Your academic programme at Queen Mary

Our academic year is divided into two 12-week teaching semesters:

• Autumn semester: mid-September to mid-December
• Spring semester: January to May/June

For full details of our academic year, please see our academic calendar.

At Queen Mary University of London, our modules (our term for classes) are normally worth 15 credits per semester, however there are some worth 30 credits.

You will normally take 60 credits a semester, or a total of 120 credits for a full year.

You can choose to underload (take fewer than four classes), but we will need written approval from your home school, or for you to be on a part-time programme with us.

Queen Mary credits will be translated by your home institution into their own credit system (e.g. four credits per module for a 16-credit semester system).

Students enrolled on our internship programme with Arcadia will take 45 Queen Mary credits, plus the internship module.

Assessment methods will vary depending on your programme of study, and can include essays, problem sets, tests, presentations, projects and exams:

• If you are studying with us for the full year or the spring semester only, you will be assessed in the same way and at the same time as our full-degree Queen Mary students. This may include an examination in January and May/June
• The exam timetable for May/June is not usually published until March, so if your module is assessed by exam you should not make any arrangements for returning home before you know your exam timetable
• If you are only with us for the autumn semester, depending on the modules you take, you may be assessed on or before the last day of the teaching semester. Some module assessments will take place in the form of a remote examination and/or assignment in January
• Please note that resits or deferred exams will be held in either the May/June exam period or in our late Summer (August) exam period

Queen Mary uses a number of mark schemes for different awards and different levels and although many of the grades are the same, there are differences between the qualifying pass marks for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The UK grading system may be different from that used by your home institution – please note that your home university is responsible for converting the grades you receive from Queen Mary. The Queen Mary grading system uses five letter grades (A–E) and you will receive a final mark on your final transcript.  

For more information about our grades, please see our detailed information on mark schemes.