Grades in the UK and US: what’s the difference?

One of the first things I noticed as I began my studies in September was the difference in grading systems between the US and UK. When asked by another student about my ‘GPA’ (grade point average), the best response I could offer was my average percentage of 71 that I had achieved over the past two years at UCL. ‘71?’ they asked, ‘you must be really struggling!’ I was quickly informed that 70% equates to a C- in the US higher education system, the minimum score required to pass a class at UCLA.

Having completed my first quarter of classes abroad, I have now become more acquainted with the American grading system and how it translates to the UK’s. As the table below illustrates, it is a fairly simple conversion (Fulbright Commission n/d). In each case grade classifications are separated by 10%. With both systems offering five classifications, the highest grade is therefore separated from a fail by 31%.

UK Classification	UK %	US Grade	US %	GPA
First-class	70+	A	90+	4.0 (A+ = 4.00; A- = 3.67)
Upper second-class	60-69	B	80-89	3.0 (B+ = 3.33; B- = 2.67)
Lower second-class	50-59	C	70-79	2.0 (C+ = 2.33; C- = 1.67)
Third class	40-49	D	60-69	1.0 (D+ = 1.33; D- = 0.67)
Fail	0-39	F	0-59	0.0

UK versus US grade classifications (Fulbright Commission n/d)

The only difference between the two models is the absolute percentage values of each grade range. However this carries particular significance when considering the highest grades offered by each system. In the US an A-grade (90% or above) informs a student that they are at most 10% below an entirely perfect piece of work. By contrast, in the UK a first-class (70% or above) could be as much as 30% below this level.

I first realised the significance of this when I was awarded 98% for a reflective coursework essay written for my UCLA FTV106 class. While I was pleased with this mark and proud of my work, I could not help feeling that this paper was nowhere near 2% below a perfect argument of my thesis. Rather I am sure that had I spent more time and care on the essay it could have been a far better piece. Contrasting with this, my highest mark achieved at UCL to date has been 77%. This somehow felt like a much greater achievement and I am still unsure what I could have done to improve by 23%.

In an attempt to find out what separates these two marks from 100% I have looked at the marking criteria offered by both universities. UCLA’s (n/d) measures are very concise. Students are offered an A-grade (90-99%) for work of ‘superior’ quality, while an A+ (100%) is reserved for work of ‘extraordinary’ quality. UCL’s (n/d a) grade descriptions are a little more comprehensive:

First-class (70-79%): Shows a deep understanding of the question, and is very well organised and expressed. Evidence of very good analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Very good grasp of concepts. Comprehensive use of relevant examples. 

First-class excellent (80-89%): Surpasses the standards associated with the 70-79% level. The work displays a deep, critical understanding of the question, with excellent level of organisation and expression. Evidence of excellent analytical skills, critical thinking and appropriate reading. Excellent grasp of concepts. Extensive and critical use of relevant examples. 

First-class outstanding (90-100%): Exceptional thoroughness and clarity. Exceptional insight or originality in the use of evidence. Outstanding critical ability based on extensive reading. Clear ability to formulate responses to questions in novel and relevant ways.

Clearly, the two grading systems value 100% very differently. It seems that in the US 0-100% is a measure of what is expected of students, thus full marks are perfectly attainable. At British universities 0-100% appears to be a measure of what is expected in the academic community. This is suggested by UCL’s usage of words such as ‘originality’, ‘critical’ and ‘novel’, implying that an outstanding first-class should be awarded to an article of journal standard. Indeed many university departments state that work receiving above 85% is publishable (see Nottingham University 2011; UCL n/d b). Thus students in the UK mostly receive marks in the 60s range, rarely reaching above the high-70s. I believe the impact this has on the psyche of British students is quite significant. A score of 70% informs us we do not need to do any better, but that we can do almost 1.5 times better. For those students not only driven by grades but also by doing the very best possible, this extra 30% is an enormous incentive to improve the quality of their work. This perhaps helps lay a clearer path towards a career in academia amongst UK graduates than it does in the US.

