Awards and Programme Structure Regulations (incorporating the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) 2026-27

1. Definitions 

Regulations and Definitions Applying to Progression for all Credit-Bearing Programmes. In these Regulations the following additional terms are used: 

1.1 Award: The certified outcome of a defined Programme.

1.2 Back Tracking and Forward Tracking: Studying a Module which is set at a lower or higher level than the level on which a student is currently enrolled.

1.3 Credit: A means of quantifying and recognising equivalence of learning. Credit is awarded in recognition of the verified achievement of designated learning outcomes at a specified level. The amount of credit awarded does not vary based on student performance on a Module.

1.4 Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CATS): A system which enables learners to accumulate credit, and which facilitates the transfer of that credit within and between education providers.

1.5 Credit Level: An indicator of the relative intellectual demand, complexity and depth of learning. The credit levels used within the University of Southampton articulate with the National Qualifications Frameworks. 

1.6 Notional Learning Time: The number of hours that it is expected a student (at a particular level) will spend, on average, to achieve the specified learning outcomes. 

1.7 Programme: An approved scheme of study leading to a particular named award of the University. A programme will have defined aims, intended learning outcomes, mode(s) of delivery, and scheme of assessment. 

1.8 Recognition of Prior Learning: The process whereby applicants/students are eligible to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired previously through formal study and/or through work and other life experiences.

2. Awards of the University of Southampton 

2.1 Awards must be approved by Senate. The awards that the University confers are set out in Annex 1. 

2.2 The designated academic level of each award is aligned with The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (FHEQ), and maps to the corresponding cycle of the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA).

2.3 The Certificate of HE, Diploma of HE, Foundation degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Ordinary degree, Intercalated degree, Honours degree, Double Honours degree and Integrated Masters degree are dealt with collectively for the purposes of progression and classification in the General Regulations Progression, Determination and Classification of Results: Undergraduate and Integrated Masters Programmes. 

2.4 The Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, MSc, MSc(Ed), MSc (Social Science), MA, MA(Ed), MMus, LLM & MRes are dealt with collectively for the purposes of progression and classification in the General Regulations Progression, Determination and Classification of Results: Postgraduate Master's Programmes.

2.5 The awards of Certificate of HE, Diploma of HE, Ordinary Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate are not classified awards. 

3. Credit Requirements for University Awards 

3.1 The following table sets out the details of credit requirements for all University awards (The University’s Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme). These requirements apply to all taught programmes in the University, including programmes delivered on international campuses, and all education partnership provision which leads to a University of Southampton award. 

*Short courses and professional 'conversion' courses, based largely on undergraduate material, and taken usually by those who are already graduates in another discipline (The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies 2nd edition updated February 2-24, QAA )

3.2 Credit requirements above are based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The amount of student effort equivalent to 1 ECTS credit is between 20 hours and 25 hours. The University of Southampton has set this to 20 hours. The University also uses the UK Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) where the notional learning time ratio used is 1 CAT credit being equivalent to 10 hours of student effort. 

3.3 Programmes should be designed based on the minimum number of credits for an award unless, exceptionally, approved by the Academic Standard and Quality Subcommittee, and only if the required programme outcomes cannot be accommodated within the minimum.

3.4 All undergraduate bachelor’s programmes should have the potential to lead to honours. Intermediate exit awards should be available as appropriate, as detailed above.

4. Programme Structure

4.1 All University Programmes must:

• Conform with FHEQ and the Bologna Declaration, 
  • Conform with relevant Subject Benchmark Statements, Masters Degree Characteristics, Doctoral Degree Characteristics
  • Align with the University of Southampton’s strategies which specifically relate to the Education provision of the University and the Student Experience.
  • Comply with the Ordinances and Regulations in the Governance Webpages, the University’s credit requirements set out above, and Policy and Procedure as detailed in the Quality Handbook. Exemptions to Regulations are reviewed by Academic Standards and Quality Subcommittee and approved by the Education and Student Experience Committee. 

4.2 Schools are encouraged to seek and maintain Professional Statutory, Regulatory Body (PSRB) accreditation or similar recognition for programmes of study.

For all undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes

4.3 Programme titles must conform to the Framework for programme terminology (Degree Nomenclature) as set out in the Quality Handbook. 

4.4 Programmes should be designed to give students a coherent learning experience, aligned at each stage with the descriptors for the corresponding FHEQ level. 

4.5 A programme of study may be composed of modules of any size but for 3-year undergraduate degree programmes the standard module size is 7.5 ECTS (15 CATS) and multiples thereof.

4.6 Programmes must include an identifiable and assessed opportunity for students to demonstrate independent learning and competencies appropriate to the discipline or profession, usually constituted as a coherent body of work with a credit weighting of at least 15 ECTS (30 CATS) credits for undergraduate programmes,30 ECTS (60 CATS) for taught masters programmes and 60 ECTS (120 CATS) for Master of Research (MRes) programmes. There is no requirement that this body of work will necessarily take the form of a traditional, empirical, research dissertation.

4.7 Back tracking and forward tracking by one level are permitted in each Part of an undergraduate programme, where the maximum combined amount of back tracking and forward tracking allowed per Part is 15 ECTS (30 CATS) and where the minimum credit requirements for each level are satisfied at the time of the award. The requirements of specific programmes may restrict the amount of back tracking and forward tracking allowed on the programme as a whole or in any given Part of the programme.

4.8 A student's programme may incorporate credits for appropriate prior learning. The University has devolved to Schools arrangements for the management and assessment of prior learning within the Recognition of Prior Learning Policy set out in the Quality Handbook. This includes arrangements for the re-use of credit.