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Do I have to put my EPQ grade on my UCAS application?

Your EPQ belongs in the qualifications section of UCAS. You can also write about the project in your personal statement if it supports your course choice.

Need the full personal statement process?

This page focuses on one part of your application. For the full route through planning, structuring, drafting and editing your answers, use the main UCAS personal statements guide.

Go to the main guide →

Put your EPQ in the qualifications section

In the UCAS application, your EPQ should be recorded as a qualification, not hidden inside the personal statement. Universities need to see the formal details: the qualification, awarding body, dates of study, and whether the result is achieved or still pending.

If you have completed the EPQ, enter the result. If you are still completing it, enter it as a pending qualification.

You can still write about the EPQ in your personal statement if it supports your course choice. Use the statement to explain the project’s academic value: what you investigated, how you approached the research, what skills you developed, and how it helped prepare you for degree-level study.

Do not list grades in your personal statement

Your personal statement has a different job. It should explain why you want to study the course, how you have explored the subject, what you learnt from wider reading, research, projects, or experience, and how your academic interests connect to the course.

Do not use it to list your GCSEs, A-levels, EPQ grade, predicted grades, or other qualifications. Those belong elsewhere in the application.

You can mention the EPQ if it is relevant

You can mention your EPQ in the personal statement if the topic genuinely supports your course choice. This is particularly relevant to Question 2 in the 2026 UCAS format, where you are asked how your qualifications and studies have helped you prepare for the course. If your EPQ is linked to the subject you want to study, it should almost certainly be included there.

For example, if your EPQ helped you explore an academic question linked to your chosen degree, it can be useful evidence of independent research, reading, analysis, or extended writing.

But focus on the substance, not the grade. Instead of writing, “I achieved an A in my EPQ,” write about the question you investigated, why it interested you, what reading or research shaped your thinking, what you learnt about the subject, and how it prepared you for the degree.

Final advice

Put your EPQ grade in the qualifications section of your UCAS application.

In your personal statement, use the EPQ reflectively to show your academic interest and preparation for the course. This is Question 2 in the 2026 UCAS format, where you can explain how your studies have prepared you for degree-level learning. Write about what you investigated, how the project developed your thinking, what you learnt from the research process, and how it connects to the course you want to study.

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