Joint honours degree

Joint Honours (also known as dual honours or double majors) is a specific type of degree offered generally at the Honours Bachelor's degree level by certain universities in Ireland, the UK, Canada, Malta, and Australia.

In most bachelor's degrees, students specialise in one subject, leading to a degree with honours. However, two subjects can be studied concurrently within the same degree timeframe by opting for a joint honours degree. A joint honours degree typically requires at least half, often almost all, of the credits required for each of its respective majors. The degree title should reflect this combination, e.g., BA (Joint Hons.) English & Criminology. The two subjects are usually weighted equally, though there do exist degrees that are termed "joint honours" that do not place near-equal focus on each area. A joint honours degree is usually considered a good choice where the student has equal interest in two subject areas. The two subject areas do not have to be highly related; however, students often pick two subjects that are interrelated in some fundamental way (e.g. both subjects are in the arts). A joint honours degree can be used to broaden career and postgraduate opportunities (employment in either field) or focus on specialist careers / postgrad study requiring knowledge of both subjects. Usually joint honours degrees have higher requirements for entry than a single honours degree, requiring the approval of both departments concerned. The two subjects are then taken at the same levels and at the academic standards as those taking either subject as a single honours major. It is usual for these degrees to entail more study than a single honours degree, e.g. both majors must be passed to earn the "joint degree" and honours must be obtained in the case of each major to earn the honours degree title; whereas this would normally only apply to the one subject major for a single honours student. In some cases students would have significantly more final year project work and could be examined on this by both departments in question. Most British universities now have a dedicated Centre for Joint Honours Degrees which assists students with timetable structuring etc.

A joint honours degree is not the same as a BA (Hons.) degree where two subjects are listed in the degree title. As this is a single honours degree, one of these is a major and the other a minor. In a BA/BSc/BEng (Joint Hons.) both subjects are majors. A joint honours degree is also not the same as a double degree scheme: a double degree entails two separate degrees (e.g., a Bachelor of Science AND a Bachelor of Arts) each of which with their own electives etc.

A first class honours in both majors of a joint honours degree can be known as a "double first"

Some examples of joint honours degrees are:

• Politics and International Relations
• Physiology and Pharmacology
• Physics and Mathematics
• Biology and Chemistry
• Physics and Computer Science
• Drama and History of Arts
• Media and Film Studies
• History and French
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Spanish and German