Qualifications explained
All you need to know about qualifications and how they work together.
Like all Scottish colleges and universities, we use the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework( SCQF) levels to describe our courses.
It shows how you can build up credits to gain the qualification you want; transfer credits onto other courses; and compare levels across different courses and qualifications.
Remember- there’ s no one set or right way to progress through school, college, university and into the job you want. And one of the benefits of college is how flexible your route can be, with so many options available to suit your own circumstances. You can even take time out of your studies and pick them up again at a later stage.
Higher Education( HE) Qualifications Explained
Higher National Certificates( HNC)
SCQF Level 7 – the equivalent to year 1 at university
HNCs are normally completed in one year full-time or in two years with part-time study. Upon successful completion of an HNC, you have options which may include progressing to an HND at Fife College, or a degree with one of our partner universities( often entering the degree course in year 2), or employment.
Higher National Diplomas( HND)
SCQF Level 8 – the equivalent to year 2 at university
An HND is two years of study if done as a fulltime course. If you’ re progressing from HNC, you will go straight into the second and final year of the HND. They give you the option of progressing through to a degree( often entering year 3 of the degree course) or employment.
Degrees
SCQF Levels 9( Degree) and 10( Honours Degree)
We have over 600 routes to a wide range of degree courses at other institutions, with the benefit of studying the first one or two years locally. And working alongside our partner universities, we also offer a great range of degrees right on your doorstep at Fife College campuses, so that you can study your whole degree at Fife College. These degrees are awarded by our university partners so are the same as those issued to their own students.
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