It is important to note that this blog is written from the perspective of a liberal arts student and that this article refers to the marking of essays rather than short answer questions such as those found in the sciences.

References

Fulbright Commission (n/d) ‘Marks’ (WWW), London: Fulbright Commission (http://www.fulbright.org.uk/pre-departure/academics/marks; 5 January 2016).

Nottingham University (2011) ‘Writing essays’ (WWW), Nottingham: Nottingham University (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/philosophy/documents/ug/essay-guidelines.pdf; 6 January 2016).

UCL (n/d a) ‘Grade Descriptors and Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/undergraduate/grade-descriptors; 5 January 2016).

UCL (n/d b) History Department Undergraduate Marking Criteria’ (WWW), London: UCL (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/undergraduate/current-undergraduates/marking-criteria; 6 January 2016).

UCLA (n/d) ‘UCLA General Catalogue: Grades’ (WWW), Los Angeles: UCLA (http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/archive/catalog/2005-07/catalog/catalog05-07acadpol-2.htm; 5 January 2016).

Winter Quarter Classes

With the mercury gently dropping below 14°C here in Southern California, we enter the winter quarter. As outlined in an earlier post, my rationale for choosing classes while abroad is to explore new fields that I hope will add further breadth and depth to my Geography degree. My choices for the second term are as follows:

Geography 141 - Uneven Development Geographies: Prosperity and Impoverishment in Third World
The purpose of this class is to explore how and why development initiatives across the world have resulted in such a wide variety of outcomes. While I have previously studied development at UCL (GEOG2014), this focussed more on explaining different forms of development, the actors involved and the main theories opposing it. These theories included post-colonialism, post-development, and even critiques of post-development (Escobar 1995; Kothari 2005; Matthews 2004). UCLA’s Geography 141 class focusses more on how livelihoods have been affected by development. I am not only interested in this class for the opportunity to study development from a different perspective. It will also be a great chance to further explore how a topic, and by proxy Geography, is taught differently at my home and host institutions.

Assessment: 10% attendance and participation, 30% mid-term exam, 30% research paper, 30% final exam.

History M155 - History of Los Angeles
As a geographer, Los Angeles is not only a fantastic place to study geography, but also an extraordinarily interesting place to study the geography of. Considered to be the ‘archetypal postmodern city’, urban geography takes a particular interest in Los Angeles (Sardar 1998: 149). History M155 is an excellent opportunity to study how the city came to hold such a glorious moniker. The class examines how forces such as race, culture, gender, class and sexuality came to shape Los Angeles’ history dating back to the colonisation of California by the Spanish in the 1540s.

Assessment: 33.3% mid-term exam, 33.3% paper, 33.3% final exam.

Earth, Planetary, And Space Sciences 9 - Solar System and Planets
Again following Bonnett's (2008) definition of Geography being routed in exploration both in the traditional and non-traditional sense, I have chosen to take a class that looks beyond Earth and at its surroundings. While not directly connected to the human or physical geographies that I have studied in the past, this class will provide a helpful insight into the environment (or lack there of) that Earth occupies. With an exploration of our solar system, galaxy and universe, the scale of Earth and its geographies can be fully put into context.

Assessment: 10% project, 30% labs, 20% in-class exams, 40% final exam.

References

Bonnett, A. (2008) What is Geography?, Los Angeles: Sage.

Escobar, A. (1995) Encountering Development, Princeton: Princeton University.

Kothari, U. ( 2005) ‘From Colonial Administration to Development Studies: a Post-colonial Critique of the History of Development Studies’, in Kothari (ed.) A Radical History of Development Studies, London: Zed Books, 47-66.

Matthews, S. (2004) ‘Post-development theory and the question of alternatives: a view from Africa’, Third World Quarterly, 25, 2, 373-384.

Sardar, Z. (1998) Postmodernism and the Other, London: Pluto Press.

