What are provisional marks?

These are marks which have been received by the Student Services Centre, and are stored in the Student Records System, but have not been formally ratified by the School Board of Examiners or the Graduate School Board of Examiners. Depending on the processes in your department they also may not have undergone external scrutiny. This means that they may change.

Provisional marks differ from provisional classifications and progression statuses. Please check "Provisional classifications and progression statuses" below for more information.

Why do we release provisional marks?

We distribute provisional marks for undergraduate, General Course and GO LSE students in early July to give students more time to prepare for the in-year resit and deferral period (IRDAP) which starts in mid-August. 

We provide provisional marks for 12 month MSc students over the summer to help students with the next steps in their career. Having access to provisional marks can help students to understand areas where they have excelled during their studies.

How and when are provisional marks released?

Please visit Publication of Results for exact details on how and when provisional marks are released.

How do I interpret the provisional marks email?

We've produced a  guide on how to interpret the information in the provisional marks email sent to undergraduate and General Course students in July.

Can I get a transcript showing my provisional marks?

We do not provide transcripts or any other official documentation listing provisional marks. Provisional marks are shared for your information only. 

Can I discuss my provisional marks?

Because they may change, staff cannot discuss provisional marks. For the same reason you also cannot challenge, appeal or request an administrative mark check against provisional marks; you need to wait for final results to be published.

If you provisional marks suggest that you will not be able to progress to the next year of your studies or complete your degree, you will receive an email with additional information about your options after your ratified results have been released.

In response to the Marking and Assessment Boycott during summer 2023 we have introduced provisional classifications and provisional progression statuses. 

Provisional classifications

Provisional classifications allow us to award students a degree, even if we're not able to calculate your final classification because of missing marks. You will receive an award with a provisional classification if you have a partial mark profile, but still meet a given threshold. 

To find out more about how provisional classifications are calculated please read Marking and Assessment Boycott Summer 2023 - Exceptional Degree Classification Schemes for Provisional Classifications.

Provisional progression statuses

A progression status records whether you are able to progress into the next year of study. This is usually determined by whether you have passed sufficient courses in your current year of study. 

Provisional progression statuses allow us to manage progression for students that have a partial mark profile. There is no threshold of marks, we will be able to calculate a provisional progression status even if you don't have any marks. 

To find out how provisional progression statuses are calculated read Marking and Assessment Boycott Summer 2023 - Progression from one Year to Another

BA and BSc Programmes

BA and BSc students are awarded either a First Class Honours (1), an Upper Second Class Honours (2A), a Lower Second Class Honours (2B), a Third Class Honours (3) or a Pass degree depending on individual course results. 

The classification is for three year programmes based on 18 classification marks for three year programmes, and 26 classification marks for four year programmes. 

You can find full details of how your classification will be calculated in the relevant scheme of award:

• Three Year Classification Scheme for BA/BSc Degrees
• Four Year Classification Scheme for BA/BSc Degrees

For students starting in or after the 2021/22 academic year, LSE100 will count towards the First Year Average if it is one of the best six out of nine first year marks. For students who started before the 2021/22 academic year, the mark achieved in LSE100 is not a classification mark and is not used to calculate the First Year Average or award. Regardless of when you started, an unredeemed fail in LSE100 will not be considered for the purpose of applying any of the penalties at Paragraph 11 of the Classification Scheme.

LLB

LLB students are awarded either a First Class Honours (1), an Upper Second Class Honours (2A), a Lower Second Class Honours (2B), a Third Class Honours (3) or a Pass degree depending on individual course results. 

The LLB classification is based on the marks achieved in all second and third year courses. You will also have an aggregate mark which is the sum of all eight 'classification marks'. 

You can find full details of how your classification will be calculated in the Classification Scheme for the Bachelor of Laws

Diploma

Diploma students normally take courses to the equivalent of four full units. The marks in all four units are used in the calculation of your classification.  You can find full details of how your classification will be calculated in the Scheme of Award of a Diploma

Taught Masters

Masters students are awarded a Distinction, Merit, or a Pass degree depending on individual course results. 

How your classification is calculated depends on how many units you need to take to complete your programme. In addition to the relevant scheme of award, individual Sub-Boards of Examiners can also establish Local Rules where the specific course(s) and/or marks will be given special consideration in the awarding of the degree.

Full details of how your classification will be calculated can be found in the relevant scheme of award:

• Scheme of Award for a Taught Masters programme: Four Unit Programmes
• Scheme of Award for a Taught Masters programme: Five Unit Programmes
• Scheme of Award for a Taught Masters programme: Eight Unit Programmes

Final Awards

If you submitted Exceptional Circumstances before the relevant deadline you can be confident that they have been considered by the sub-board of examiners and, where appropriate, a recommendation will have been made to the School Board of Examiners or Graduate School Board of Examiners.

