What Happens if You Fail a Module at University? A Students’ Guide

Failing a module at university is every student’s worst nightmare—at least, it is mine. However, sometimes it just happens.

The first thing to do if you fail a module is to stay calm. The worst thing you can do is panic or make a rash decision that you will regret later. Take some time to fully understand what your options are before moving forward.

In this article, we’ll be going through exactly what to do if you fail a module, including everything you need to know about resits, the impacts of failing a module, and what happens if that module is your dissertation.

What counts as failing a module?

Before we get into what happens if you fail a module, let’s establish what this actually means. For undergraduate students, failing a module typically means receiving an overall grade of 39% or below. 

This is slightly higher for a master’s student, who would have failed the module if they received 49% or below, overall.

This grade will be calculated based on all the exams and other assessments you have done for the module. However, not all essays or reports may count towards your final grade—some assignments may carry more weight than others. For example, an essay might be worth 30%, while another assignment could account for as much as 70% of your overall grade.

However, this should be set out in the assessment information for your module, which you should be able to access through your university’s student system. Some of the most common platforms for this include Blackboard and Canvas.

The reason it is 39% or 49% is because the grading systems for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are slightly different. The lowest grade at the undergraduate level is a third-class honours degree (3rd) between 40% and 49%. Alternatively, the lowest grade for a master’s degree is a Pass at 50%.

While university study depends quite heavily on these percentages, this is something you might not be used to, especially if you’re a first-year student who hasn’t had many assessments or exams just yet. So, let’s put these percentages into perspective by comparing them to the equivalent A-Level grade.

Have a look at the following table comparing the benchmark A-Level grades with undergraduate grade classifications. Please note that these are A-level benchmarks, and real grade boundaries tend to have much lower percentages.

For more on these benchmark A-level grades, have a look at this page on the Mentor Education website.

You can learn more about the undergraduate grade classification system by checking out this Think Student article.

What should you do if you fail a module at university?

If you fail a module, you should first contact your personal tutor or your university’s assessment board. From here, a resit will be organised for you.

The nature of this resit will depend on what part of your module you failed. For example, if you had both an exam and an essay but only failed one, you would only need to resit the failed component.

Although, you will only have one chance to resit this exam or other form of assessment, so you will need to pass it.

How do you resit a module at university?

A resit will be held during the period set by your university, typically in the summer after the undergraduate academic years, often in August.

If the exam is in-person, you will need to attend, regardless of any other plans that you may have previously arranged, including holidays or a year abroad placement.

In personal extenuating circumstances, you may be able to request an alternative date or deter the resit to the next period. However, this depends on the university’s policies, so it’s important that you check with your personal tutor or your university’s assessment board.

In general, you will be given an alternative paper or assessment question to the one that you were originally set. However, the format will be the same unless you are told otherwise.

The main difference from when you did it originally is that your grade will be capped at 40% for undergraduate modules and 50% for postgraduate ones, as these are the minimum pass rates.

You can learn more about the process of resitting a module at university on this page of the University of Leeds’s website and this page of the UWE Bristol website.

What happens if you fail a resit?

University policies can vary significantly, so what happens if you fail a resit will depend on your university. As a result, it is crucial that you consult your university’s guidelines or handbooks and stay in contact with the appropriate bodies.

Many universities only offer one resit attempt, meaning you won’t have another chance to retake the exam. However, some universities may allow you to retake the entire module instead.

As similar as these may sound, retaking a module involves more than just redoing the exams—it means repeating the entire module. This includes attending all lectures, seminars, and contact hours, as well as redoing all exams or assessments, even those you had previously passed.

Depending on the university, you may also need to pay to be able to retake the module.

Learn more about failing a resit and retaking a module at university on this page from Oxford Brookes University.

How many times can you fail a module at university?

Generally, you will only be able to fail the same module once. Although, if there were personal extenuating circumstances, some provisions may be made.

Although failing a module can have serious consequences for your study program, most universities typically allow up to four attempts to pass. These include both the initial attempt, a resit, and the opportunity to retake the module if necessary.

To make this clearer, have a look at the four attempts at passing your module, as follows:

1. Your first attempt at the module.
2. Your resit of any failed assessments or exams.
3. Your retaken module.
4. Your resit following your retaken module.

As most universities only allow one retake, failing it without extenuating circumstances, generally means that you will be unable to continue with the module.

You can learn more about how many times you can retake a module on this page of the Oxford Brookes University website.

How many modules can you fail in first year?

There is no universal limit on the number of modules you can fail, as policies vary between universities. However, during your first year, universities tend to be more lenient.

Some universities will require you to retake the failed modules during your second year alongside new ones, while others might allow an additional resit, but you may not be considered a full-time student during this period.

Some examples of university policies for first-year students failing modules are as follows:

Consider this document from the University of Northampton to learn more about their policies. For more on the University of Leicester’s policies, have a look at this page from the University of Leicester.

How many modules can you fail in final year?

Similarly, in your final year, there is no set number of modules or credits you are allowed to fail, as this varies between universities. Here are examples of policies for final-year students who fail modules:

• University of Leeds: Students can resit or retake modules. Alternatively, if they have enough credits to pass with either their original degree or an alternative award, they can graduate with this. You can learn more about this on this page of the University of Leeds’ website.
• University of Northampton: Students (who started before the 2024- 2025 academic year) can’t exceed more than 60 credits of accumulated failure throughout their degree. For more on this, have a look at this guide by the University of Northampton.

Students who fail their third year may also have the option to retake it. This involves repeating all teaching and assessments from the year, with none of the previous grades being carried forward. If you would like to learn more about retaking 3rd year at university, have a look at this Think Student article.

What happens if you fail a core module?

Once again, this will depend on each university and its policies. However, if it is a core module, you will typically be required to resit it.

Whether you do this alongside new modules for your next year of study or in an alternate fashion will depend on your university’s policies. You can learn more about Oxford Brookes University’s policies here on their website.

If the module is a prerequisite for another module in the next stage of your degree, you will usually need to resit it as well. However, you may have to complete this module before you are allowed to progress to the next stage of your course.

You can learn more about a policy like this on this page of the University of Leicester’s website.

What happens if you fail your dissertation?

We’ve already looked at what happens if you fail a core module or modules in your final year, and failing a dissertation combines aspects of both.

For both undergraduate and postgraduate students, the process for failing a module is largely similar to any other module. You will be given one chance to resubmit, with the resubmitted work usually capped at either 40% or 50%, depending on your level.

For undergraduates, if you fail after resubmitting, you may still be able to pass if you have enough credits. However, the exact figure for this will vary by university.

For postgraduate students, due to the nature of the dissertation, failing it means you won’t be able to pass your master’s degree. You can learn more about this in this Think Student article.