A joint honours degree (also known as dual honours, double majors, or two-subject moderatorship) is a specific type of degree offered generally at the Honours

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

level by certain universities in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the UK,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In a joint honours degree, two (or more) subjects are studied concurrently within the timeframe of one

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

Requirements

A joint honours degree typically requires at least half, often almost all, of the credits required for each of its respective subjects. The two subjects do not have to be highly related; indeed, a true joint honours degree overlaps faculties, not just subjects. However, students often pick two subjects that are interrelated in some fundamental way (such as both subjects are in the arts). Usually, joint honours degrees have higher requirements for entry than a single honours degree, requiring the approval of both departments concerned. The two subjects are then taken at the same levels and at the academic standards as those taking either subject as a single honours major. It is usual for these degrees to entail more study than a single honours degree (for example, both majors must be passed to earn the "joint degree" and honours must be obtained in the case of each major to earn the honours degree title); whereas this would normally apply to the only one subject major for a single honours student. In some cases, students would have significantly more final year project work and could be examined on this by both departments in question. Many

British universities Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Deg ...

now have a dedicated Centre for Joint Honours Degrees which assists students with timetable structuring, etc.

Differences

A joint honours degree is different from BA (''Hons.'') degree where two subjects are listed in the degree title. In a single honours degree, one of these is a major and the other a minor; In a BA/BSc/BEng (Joint Hons.) both subjects are majors. A joint honours degree is also different from a

double degree Joint degrees are academic qualifications awarded through integrated curricula often jointly coordinated and delivered by multiple higher education institutions, sometimes across different countries. Graduates may receive a single qualification ...

scheme: a double degree entails two separate degrees (e.g., a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts) each of which with their own electives, etc.

Examples

Selected examples of joint honours degrees: * Architecture and Planning * Architecture and Structural Engineering * Biology and Chemistry * Botany and Zoology * Business and Management * Business and Economics * Computing and Business * Computing and Mathematics * Drama and History of Art * Economics and Accountancy * Economics and History * Economics and Management * Economics and Politics * Electronics and Computer Science * Forensics and Anthropology * History and International Relations * History and Literature * History and Politics * Journalism and Literature * Mathematics and Computer Science * A Modern Foreign Language and Linguistics * A Modern Foreign Language and History * A Modern Foreign Language and a Classical Language (for example French and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) * Modern Languages and History * Music and Education * Palaeobiology and Geology * Palaeontology and Evolution * Physics and Mathematics * Physics and Philosophy * Physiology and Pharmacology * Politics and International Relations * Public Administration and Political Science

References

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