University Pride

This weekend UCLA will take on its local rivals, the University of Southern California (USC), in their biggest football game of the year. The atmosphere around campus in anticipation of the event has been electric with the buildup culminating in a rally held last night to burn an effigy of USC’s mascot ‘Tommy Trojan’. The fire was surrounded by students wearing ’doUSChebags’ t-shirts and chanting ‘fight fight fight!’.

USC's mascot 'Tommy the Trojan' on flames

The event has had me asking why UCL, or for that matter any university in the UK, does not take such pride in university sport? Aside from the rare exception, the Henley Regatta being perhaps the most notable, the scale of money and excitement is not a patch on the US. While American sport is flooded with million-dollar sponsorship contracts, sensational fandom and controversy, British university sport is a far more modest affair. Instead it is often limited to a small pitch in the middle of an obscure field, watched by six or seven fans (or more likely passing dog walkers), and sponsored by the local pharmacy whose main obligation is to provide sliced oranges for the players at half time.

UCLA Bruins fans filling the 92,542 capacity Rose Bowl Stadium, larger than London's Wembley Stadium

Having conducted a little informal research, I tried to find out why students in the US are so passionate about college sports. Responses varied from ‘its a great way to meet people’ to ‘because the US is the best country in the world, that’s why!’ However, a frequent reason that I found particularly interesting was that supporting your college team is a great way to express pride in your university. 

Back in the UK university pride is not as rampant and I think this is a shame. Of course rivalries do exist, KCL versus UCL being a prime example, but never has this led to the burning of a foe’s mascot. In fact I don’t even know what UCL’s mascot is, let alone Kings’! 

Walk around campus here and you will see students - or ‘Bruins’ as they are proudly known - wearing an enormous variety of UCLA branded t-shirts, sweaters, and even shoes. Drive around Los Angeles and you will see ‘UCLA Alumni’ license plates. Of course this is great merchandising and a clever form of advertising for the university, but I believe its more than that. At UCLA you feel part of a movement and its a fantastic experience. At UCL wearing university branded clothing is seen as overly keen and even dorky. Perhaps this is a reflection of UK university students trying to appear cool and nonchalant. However it is not reflective of the entire country where, for example, Premier League Football fandom matches college football in the US.

However ‘footy madness’ in the UK is predominantly dominated by men. At UCLA shared college pride brings people together, creating a great sense of community amongst all members of the university. With university life in both countries being a social and academic endeavour, it is interesting to note that in the US 28% of married couples meet at university versus 19% in the UK (Macskássy 2013; TSR 2014). In my opinion this is perhaps because the shared joy and sadness at UCLA’s win or loss in a sports game is a much more valuable bonding experience than drunken sports nights at Loop. 

References

Macskássy, S.A. (2013) ‘From Classmates to Soulmates’ (WWW), Menlo Park: Facebook Research (https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-data-science/from-classmates-to-soulmates/10151779448773859; 24 November 2015).

TSR (2014) ‘One fifth of British students meet the love of their life on campus’ (WWW), Brighton: TSR (http://tsrmatters.com/one-fifth-of-british-students-meet-the-love-of-their-life-on-campus/; 24 November 2015). 

Fall Quarter Classes

In his book What is Geography?, Alastair Bonnett (2008) attempts to address a question which has since my first day at UCL constantly reappeared as a inherent query in this overly-introspective field of study. His answer, while typically ambiguous like those that have come before, is in my opinion one of the best. Bonnett believes Geography to be the fundamental fascination with exploration. This is not just meant in a traditional sense, but also in a more conceptual way that sees us looking to study all aspects of the world both near and far. Indeed, the scope of what can be studied in Geography is enormous with the four classical groupings of environmental, economic, political and social only drawing further attention to the infinite breadth of the subject.

