Bachelors' degrees in Scotland, At the four Ancient universities of Scotland (St Andrews, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen) and also at Dundee, undergraduate degrees are differentiated as either Designated Degrees or Honours Degrees.An Honours degree (( Master of Arts MA (Hons) for arts/social sciences or BSc (Hons) for sciences)) is awarded for students who have completed four years at university - two years at sub-honours level, studying a variety of different subjects, and two years at honours level studying one subject in depth, usually including a dissertation in the final year. Honours degrees are further subdivided in classes. These are first class, upper second class (2:1) and lower second class (2:2).
A designated degree (MA or BSc) is awarded to students who have completed three years at university studying a variety of related subjects. The first two years of both a Designated Degree and an Honours Degree are identical, but candidates for the Designated Degree study in less depth in their final year, and often over a wider variety of subjects. Candidates for the Designated Degree do not usually complete a dissertation. A Scottish Designated Degree is different from an English Pass Degree even though both are denoted BSc Bachelor of Science