Certificate of Continuing Education ( CertCE )
• Equivalent to the first 60 credits of an undergraduate degree .
• On completion , these can be used towards a full undergraduate degree .
Certificate of Higher Education ( CertHE ) and Diploma of Higher Education ( DipHE )
• These are levels within a degree course – a CertHE is the same as one year of study and a DipHE is the same as two years .
• They are often awarded if a student leaves a course early , but can be taken as qualifications in their own right .
Foundation degree
• These have abbreviations such as FdSc ( science foundation degree ) FdA ( arts foundation degree ) and FdEng ( engineering foundation degree ).
• Equivalent to an HND or two-thirds of a bachelors degree .
• They focus on specific job or sector skills , in areas as broad as arts and media management , electronic engineering , healthcare and wildlife conservation . Some include work placements for hands-on learning .
• Most take two years to complete full time , or longer if taken part time .
• Usually students can choose to study for an additional year to gain a full degree .
• Taught at university or college , or often both .
Foundation diploma / foundation year
• These are one-year qualifications that can be a stepping stone to a bachelors degree course for students who want to explore a particular subject area for one year or who don ’ t meet the degree entry requirements .
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My daughter chose a foundation course because she couldn ’ t decide exactly what she wanted to do . We believe this is going to be a great entrance for her into university life .
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Bachelors degree
• Also known as an undergraduate , first or honours degree , this is the most common form of higher education qualification .
• There are different qualification titles but many subjects fall under BSc ( Bachelor of Science ), BA ( Bachelor of Arts ) or BEng ( Bachelor of Engineering ). Other common titles are BM ( Bachelor of Medicine ) and LLB ( Bachelor of Laws ).
• Some subjects , such as psychology or geography , are available as BA and BSc courses . The BSc is likely to have more scientific or technical content while the BA will focus more on human or social aspects of the subject .
• Courses can focus on a single subject ( single honours ) or two subjects ( combined or joint honours , or major / minor ).
• An undergraduate degree usually takes three years of full time study to complete – some courses take four years including a year abroad or a year ’ s work placement .
• Some students choose an integrated Masters degree – usually a three-year bachelors degree which leads straight into a further year of Masters-level study .
You ’ ll find more information about choosing a university course and the application process in section “ Going to university ” page 44 .
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