This means that when you receive your final award it will include any changes made as a result of your Exceptional Circumstances. 

Individual marks are never changed as a result of Exceptional Circumstances. Exceptional Circumstances can only result in one of the following outcomes: 

• Discounting (treating as a retrospective deferral) a fail or absent mark
• Allowing an exceptional further attempt at a course
• Lifting a late submission penalty
• Awarding a higher overall degree classification if you have a borderline mark profile

We will not get in touch with you unless you need to take action (for example you need to attempt an assessment again). If a late submission penalty has been lifted or you've been awarded a higher classification overall this will be reflected in your final results. 

Provisional Awards

Exceptional Circumstances cannot be applied against Provisional Awards. Because these classifications may change it is not appropriate to consider Exceptional Circumstances when making provisional classifications. Instead, they will be considered when you have a full mark profile and we are making your final award. 

Continuing Students

Exceptional Circumstances will be considered for continuing students and may result in discounts or additional attempts. 

If you are missing marks when you receive you final results we will consider your Exceptional Circumstances again when we receive these marks. 

If you submit Exceptional Circumstances before the final year of your programme they will also be considered again at the point of final classification. 

 BA, BSc, Diploma and Taught Masters students

You will be eligible to re-take assessments in a course if you have:

• failed the course overall (often one failed component will often be averaged out by a passed component)
• attempts remaining in that course
• not received a final classification (you have been awarded your degree)

If you have failed a course and are eligible for to re-take it, you be re-assessed only in the assessment components that you failed. The marks for any passed components will be banked and carried forwards.

You will be entered to re-take the assessment during the next appropriate assessment period. 

When you re-take an assessment you normally only complete the assessment. You will not receive any additional teaching for the course unless you successfully apply for Repeat Teaching.

For more information visit re-entry.

LLB students

The only exemption to these rules are LLB students who will normally resit all papers taken in a year if they fail two or more units, or receive a mark below 30 in one or more unit. 

For more information please check the Bachelor of Laws regulations.

Marking and assessment boycott - summer 2023

The marking and assessment boycott will impact how re-entry is managed in Summer 2023, particularly for students that may need to take assessments during the In-Year Resit and Deferral Period (IRDAP). For more details about this please visit re-entry.

It is important that you read the regulations for first degrees to fully understand the fail and progression rules. 

In normal circumstances:

• First year BA/BSc students need to pass at least three units (not including LSE100) to progress to the year two.
• Second year BA/BSc students need to pass at least seven units out of the eight units from first and second year (not including LSE100) to be eligible for progression to year three.
• Third year BA/BSc students taking four year programmes need to pass at least eleven units out of the twelve units from the first three years of study (not including LSE100) to be eligible for progression to year four.
• First and second year LLB students need to pass all units for the year of study to be eligible for progression.

If you fail a course overall, defer an assessment within a course, or are absent from an assessment within a course, that course will count as not passed for that attempt.

You will automatically be re-entered to take any outstanding assessments from during IRDAP (usually August).  If you pass a sufficient number of units to meet the progression requirements, will be able to progress to the next academic year. 

If you cannot progress to the next year of your studies following IRDAP, you will receive an email explaining your options once IRDAP results are released.

Marking and assessment boycott - summer 2023

The marking and assessment boycott means that some continuing students will not have a full mark profile when their results are published. This means that it will not be possible to apply the normal progression rules. 

For continuing students, any missing mark will be considered as a 'pass' for the progression purposes only, until the actual mark is published. This will allow the School to follow current processes as closely as possible over the summer and for students to progress relatively normally. 

For full details of how this will work read Marking and Assessment Boycott Summer 2023 - Progression from year to another. 

Exceptional progression

In very exceptional circumstances the School may allow you to progress carrying up to two failed units on the basis that these will be sat at the same time as your second year assessments the following year. These cases are rare and only granted after a successful application for Exceptional Progression.

Official documentation for General Course and GO LSE students (including those on incoming exchanges such as Erasmus) does not include numerical marks. You will only receive an assessment grade and class grade. 

Your home university will determine the subsequent accreditation of the academic work completed at LSE. 

However, to give you an indication of performance the provisional results released in early July will include a numerical mark for your assessments. Remember that these may change, they are simply for your information. 

You will also receive an email, from the General Course team,  shortly after results have been published showing your final numerical marks. Again, this is for your information only and does not constitute a transcript. 

For more information take a look at The General Course - Teaching and assessment.

You will be automatically entered for any deferred or failed assessments during IRDAP, but may opt out of taking these resit assessments if you wish, please contact the General Course Dean if you have any questions.

If you would like to discuss your results, you should talk to your Academic Mentor who will be able to offer you some guidance on how you performed in your examinations or assessed work. 

You can also contact the Student Services Centre if you have any questions about your progression, degree classification or any academic regulations.

There is a range of other support around LSE that you may also want to contact for support with your results.