A Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) is a

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

qualification in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is awarded after two years of full-time study at a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

or other higher education institution. Rated as a Level 5 qualification on both the

Regulated Qualifications Framework The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for ...

for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the

European Qualifications Framework The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) acts as a translation device to make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promoting workers' and learners' mobility between countries and facilitating their lifelong learning. The EQF a ...

, the DipHE was once seen as the more academic equivalent of the

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...

, which was perceived as vocational. However, universities have since integrated both qualifications into the first and second years of an undergraduate honours degree, and they can now be considered equivalent.

Overview

The Diploma certifies that a student has achieved the minimum standard after conclusion of a second year course of

tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

in science or the liberal arts. If a student is undertaking a full

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, a Diploma of Higher Education marks two-thirds of their undergraduate degree. This suggests that the British Diploma ranks ahead of an American

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

(which in American parlance is a two-year undergraduate, or half of a BA/BS). That being stated, American universities generally consider UK Diplomas equivalent to a college-level Associate of Arts even though a British student typically holds more credit hours (and therefore more study time) in the arts, humanities and/or sciences. In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, a DipHE is worth 240 credit points (at least 120 at Level 7 and at least 80 at Level 8) on the

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland. Awards are classified under the framework at ''levels'', and study undertaken at that level is valued ...

. (As a guide, an ordinary degree is worth 360 credit points and an

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

is worth 480 credit points.) They are accredited by the universities, except in the case of nurse, community and youth work education where the curriculum is prescribed by the

Nursing and Midwifery Council The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to prac ...

. Holders are permitted to use the postnominals DipHE, sometimes followed by the course name in brackets and the university from which they earned their qualification. Sometimes, having a DipHE can exempt the holder from some of the requirements of a bachelor's degree; for example, it might reduce the length of study or number of courses necessary to complete the qualification. This typically allows a Diploma holder to obtain a BA/BSc in one-third of the time. Diplomas are generally awarded on a pass/fail basis, and occasionally are awarded with honours when a student has distinguished themself. The two highest honours are Merit and Distinction.

References

{{Academic degrees Education in Scotland Qualifications Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom

Overview

See also

References