Out of this breadth and ambiguity is born a fantastic opportunity for a geography student abroad to explore new and unfamiliar territories. Enabled by the US’s university structure, which encourages a far more diverse educational experience than that of the UK, this exploratory drive has been my rationale while selecting the following classes for the Fall Quarter at UCLA:

Film And Television 106A - History of American Motion Picture

The purpose of this class is to explore the history of the American film industry from its origins to its current form. While it may not be initially apparent, the class is linked to Geography in multiple ways. Indeed, as frequently as film comes up in Geography, through studies of cultural and historical representation (Rose 2012), the ‘reel vs. the real’ (Aitken and Zonn 1994) and its role in the US’s global cultural hegemony (Wasser 2009), so too does Geography make itself known in film studies. Such examples include:

- the urban economics of vertical integration and economies of scale that hastened the creation of the Hollywood studio system,
- the importance of changes in social classes across the 20th century in the US that enabled film’s rise to become the most powerful and accessible means of entertainment to the masses,
- and the place of film as a geopolitical ploy, both during the era of wartime propaganda but also today as a means of reasserting US dominance around the world (Sklar 1975).

Assessment: 20% attendance and participation, 20% research paper, 20% mid-term exam, 20% reflective paper, 20% final exam.

International Development Studies 191 - China’s Trade with Africa: Neocolonial or Win-Win?

Perhaps demonstrating the most obvious links to Geography, this class examines the new and asymmetrical relationship between China and Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on concepts also covered in UCL’s Development Geography (GEOG2014) module, such as neo- and post-colonialism and the development of the African middle classes (Birdsall 2010; Kothari 2005), IDS 191 raises the question of whether China’s trade with Africa will be mutually beneficial or solely neocolonial and exploitative. While the class is an excellent opportunity to study what looks to become one of the world’s most lucrative trade ‘partnerships’, it is also a valuable chance to gauge an American perspective over its greatest global opponent. Indeed, the class taught by an ex-consultant for U.S.A.I.D and the World Bank meaning the overall impression of China given to students is overwhelmingly negative. It therefore seems unlikely that ‘win-win’ will be the answer to the class’ title question. Whether or not this is true will be seen through the group research projects undertaken by students. In these each group will investigate a specific African country’s trade relationship with China. My group assignment will be Tanzania.

Assessment: 100% group research project.

Religious Studies 120 - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Comparative Approach

One of the most appalling and tragic conflicts that has gripped the world for decades is the spread of violence through much of the Middle East. While clearly political, these conflicts are also deeply religious. Having studied such issues from a geopolitical standpoint, both at UCL and through the informative documentaries of Adam Curtis, I am now keen to gauge why such conflicts exist from a religious sense. As a student of a secular senior school my religious education was limited to the confines of a grudgingly attended Jewish Sunday-schooling. Thus RS 120 will provide an excellent opportunity to learn about the interconnectedness of the three Abrahamic religions and the conflicts arising both between them and internally among their many denominations. Composed by students from a range of religious backgrounds (an aspect which itself lends the opportunity to learn about others’ religious experiences and perspectives), the class is taught through a mixture of readings, discussions and guest speakers. It aims to cover topics from religious ancestors to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Assessment: 20% weekly reflective question/comment, 30% mid-term exam, 50% research paper. 

I hope that through their synoptic ties, these classes will expand my geographical studies both inside and outside the classroom.

References

Aitken, S.C. and L.E. Zonn (1994) Place, Power, Situation, and Spectacle: A Geography of Film, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. 

Birdsall, N. (2010) ‘The (indispensable) middle class in developing countries; or, the rich and the rest, not the poor and rest’, Centre for Global Development Working Paper 207, Washington DC.

Bonnett, A. (2008) What is Geography?, Los Angeles: Sage.

Kothari, U. ( 2005) ‘From colonial administration to development studies: a post-colonial critique of the history of development studies’ in Kothari, A Radical History of Development Studies, London: Zed Books, 47-66.

Rose, G. (2012) Visual Methodologies, London: Sage.

