Background

Durham is the third oldest University in England and has a history dating well back before 1832 when it was granted with degree awarding powers by the king.  From the early days the University had a General Degree which in time evolved into the BSc General Degree.  For candidates entering into the University in October 1982 the degree was renamed Natural Sciences.  The General Degree degree served as a basis from which single honours degrees could be taken, or students could continue on their General Degree.  This evolution has left a legacy in the structure of all our degrees programmes at Durham in as much as there is considerable flexibility of switch degree programmes and the Natural Sciences students have the benefit of studying alongside single honours students.