About our courses

Getting to grips with university terminology can be tricky – it’s unlikely that you’ll have heard it much before, but suddenly it’s being used everywhere. To help, we’ve provided details of our frequently used language so that you can better understand what is being referred to.

Types of bachelor degrees

Successful completion of our undergraduate degree courses usually leads to an award. The award is made clear on each individual course page and is normally abbreviated to BA, BSc, BArch or BEng qualification.

Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng)

Types of master's awards you can undertake at undergraduate level

We also offer extended courses that lead to the award of a master’s degree, such as MEng, MMath, MChem, MPlan, MPhys and MSci. These courses give an opportunity to study your chosen subject in greater depth and gain further professional accreditation.

Foundation courses

Our Foundation courses and International Foundation Programmes (IFP) enable entry onto a wide variety of degree courses for students that have not studied the correct subjects, or not quite achieved the qualifications required for various reasons. It is a one-year course that gives you the opportunity to progress on to the first year of your chosen degree course, provided the relevant progression criteria are met. There is a range of options specifically for elite athletes and international students, too.

Diploma in Industrial/Professional/International Studies (DIS/DPS/DIntS)

We are proud to offer the option of including a placement year with every single one of our undergraduate courses. Not only do these provide invaluable industry experience and networking opportunities, but successful completion of the work placement usually leads to an additional award (Diploma of Industrial or Professional Studies). For students who choose to make the most of Loughborough’s excellent international links, there is also the opportunity to earn a Diploma in International Studies by partaking in a professional placement or study overseas.

The teaching year

The teaching year at Loughborough is divided into two 15-week semesters. Each consists of a 12-week teaching/learning/revision window followed by three weeks for assessment and feedback. The Christmas break falls in Semester One and the Easter break in Semester Two. 

Lectures, tutorials and other classes are timetabled on weekdays between 9am and 6pm – teaching does not take place at weekends or over bank holidays (except for assessed activities such as field trips etc).

Examinations usually take place at the end of each semester. The complexity of the University’s teaching and assessment schedule means that it is not currently possible to make special timetable arrangements in individual cases in order to allow for religious observance.

Modules and courses

Each degree course is broken down into modules, which when combined offer an in-depth study of your chosen subject area. Some modules will be compulsory; others will be optional, giving your degree a level of flexibility. The extent of this flexibility will be dependent on your course – you may also have opportunity to learn a new language or another subject outside of your immediate study area.

A module is a self-contained unit of study either lasting one semester or one year. Each module typically has a weight of 10, 20 or 30 credits. This is the number of credits you will be awarded on passing the module. Full-time undergraduate students take modules with a combined weighting of 120 credits per academic year.

The notional learning time for a 10-credit module is 100 hours, representing the time on average you will need to spend on the whole range of learning activities, including for example, lectures, tutorials, private study, preparing coursework, and sitting examinations. The notional learning time for a full-time undergraduate academic year of 30 weeks is 1,200 hours.