Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

An Extended Project Qualification, or EPQ, is a research project you run yourself. You choose the question, you do the work, and you decide how to answer it. If you are studying in the United Kingdom, it is one of the options open to you.

Universities take it seriously. An EPQ asks you to work the way a degree will. It builds the skills you need before you get there.

You also get real freedom over the subject. You are not handed a topic, so you can follow something you actually care about.

You will see the EPQ described as a Level 3 qualification in the United Kingdom's qualifications framework. That label tells you its size: it counts as the equivalent of an AS level, or half an A level.

Structure

A dissertation or an artefact

You can present your EPQ in more than one form. A dissertation is a long written piece, an extended essay or report. An artefact is something you make instead: a piece of visual art, a computer program, a performance, a design.

Neither is worth more than the other. Choose the form that genuinely fits what you are investigating, not the one you think looks more serious.

The production log

The production log is the record you keep while the project is running. You write down how you planned it, how it progressed, and how you judged your own decisions along the way.

Treat it as part of the work, not paperwork bolted on at the end. It is assessed. It is also where you show your thinking, including the things that went wrong and what you did about them. A log that only records successes is less convincing than one that shows you noticing a problem and solving it.

The presentation

When the project is finished you present it. You explain what you set out to do, how you went about it, and what you concluded.

How the EPQ is marked

There is no exam. Your grade comes from three things together: the finished project, the production log and the presentation. All three are marked, so none of them is optional.

The EPQ is graded from A* to E, the same letters as A levels. It also carries UCAS tariff points, the points system UK universities use to compare qualifications, and the points rise with your grade. Because it sits at Level 3, the grade you earn is worth an AS level, or half an A level.

How long does an EPQ take?

Around 120 hours in total. Roughly 40 of those are spent with your supervisor. The remaining 80 or so are your own.

Spread across the year, that is a few hours a week. Manageable alongside A levels if you actually spread it, and brutal if you leave it. The students who struggle with the EPQ are almost never the ones who found the topic hard. They are the ones who started late.

Why do an EPQ?

Three reasons come up most often.

It sets you apart in an application. Universities value the EPQ because it shows you can run an independent piece of research over months with nobody telling you what to do next. That is exactly what a degree asks of you.

It lets you show real interest in a subject. Claiming enthusiasm for a field in your personal statement is one thing. A finished project in that field is evidence.

It can soften an offer. Some courses are heavily oversubscribed, meaning far more people apply than there are places. On those, some universities will reduce the grades they ask from an applicant with a strong EPQ. That is not a promise, and it should not be your reason for doing one. But it happens.

The honest caveat

An EPQ is real work, and it runs alongside your A levels rather than instead of them. Before you commit, look honestly at what else is already in your year and whether the hours are there. It is a genuine advantage. It stops being one if it costs you grades in the three subjects your offer actually depends on.

Choosing a topic

You can research almost anything, which is either liberating or paralysing depending on your temperament.

The advice that matters: choose something you are actually interested in. You will be living with this topic for months. A subject picked to impress an admissions tutor, rather than because it grips you, becomes very hard to sustain by month four. If it also connects to what you want to study at university, so much the better.

You are not on your own, despite the word "independent". A supervisor at your school guides you through it, keeps the project on track and helps when you get stuck. Use them. That is what the 40 supervised hours are for.

Frequently asked questions

What is an EPQ worth?

You come out with a Level 3 qualification, worth the same as an AS level or half an A level. It also carries UCAS tariff points, and the better your grade, the more points you get.

Is there an exam?

No. The EPQ has no formal exam. You are assessed on your finished project, your production log and your presentation.

How is the EPQ graded?

You get a grade from A* to E, the same letters as your A levels.

How much time does an EPQ take?

Around 120 hours in total. Roughly 40 of those you spend with your supervisor, and the rest is your own work, meant to be spread across the year rather than rushed at the end.

Do I have to write a dissertation?

No. A dissertation is one option. An artefact counts just as much: a piece of visual art, a computer program, a performance. The format should suit what you are actually investigating.

Can an EPQ lower the grades a university asks me for?

Sometimes. Where a course is heavily oversubscribed, some universities will reduce the grades they ask from an applicant with a strong EPQ. It is not guaranteed, so treat it as a possible bonus rather than a plan.

How do I choose a topic?

Pick something you are genuinely interested in, ideally connected to what you want to study at university. You will be living with this topic for months. A subject chosen to look impressive, rather than because it interests you, becomes very hard to sustain.