An EPQ gives you the chance to investigate something that interests you beyond your normal lessons. You choose the question, decide how to research it and produce a piece of work that answers it.
That freedom can be exciting. It can also become a lot of extra work if your topic is too broad or you start without a realistic plan.
The essentials
Before signing up, you need to know what you will submit, whether your university choices recognise it and how you will fit it around your other subjects. Here's how to decide—and how to get started.
What is an EPQ?
EPQ stands for Extended Project Qualification. It is a standalone Level 3 qualification, usually taken alongside A-levels or other Level 3 courses.
It is often described as worth half an A-level. That describes its qualification size and UCAS Tariff value; it does not mean universities will accept it in place of a required A-level.
Your topic can grow out of a subject you study or an interest outside school. However, it needs to extend your learning rather than repeat work already assessed for another qualification.
What do you actually do for an EPQ?
You develop an idea, agree it with your supervisor, research it, create your final outcome and evaluate the process. You also keep evidence of your decisions and present the project.
For AQA, a project consisting entirely of a research report should be approximately 5,000 words. An artefact project needs an accompanying research-based report of at least 1,000 words. An artefact might be a prototype, film, software product or creative work (see the AQA EPQ specification).
These are AQA requirements, rather than a universal rule for every EPQ. Pearson Edexcel offers dissertation, investigation or field study, performance and artefact routes. Check your own specification before choosing a format.
Watch out
An artefact is not automatically the easier option. Building an app means planning, researching, testing and explaining design decisions, as well as producing something that works.
Before you begin, ask your supervisor
- Which exam board and project route am I taking?
- What are the report requirements and internal deadlines?
- How should I record progress and references?
- What evidence must accompany the final product?
- What are the presentation requirements?
Knowing these early prevents you from spending weeks producing something that does not fit the assessment.
Is an EPQ worth doing?
An EPQ is most useful when you have a question you want to explore and enough time to investigate it properly.
It lets you practise tasks you will encounter in further study: finding evidence, judging its quality, managing a long assignment and reaching a conclusion when the answer is not straightforward.
It can also help you test a potential degree interest. Enjoying a medical drama is different from enjoying research into clinical evidence. Following business news is different from analysing a company's accounts. An EPQ gives you a chance to try the academic side of a subject.
But another qualification is not always the best use of your time.
| An EPQ may suit you if… | Think carefully if… |
|---|---|
| You enjoy exploring questions independently. | You mainly want a guaranteed lower university offer. |
| You can protect regular time for it. | Your main subjects already need substantial catch-up work. |
| You have access to useful evidence or resources. | Your idea depends on equipment, interviews or data you cannot access. |
| You are willing to record and review your decisions. | You only want to write the final essay and skip the process. |
Key point
If your essential A-level grades are at risk, improving those grades may be more valuable than adding an EPQ.
Can an EPQ get you a lower university offer?
Sometimes—but the policy depends on the university, course and entry year. Some universities make an alternative offer that combines lower A-level grades with a particular EPQ grade.
As checked in October 2026:
| University | Published EPQ policy |
|---|---|
| University of Birmingham | Eligible applicants can receive an alternative offer one A-level grade lower with a B in the EPQ. For example: AAA, or AAB plus B in the EPQ. Birmingham must be the firm choice; subject requirements still apply. Medicine A100 and Dentistry A200 are excluded. |
| University of Southampton | Eligible applicants to humanities, business, law, social sciences and related programmes can receive an alternative offer one A-level grade lower with an A in the EPQ. For example: AAA, or AAB plus A in the EPQ. |
These examples come from the universities' published admissions policies. Before relying on a reduced offer, check:
- Your exact course and entry year, rather than a general university page alone.
- The required EPQ grade.
- Any A-level subject grades that cannot be reduced.
- Whether the university must be your firm choice.
- Whether EPQ and contextual reductions can be combined.
Important
If the wording is unclear, ask admissions for written confirmation. Your actual offer conditions are what you must meet.
How many UCAS points is an EPQ worth?
The EPQ is graded from A* to E, with the following UCAS Tariff values.
| EPQ grade | UCAS Tariff points |
|---|---|
| A* | 28 |
| A | 24 |
| B | 20 |
| C | 16 |
| D | 12 |
| E | 8 |
Watch out
Extra points do not automatically change a university offer. Universities decide which qualifications they accept and whether they use Tariff points at all. A course asking for specified A-level grades may not allow EPQ points to compensate for a missed grade.
How do you choose a good EPQ topic?
Start with an interest, then turn it into a question you can realistically answer.
"Climate change" is an interest. "How should the UK reduce emissions?" is still enormous. A question comparing two specific policies or technologies gives you a clearer research task.
The following are starting points to refine with your supervisor:
| Broad idea | More manageable question or brief |
|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence | How reliable are AI chatbots at answering one defined category of GCSE maths questions? |
| History and protest | To what extent did television coverage influence US public opposition to the Vietnam War between 1965 and 1968? |
| Economics and housing | How far does existing research support rent controls as a way to improve affordability for private tenants in England? |
| Sport and recovery | How strong is the evidence that cold-water immersion improves recovery after resistance exercise? |
| Sustainable design | Design and test a reusable lunch container against defined cost, durability and cleaning criteria. |
A title is only useful if the evidence is available. Spend a few hours testing that before committing.
Test your title
- Can I find credible sources that address this precise question?
- Can I understand the main arguments and research methods?
- Is there enough uncertainty to analyse?
- Can I finish the project with the time and resources available?
