# upgrade degree



## bdoo (6 May 2009)

i have a quick question. Any comments are welcome.

I completed a four year degree course in 2001 in Business Studies @ DIT , i failed one a my last year subjects so i now have an ordinary degree (which is a level 7 i assume ?)

If i want to do a masters ? I assume that i will have to bring that up to level 8 .

Am i right in saying ? That if was to do a part time four year level 8 degree in Carlow IT which is a level 8 this would sort my problem ? I'm assuming i might be exempt from 1st year or second year as all my results through the DIT course were quite good (until my final year!!)

Or is there an easier way ?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Padraigb (6 May 2009)

It is a general pattern that the requirement for entering a master's degree programme is an honours primary degree, but it is not always a strict one. It might be worth shopping around with evidence of achieving good standards in the earlier years of your degree programme (and possibly also with some good relevant postgraduate experience -- you don't say what you have been doing since 2001). The worst that can happen is that everybody turns you down, which won't leave you worse off than at present, except for the loss of a bit of time and incurring some communications expenses. It's a much smaller cost than signing on for another primary degree.


----------



## bdoo (6 May 2009)

Agreed , i suppose some of the reason i want to reattend part time is so i can save to do a masters i.e. (take a year out unpaid) and secondly i'm not sure exactly what i would like to do. I think if i expose myself to third level education it would give me some ideas before i choose one , the other thing is i came from a family of teachers so this is not an option until i achieve a level 8 . (I dont think i would do it but its nice to have the option.)

I've been in sales for the last 7 or so years and am nearly 29 but i fancy a career change and i think that education is the first step to give you a competitive advantage when applying for a job not just on paper but also what you have learned .

I think the only other option i have is the repeat my final year on a full time basis to achieve level 8; which is hard to do with mortgage etc.

Thanks for the comment


----------



## dahamster (7 May 2009)

If you did a four year degree you already have a level 8 degree. It seems from your post that you achieved a pass in an honours (level 8) degree course. Normally you would need an honour : 2.2 2.1 or 1.1 to continue into a masters.

Look around and see if the particular dept will take you on with work experience in lieu of the honour.

If you failed a subject in the final year you should be able to repeat that subject


----------



## sistinas (8 May 2009)

dahamster said:


> If you did a four year degree you already have a level 8 degree. It seems from your post that you achieved a pass in an honours (level 8) degree course. Normally you would need an honour : 2.2 2.1 or 1.1 to continue into a masters.
> 
> Look around and see if the particular dept will take you on with work experience in lieu of the honour.
> 
> If you failed a subject in the final year you should be able to repeat that subject


 
exactly right. You should give one of the course co-ordinators a call and ask them. they wont mind - After all, its your money keeps them in a job


----------



## lou2 (8 May 2009)

*"If you did a four year degree you already have a level 8 degree. It seems from your post that you achieved a pass in an honours (level 8) degree course. Normally you would need an honour : 2.2 2.1 or 1.1 to continue into a masters".*

Not necessarily. If someone failed a component of the honours degree there may be an arrangement whereby they pass the degree overall but it is downgraded to an ordinary degree. This already happens for a number of academic programmes.


----------



## Speedwell (8 May 2009)

lou2 said:


> *"If you did a four year degree you already have a level 8 degree. It seems from your post that you achieved a pass in an honours (level 8) degree course. Normally you would need an honour : 2.2 2.1 or 1.1 to continue into a masters".*
> 
> Not necessarily. If someone failed a component of the honours degree there may be an arrangement whereby they pass the degree overall but it is downgraded to an ordinary degree. This already happens for a number of academic programmes.


 
You are both correct. A fail in one subject in a Level 8 Honours degree means that you can repeat but you will only ever get a Pass Degree. You have passed the Degree as such but it is called a 3rd class honours. 

I'm looking into doing a Masters at the moment after my degree and the minimum I need for most of them is 2:1.


----------



## bdoo (10 May 2009)

Hi
Looks like i'll have to do it again ,4 years, if i repeat my failed subject i still end up witha pass degree !

i reckon i'll get exemptions from year 1 and maybe 2 (fingers crossed) and then try and nail it to achieve a 2.1 hons. Im going to do it Part Time in IT Carlow level 8 Bus degree. 

So that gives me plenty of time t choose a relevant masters


----------



## Speedwell (10 May 2009)

Def ring up and talk to the department in the IT. They are very helpful and will point you in the right direction. I know that mature student applications are going on at the moment.


----------



## mimmi (21 May 2009)

Give the Open University a call 01 6785399, they can award you course related credit for your Level 7 degree and you can just do top-up study - 120pts of their Level 3 courses,  to achieve Level 8 and be awarded a BA Hons Business Studies. You'd be studying the equivalent of one year of final study over two years part-time. See the Level 3 modules on this link, you'll need to do 120pts worth.

http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01B04[broken link removed]


----------



## quadrangle (11 Feb 2013)

I know this is an old thread but if someone has a Pass Award in a Level 8 Honours Degree Programme from an Irish University from the 1990s. 

The same results would equal a Third Class Honours degree from the 2004 onwards. Is there any way of getting some for of letter from the University stating that the Pass Degree is really a Level 8 Third Class Honours Degree and not a Level 7 Ordinary Degree.


----------

