Access to HE Diploma UCAS Tariff points
How an Access to HE Diploma is scored on the UCAS Tariff: credit by credit across the 45 graded credits, from 144 for all Distinctions to 48 for all Passes.
Grade and points
Access to HE Diploma
| Profile of the 45 graded credits | Points |
|---|---|
| All at Distinction | 144 |
| All at Merit | 96 |
| All at Pass | 48 |
These three rows are the anchor values. A mixed profile, for example 30 credits at Distinction and 15 at Merit, lands between them; UCAS scores each graded credit individually. Use the official UCAS calculator for a mixed profile.
The values on this page are reproduced from the UCAS Tariff tables for 2024 entry onwards. UCAS can add or revise entries between cycles, so before relying on a figure for an application, confirm it on ucas.com and read the entry requirements of the course itself.
How Access to HE Diploma is scored
An Access to HE Diploma is 60 credits. Fifteen are ungraded and do not score. The remaining 45 are each graded Pass, Merit or Distinction, and the Tariff allocates points per credit at each grade, so your total depends on the whole profile rather than one headline grade.
All 45 credits at Distinction gives 144, the same as DDD on a BTEC Extended Diploma or AAA at A level. All at Merit gives 96 and all at Pass gives 48. Most real results are a mixture and fall somewhere in between.
Access Diplomas are validated by Access Validating Agencies under the QAA and are designed for adults returning to study. They are a genuine Tariff-scoring route, which the Level 3 diplomas on this site are not.
Add it to your total
The calculator includes this qualification as a type you can add, alongside anything else you hold. If your other qualifications are Level 3 diplomas from OTHM or Qualifi, they will show as adding nothing, because they carry no Tariff points; the routes page explains what they lead to instead.
Not sure which route fits? Ask someone who will tell you straight.
We are an independent agent, not LSPM's sales team, and we will say whether a UCAS application, an Access course or a Level 3 diploma is the better option for you, even when the answer earns this site nothing. Replies within two working days.