Honour Moderations

Honour Moderations (or Mods) are a first set of examinations at Oxford University in England during the first part of the degree course for some courses (e.g., Greats or Literae Humaniores).

Honour Moderations have a class associated with them (hence the "honours") but this does not count towards the final degree. In other courses, Moderations and Prelims (preliminary examinations) are the equivalent first set of examinations, but have no class associated with them. All three examinations are termed "First Public Examinations". Successful performance in "First Public Examinations" leads to the "Second Public Examinations", more commonly known as Finals. Finals are held at the end of all first degree courses at Oxford for arts subjects and split into examinations after the second, third and, if applicable, fourth year for science subjects.

Honour Moderations in Classics have been called one of the hardest examinations in the world. In recent years, the subject matter has been changed so that proficiency in both Latin and Greek languages is no longer required; and the examination has been reduced in number of papers written, along with an extension in the time allowed to finish.

The Mods (Moderations – exams conducted by moderator; see also Literae Humaniores) course runs for the first five terms of the course. The traditional aim was for students to develop their ability to read fluently in Latin (especially the Aeneid of Virgil) and Greek (concentrating on the Iliad and the Odyssey); this remains the case today, but the course has changed to reflect the continuing decline in the numbers of applicants who have had the opportunity to study Greek and Latin at school.

Since the early 1970s, it has been possible to begin learning Greek during the preparation for Mods (an option originally called Mods-B, the brainchild of John G Griffiths of Jesus). More recently, due to the omission of Latin and Greek from the National Curriculum since 1988, options have been added for those without Latin either.

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