four-year course)

Master of Mathematics and Physics

Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (after transfer to that Honour School for the Part C examination from the Honour Schools of Mathematics, Physics, or Physics and Philosophy)

Master of Physics and Philosophy

Physics and Philosophy (four-year course)