The 3rd Degree (radio series)

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The 3rd Degree
Other namesThe Third Degree
GenreQuiz show
Running time28 minutes
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
Home station BBC Radio 4
Hosted by Steve Punt
Created by David Tyler
Directed byDavid Tyler
Produced byDavid Tyler
Original release21 February 2011 
present
No. of series14
No. of episodes84
Opening theme"Ruby" by Kaiser Chiefs [1]
Website BBC homepage

The 3rd Degree (sometimes written as The Third Degree) is a British quiz show broadcast on BBC Radio 4, hosted by comedian Steve Punt and made by Pozzitive Television. The series is recorded at different universities around the country, the contestants all coming from the university in which the recording takes place. One team consists of three students and the other of three lecturers (known as the "Dons") who teach the subjects the students are studying.

Contents

Format

The show consists of several rounds which are as follows: [2]

Reception

Reviews for The 3rd Degree have been mixed. A review in The Guardian , published during the show's first series, was critical of the show's pacing. The reviewer wrote: "There are lots of rather lukewarm, predictable asides", adding that the show "lacks pace and excitement, and you know the dons will win." [3] Iain Weaver from UKGameshows gave a positive review of the series, saying: "We're not tremendously upset by the way the teachers went through the series unbeaten, they are university lecturers, and university lecturers are meant to know an awful lot. We also liked the way Steve Punt kept the programme flowing at a decent pace, adding jokes and asides, and keeping proceedings moving along most enjoyably. He's probably helped by the audience at the student bar, who have doubtlessly taken this opportunity to have their one pint of something for the week. If there's one slight criticism we'd make, it's that the Highbrow Lowbrow round is a bit of a block in the middle of the programme. We might prefer to split the round into two parts, perhaps shifting the first immediately before the lists round. That would add a little bit more variety, and make the programme a little less imposing. That's just a minor criticism: most of what The 3rd Degree does, it does well. Given that it replaced the venerable Quote... Unquote , it didn't have a high bar, but we can see this programme running for a fair few years." [2]

Awards

In 2015 The 3rd Degree was nominated for the Rose d'Or in the "Radio Game Show" category. [4]

Episodes

Series 1

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
121 February 2011 University of Southampton 2025
228 February 2011 Durham University 2045
37 March 2011 University of Stirling 2323
414 March 2011 University of Reading 3240
521 March 2011 University of Salford 1835
628 March 2011 Middlesex University 2737

Series 2

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
112 March 2012 University of East Anglia 1930
219 March 2012 Swansea University 2234
326 March 2012 University of Warwick 3726
42 April 2012 University of Sussex 2535
59 April 2012 Queen Mary, University of London 2235
616 April 2012 University of Northampton 2535

Series 3

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
125 March 2013 Anglia Ruskin University 2835
21 April 2013 University of Exeter 2522
38 April 2013 University of Edinburgh
  • Biosciences
  • History of art
  • International relations
2936
415 April 2013 University of Leicester 3338
522 April 2013 Bath Spa University 2224
629 April 2013 University of Leeds 2927

Series 4

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
17 April 2014 University of Bristol 3040
214 April 2014 University of Kent 3231
321 April 2014 University of Bedfordshire 2331
428 April 2014 Aberystwyth University 1929
55 May 2014 University of Nottingham 2017
612 May 2014 University of Birmingham 3425

Series 5

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
127 April 2015 Cardiff University 3129
29 May 2015 [fn 1] University of Manchester
  • Biology
  • American studies
  • Medicine
2236
311 May 2015 University of Essex 3141
418 May 2015 De Montfort University 3028
525 May 2015 Aston University
  • Law
  • Psychology
  • Computer science
2238
61 June 2015 University of Surrey 2535

Series 6

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
19 May 2016 University of York
  • History of art
  • Theatre, film and television studies
  • Physics
2230
216 May 2016 University of Gloucestershire 2032
323 May 2016 University of Chester 2726
430 May 2016 University of Glasgow
  • Earth sciences
  • Medicine
  • Astrophysics and cosmology
2233
56 June 2016 Birmingham City University 2529
613 June 2016 University of Bath
  • Biology
  • Politics
  • Maths
1730