Do not choose a title just because it sounds impressive. A focused project you can explain confidently is a better choice than an ambitious question you cannot investigate.
Your title can develop as you learn more. Discuss changes with your supervisor and record why you made them.
How to research without drowning in information
Begin with introductory reading to learn the terminology. Then move towards evidence that directly answers your question: research papers, books, official statistics, primary sources or relevant technical documents.
Create a source tracker from day one.
| Record | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Author, title, date and link | You can find and reference the source again. |
| Main claim or finding | You know what the source contributes. |
| Evidence or method used | You can judge how the conclusion was reached. |
| Relevant page numbers | You avoid searching through the whole document later. |
| Strengths and limitations | You move beyond collecting quotations. |
| How it affects your answer | Your reading becomes part of an argument. |
Worked example
Judging a study. A study finds that students using an app improved their test scores.
Before relying on it, ask whether there was a comparison group, how large the sample was and whether students were randomly assigned.
Key point: improvement after using an app does not, by itself, show that the app caused the improvement.
Do you need a survey or experiment?
Do not add primary research simply to make the project look more advanced.
A survey of a few friends may tell you about those friends' views. It will not necessarily support a claim about all teenagers.
If you propose interviews, surveys or experiments, agree the method with your supervisor first. Consider consent, privacy, safety, sampling and what your results can establish.
Remember
A careful project using existing evidence can be more convincing than poorly designed original research.
How is an EPQ marked?
For AQA, the assessment objectives have these weightings:
| Assessment objective | Weight |
|---|---|
| AO1 Manage | 20% |
| AO2 Use resources | 20% |
| AO3 Develop and realise | 40% |
| AO4 Review | 20% |
AQA also requires a production log and a presentation about the product and process, including questions and answers. Follow your centre's instructions for presentation length.
Treat the objectives as a reminder to show how your work developed. Keep evidence of meaningful choices rather than presenting a project that appears to have arrived fully formed.
A useful weekly record answers:
- What did I complete?
- What did I decide, and why?
- What problem or limitation did I identify?
- What will I do next?
Compare these entries:
| Too vague | More useful |
|---|---|
| "I researched my topic and found some useful websites." | "My original question covered several treatments, which was too much to compare properly. I narrowed it to two approaches after checking the available review papers. Next week I will compare how those papers measured treatment success." |
Watch out
Write records while the decisions are fresh. Do not invent a flawless timeline afterwards.
How do you write a strong EPQ report?
For a question-based report, build the structure around answering the question. A practical starting structure is:
- Introduction: define the question, scope and key terms.
- Approach: explain how you selected evidence or conducted the investigation.
- Analysis: organise sections around arguments, comparisons or themes.
- Conclusion: give a direct answer supported by the analysis.
- Evaluation: discuss limitations and what you would improve.
- References and any required appendices.
Adapt this to your project and exam board.
Quick tip
Before drafting, write a provisional answer in two sentences. Then identify the evidence that supports it and the strongest challenge to it. This can reveal missing research before you spend hours writing.
Avoid paragraphs that simply summarise one source after another. Explain where sources agree, where they conflict and which evidence deserves more weight.
Your conclusion should say what the evidence allows you to conclude—and how confident you can be.
How long does an EPQ take?
Plan for approximately 120 hours in total, including taught elements and independent work. Pearson recommends that around 40 of those hours are guided learning hours; delivery arrangements vary.
Across 30 weeks, 120 hours averages four hours a week. That is a planning estimate: practical work, difficult research or a late change of topic can take longer.
Use deadlines for finished tasks.
| Stage | Useful checkpoint |
|---|---|
| Explore | Test a shortlist of ideas against available evidence. |
| Define | Agree the question or brief, scope and schedule. |
| Research | Complete source notes and identify gaps. |
| Develop | Finish a full draft, prototype or other outcome. |
| Improve | Revise the argument or test the product. |
| Complete | Finish evaluation, presentation and submission checks. |
Put mock exams, coursework deadlines and other commitments into your calendar first. Then schedule EPQ work around them, with time left for setbacks.
Quick tip
"Finish the source comparison table by Friday" is more useful than "do some EPQ this week".
Can you use AI for an EPQ?
Check your school's policy and assessment rules before using AI.
JCQ guidance requires assessed work to be your own. Where AI is used as a source of information, it must be acknowledged appropriately, with retained evidence of the generated content and how it was used. Acknowledgement does not make AI-generated work eligible for marks where you have not demonstrated the assessed skills yourself.
Important
Do not submit generated analysis as your own or cite references you have not checked. Keep your source notes and draft history, and ask your supervisor how permitted assistance should be recorded.
How can you use your EPQ in a university application?
For 2026 entry onwards, the UCAS personal statement has three questions. The second asks how your qualifications and studies have helped you prepare for the course or subject—a natural place to discuss your EPQ.
Explain what you learned rather than simply listing the title.
| Says little | Gives the reader something concrete |
|---|---|
| "I completed an EPQ about urban transport." | Explaining that you compared transport policies, found that their outcomes depended on local conditions and reconsidered your initial argument. |
Use your own experience and connect it to the degree. If interviewed, be ready to explain your strongest evidence, a limitation and a decision you changed.
Before you sign up
You do not need your final title on day one. You do need a realistic route into the project.
Check that you have
- a promising question;
- accessible evidence;
- clear school requirements;
- time you can protect without undermining your main subjects.
An EPQ can be worth doing even when it brings no reduced university offer. The most useful outcome is a project you understand well—and research habits you can use again.