Results & Progression
Postgraduate (PGT) Timeline Overview
Here is a general timeline for when/how students will obtain their transcripts and degree certificate:
Students' results will first need to be confirmed by the departmental Exam Board that takes place in November.
The results will then need to be processed and approved by the Faculty and University.
Your official results and transcript will be released by early December 2023 as per University policy (see here for last year's dates).
You will then be able to access your official transcript via Gradintelligence. The University will send you an email when your transcript is available.
What you can do while waiting for your official results in 2023 is request a Summary of Results which will outline all of your results from Semester 1 and Semester 2. See here for more information.
Once you have been issued your digital transcript via Gradintelligence, you will be able to request a Confirming Letter that states that you have successfully completed your degree. This is not a substitute for your degree certificate but it is an official document and you should be able to use it for most job/study applications.
As for your degree certificate, students typically receive this in-person at their Graduation ceremony which takes place in January for PGT students. However, you can choose to graduate in absentia which means that you do not need to attend a ceremony and your degree certificate will be posted to you. The Graduation team will email you directly after the official release of results in November and you will be given an option of how you wish to receive your degree certificate.
Please note that once students complete their course, they no longer have access to their student account/email. As such, it is very important that the University has your correct personal email address as you will receive information about graduation and alumni events on your personal account. Please see here for instructions on how to check and update your personal email address. Please also have a look at this page for details on account closures and how to save your files and emails.
Degree Regulations
You can find your degree regulations by using the Programme Regulations Finder.
The regulations outline the requirements of your degree programme, and the structure of your course. If you need any advice on your degree regulations please contact the Journalism Inbox at journalism@sheffield.ac.uk.
University General Regulations for Higher Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Certificates
The University of Sheffield Calendar outlines the Charter, Statues, and Regulations of the University. It's on The University of Sheffield Calendar that you can access all general regulations set by the university. These are in addition to the specific degree regulations for your course. Ones of particular use and interest for Postgraduate Taught students are the General Regulations for Higher Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas and Postgraduate Certificates and can be found in a list of individual documents on The University of Sheffield Calendar.
If you need any advice on any of the general regulations please contact the Journalism Inbox at journalism@sheffield.ac.uk.
Progression & Resits
Students who fail a module or modules will normally be required to submit new coursework or to sit a further exam paper in August at the end of the academic session in which they originally sat their examinations.
Such coursework and examinations can only be submitted for a pass mark (i.e. a maximum of 50, applied to the module as a whole). If a student obtains a lower fail mark at the second attempt, the higher mark will stand.
The University and Faculty have detailed regulations which stipulate the conditions under which students may carry failed modules and continue their studies. If you are concerned about failures please talk to your Personal Tutor. The regulations concerning failures, resits and progress can be found on the The University of Sheffield Calendar.
Degree Classification
The criteria under which postgraduate degrees are awarded are available to read in the General Regulations for Higher degrees with information about these above. Please ensure you have read these regulations.
The Department will formally confirm the grades you have been awarded at the end of each semester, in a meeting called an examination board. At the end of the academic year, in October/November, a final examination board is held at which the examiners (academic staff within the Department, and the external examiner for your course) meet to confirm all grades and provisional classifications. These are then later confirmed by Faculty and Senate before your degree is formally awarded.
All grades and feedback that you receive on Blackboard are provisional, which means that they may change until they have been formally confirmed. We do not re-grade work on students' request.
Distinction
Students who obtain an average grade of 69.5 overall AND grades of at least 70 in 90 credits may be recommended for a distinction.
Merit
Students who obtain an average grade of 59.5 overall AND grades of at least 60 in 90 credits may be recommended for a merit.
Graduation
Graduation takes place in January each year for students who complete their MA courses in the previous September. You will be invited to graduation based on your student record, so please make sure all details are up to date.
If you have to resit a module or dissertation you will not be invited to graduation until after you have passed any required reassessment.
The School of Journalism, Media and Communication organises various events around graduation for our graduating students. The Department will get in touch with you by email close to your graduation date. Please make sure you check your Sheffield student email address regularly.
More information about postgraduate graduation ceremonies can be found here.
Please follow the link above for information on the Appeals and Complaints process.