Series 7

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
122 May 2017 University of Roehampton 2233
229 May 2017 Queen's University Belfast
  • History
  • Medicine
  • English
2430
35 June 2017 University of Derby 2726
412 June 2017 St John's College, Cambridge
  • History
  • Human, social and political sciences
  • Physics
2232
519 June 2017 University of Hull
  • American studies
  • History
  • Business and management
2227
626 June 2017 University of Liverpool 3132

Series 8

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
125 June 2018 Newcastle University
  • Physiological sciences
  • Sociology
  • Media and communication studies
3030
22 July 2018 University of Hertfordshire 2329
39 July 2018 University of Dundee 1932
416 July 2018 Merton College, Oxford
  • Biology
  • Classics
  • History
3926
523 July 2018 University of Sheffield 2431
630 July 2018 Brunel University
  • Politics
  • Theatre
  • Computer science
2730

Series 9

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
122 July 2019 Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Criminology
  • English
  • Law
2736
229 July 2019 University of Aberdeen
  • Linguistics
  • Law
  • Music
2725
35 August 2019 University of Plymouth
  • Geology
  • History
  • Human biosciences
2433
412 August 2019 St Catharine's College, Cambridge 2933
519 August 2019 University of Brighton 2438
626 August 2019 Oxford Brookes University 2623

Series 10

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
129 June 2020 Bournemouth University
  • Psychology
  • Nursing
  • Economics
2829
26 July 2020 Imperial College London 2139
313 July 2020 University of Reading
  • Linguistics
  • Law
  • Film and theatre studies
1732
420 July 2020 Durham University 3630
527 July 2020 Ulster University 2540
63 August 2020 Mansfield College, Oxford
  • English
  • Physics
  • Theology
2336

Series 11

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
131 May 2021University of Southampton
  • Biological Sciences
  • Fashion Design
  • Film studies
2931
27 June 2021 University of Cumbria 2832
314 June 2021 Brasenose College, Oxford
  • Philosophy
  • Law
  • Chemistry
3221
421 June 2021Anglia Ruskin University3830
528 June 2021University of Northampton2425
65 July 2021 Nottingham Trent University 2937

Series 12

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
120 June 2022 University College London 1529
227 June 2022 Leeds Beckett University
  • Journalism
  • Sport and exercise science
  • English literature
2929
34 July 2022 Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
  • History
  • Physics
  • Economics
2933
411 July 2022 University of Warwick 3327
518 July 2022 Bangor University 2641
625 July 2022 Lancaster University
  • Marketing
  • French studies
  • English literature
3131

Series 13

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
13 July 2023University of Exeter1835
210 July 2023 University of Strathclyde 1323
317 July 2023 Somerville College, Oxford 2241
424 July 2023 Keele University
  • Film studies
  • Medicine
  • Law
2929
531 July 2023 King's College London 3237
67 August 2023 University of Portsmouth 2328

Series 14

EpisodeDate broadcastUniversitySpecialist subjectsStudents scoreDons score
114 July 2024University of Leicester2734
221 July 2024 University of St Andrews
  • English
  • Computer science
  • Philosophy
3130
328 July 2024 Loughborough University 2339
44 August 2024 Falmouth University
  • Film studies
  • Journalism
  • Creative writing
2933
511 August 2024 Robinson College, Cambridge 3128
618 August 2024University of East Anglia
  • Physics
  • History
  • Biology
3133

See also

Footnotes

  1. Episode delayed due to coverage of the 2015 BBC Food and Farming Awards.

References

  1. "The 3rd Degree". UKGameshows. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Weaver, Iain (8 May 2011). "Weaver's Week 2011-05-08". UKGameshows. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  3. Mahoney, Elisabeth (1 March 2011). "Radio review: The Third Degree". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  4. "Rose d'Or nominees announced with more master class speakers". Rose d'Or. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2015.