Sklar, R. (1975) Movie-made America, New York: Random House.

Wasser, F. (1995) ‘Is Hollywood America? The trans-nationalization of the American film industry’, Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 12, 4, 423-437.

Class Enrolment

Having reached the end of the Fall 2015 enrolment appointment and chosen my classes for the autumn quarter (I will provide more detail regarding my choices in my next post), I can now reflect on the enrolment process and education structure here at UCLA.

My 'class planner' for the fall quarter

For the first two weeks of the fall quarter at UCLA students are given the chance to enrol in and drop as many classes as they please*. Throughout the process I have come across three aspects of higher education at UCLA that differ quite significantly from UCL which I will discuss below.

• Majors and minors - This is perhaps the greatest difference between the two university structures. Degrees at UCL are entirely focussed on studying a your applied subject (with the exception of ancillary modules). However UCLA follows the majors and optional minors system which is dominant in the US. This means that though a student may have applied to study Geography, they can also take classes from a range of other courses during their university career. Thus students are able to wait until junior (third) year before being forced to declare a major. Once a major has been declared students must obtain enough credits within that field in order to graduate. While this system offers students a greater breadth of education, it is far more complicated than the arrangement at home. Though I am unsure which I prefer, I find this very different mode of education particularly fascinating.

• Class durations - Compared with UCL Geography, where each module involves two hours of lectures per week and counts for an equal amount towards your degree, the time, structure and value of each class at UCLA varies. For example, one of my six credit classes (FILM TV 106A) is composed by eight hours of lectures and a one hour seminar per week, while another four credit class (INTL DEV 191) is just a single three hour seminar. Another dissimilarity is that all exams take place during the quarter in which you are taking that class, rather than in the final term of the year as is the case in UCL’s Geography department. 

• Class eligibility - Because of the vastly more flexible education system at UCLA, enrolment in a class is not restricted by what year you are in. Instead classes are divided into ability levels identified as lower and upper division. Though some classes are restricted by major, most are open to all students. Thus a fourth year (senior) student can take a lower division class, while a first year (freshman) could enrol in an upper division class providing they meet the required prerequisites. This contrasts with UCL Geography where GEOG1###, GEOG2### and GEOG3### modules are restricted only to first, second and third year students respectively. 

These dissimilarities make for a very different university experience. While all three allow for a far broader and diverse education experience, they also make the process of creating a working timetable far more challenging. Unlike UCL Geography which attempts to organise its schedule to avoid clashing modules, the infinitely larger selection of available classes at UCLA means that clashes are inevitable and thus a major consideration throughout the enrolment process.

I have also noticed that this enrolment structure leads to an entirely different social experience. UCL students studying for the same degree generally take the same modules, thus large cohesive friendship groups evolve out of shared experiences within the degree. For example the mutual burden of three different deadlines falling in the same week! However at UCLA every single student appears to have an entirely unique schedule, even in the more vocational degrees such as medicine and architecture. Thus a person’s social circle appears much less contained as they make friends in more places such as classes, societies and dorms. Using my own experiences to verify this, I have so far only met one fellow geography student with the majority of my new friends coming from outside my major. This contrasting social structure leads also to a broader and more varied university experience as students come together to discuss their different fields.

* Beyond this point, students attempting to enrol or drop a class must pay a fee

Study Abroad Year Report

Hello and welcome to my Study Abroad Year Report!

Here I hope to share with you my experiences as an exchange student from University College London (UCL) studying for a year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In doing so I aim to provide a critical academic reflection of the discipline of Geography as it is taught at both my home and host universities, seeking to prove that an additional 'A' is not all that separates the two. I will do this by exploring and comparing the contents of my classes and the ways in which they are taught and assessed.

Alongside I also plan to document and discuss my experiences of American university life, Los Angeles and more generally the USA. I will do this by exploring, from a geographical perspective, themes and topics ranging from transport to campus life to commodification and much more.

Enjoy!