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Choosing a degree
Every type of degree on one page, and the ones that aren't real
You've decided to study again, and every prospectus answers in letters: CertHE, FdSc, BA (Hons), PGDip, DBA. Meanwhile an advert offers an MBA "in weeks". Here's a forager's field guide to the types of degrees, and their lookalikes. Know what you hold already? Find yours in five questions.
Two rules before you pick anything
Foragers learn these before their first walk. Degrees have their own pair.
Rule one: a real degree grows from assessed work. The UK frameworks base awards on "the demonstrated achievement of outcomes rather than years of study".
Rule two: only some bodies can award one. GOV.UK warns that "not all colleges that teach degrees can award them".
The real types of degrees, smallest to largest
Two labels. Most kinds of degrees have a harmless double, a real award they're mixed up with, and a poisonous double, the fake that copies the name.
Levels run from 4 to 8 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, SCQF 7 to 12 in Scotland and AQF 5 to 10 in Australia; higher means more advanced. No need to memorise them: each entry gives its own.
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Certificates and diplomas of higher education
University-level study in one- or two-year steps.
Field marks
UK: CertHE and HNC at Level 4 (SCQF 7); DipHE and HND at Level 5 (SCQF 8)
US: certificates below the associate's degree
Australia: undergraduate certificate, diploma, advanced diplomaSize: in England, about one full-time year for a CertHE or HNC, two for a DipHE or HND.
Pick it if: you want to test the water.Leads to: a better job, or a top-up to a bachelor's. Bachelor's courses may build them in as interim awards, so leaving early may still earn one.
Harmless double: an Australian vocational diploma: same name, but outside higher education.
Poisonous double: a "diploma" from a body no register lists. -
Foundation and associate degrees
A two-year degree that can stand alone or lead on.
Field marks
UK: FdA and FdSc at Level 5, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
US: AA, AS, AAS
Australia: associate degreeSize: about two full-time years in England; a US associate's usually takes at least two.
Pick it if: you want an earlier finish line.Leads to: work in the field, or a top-up or transfer into a bachelor's.
Harmless double: the HND, a different award on the same level.
Poisonous double: the express associate degree. -
Bachelor's degrees
The degree graduate jobs ask for.
Field marks
UK: BA, BSc, BEng at Level 6 (SCQF 9, or 10 with honours)
US: BA, BS
Australia: bachelor degreeSize: honours typically takes three full-time years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, four in Scotland; usually at least four in the US; in Australia, typically three, or four with honours.
Pick it if: the jobs you want need a degree.Leads to: postgraduate study, or a career.
Harmless double: the Scottish MA (Hons), which some Scottish universities give to a first degree.
Poisonous double: the life-experience degree. -
Graduate and postgraduate certificates and diplomas
Short courses for people who already hold a degree.
Field marks
UK: graduate certificate and diploma at Level 6; PGCert and PGDip at Level 7 (SCQF 11)
US: postbaccalaureate certificates
Australia: graduate certificate, graduate diplomaSize: in the UK, a certificate normally means at least a third of a full-time year, a diploma at least two-thirds.
Pick it if: you're changing fields.Leads to: a new field, or a step towards a master's.
Harmless double: each other: graduate certificates sit at bachelor's level, postgraduate ones higher.
Poisonous double: a "postgraduate diploma" for experience alone. -
Master's degrees
Advanced study, usually after a first degree, taught or by research.
Field marks
UK: MA, MSc, MBA, MRes, MPhil at Level 7 (SCQF 11), plus integrated master's such as the MEng
US: MA, MS, MBA, MEd, MSW
Australia: masters degreeSize: most UK master's take at least one full-time calendar year; a US master's generally one or two beyond the bachelor's.
Pick it if: you want to go deeper.Leads to: senior and specialist roles, or a doctorate.
Harmless double: the Oxford and Cambridge MAs, which the UK frameworks say "are not academic qualifications".
Poisonous double: the express MBA. -
Doctorates
The highest degree. Most rest on research written up as a thesis; the US MD and JD rest on professional training instead.
Field marks
UK: PhD or DPhil for research, EdD or DBA as professional doctorates, at Level 8 (SCQF 12)
US: PhD; professional practice doctorates such as the MD and JD
Australia: doctoral degreeSize: in the UK, normally the equivalent of three full-time calendar years.
Pick it if: a question won't let you go.Leads to: research and academic posts.
Harmless doubles: higher doctorates, for a substantial body of published research, and honorary degrees, which "are not academic qualifications".
Poisonous doubles: the thesis-free research doctorate and the honorary doctorate with an invoice.
Poisonous lookalikes: the fake degree types
The poisonous doubles from the entries above, decoded:
| The advert says, and means | How to catch it |
|---|---|
| "Your experience is your degree" A life-experience degree: no modules, no assessment | Ask which modules you would take, and how each is assessed |
| "Graduate in weeks, from home" An express degree: delivery time instead of study time | Ask the length and how it's assessed |
| "Dr in months" A thesis-free research doctorate: no thesis anyone can read | Ask the university library for past theses from the programme |
| "Order your honorary doctorate" An honour with a price on it | If you can apply or pay, it isn't honorary |
| "Recognised worldwide" A degree from nowhere: its awarding body is on no register | Search the official register and the warning lists |
Two tells match CHEA's signs of a diploma mill: degrees "based solely on experience or resume review", or in "a very short period of time".
Take a spore print. A real degree leaves two: an awarding body on a register, and a transcript of modules and marks its registry will confirm. Before you enrol, check the register and ask how modules are assessed.
Which one is yours? Key it out
Foragers name a find with a key of yes-or-no questions.
- Any study after school, or years of work, behind you?
No: a bachelor's, or a smaller first step: a certificate or diploma, or a foundation or associate degree. Ask: "If I start small, can I top up later?"
Yes: go to 2. - Hold a bachelor's degree or higher?
Yes: go to 4.
No: go to 3. - Hold an HND, foundation or associate degree, community college credits or a TAFE diploma?
Yes: a top-up or transfer to a bachelor's. Ask: "How many of my credits will you accept?"
No: a part-time bachelor's, or in England a degree apprenticeship while you work. Ask: "Can my work or past study count as credit?" - Changing field?
Yes: a graduate certificate or diploma, or a conversion master's. Ask: "Will my new field accept it?"
No: go to 5. - Want to answer an original research question?
Yes: a doctorate, often after a master's or MRes. Ask: "Who guides and examines me?"
No: a master's, part-time or online; or, if you already hold a master's, a postgraduate certificate to add a specialism. Ask: "Is it the same award as on campus?"
Say you finished an HND years ago and now manage a team. Question 3 is your stop. You might send:
Hello. I hold an HND in [subject], awarded by [awarding body]. Which body awards your top-up degree, and how many of my credits will count towards it? Thank you, [your name]
Aiming at nursing, teaching or law? Check the rules for licensed professions.
If you can't identify it, don't pick it
That's the forager's golden rule. Look up your awarding body yourself:
- UK: GOV.UK's recognised-degree guide, and the OfS Register for England.
- US: DAPIP (US institutions only) or CHEA's directories of accredited institutions.
- Australia: TEQSA's National Register of Higher Education Providers, searched by provider name.
- Anywhere else: the four-lap register check shows where to look.
Our HND manager would look up the body awarding the top-up, not the college teaching it. If a college names an accreditor, check who accredits the accreditor.
Sources
- QAA: The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies: paragraph 6.12 (outcomes, not years), Table 1 levels, lengths, MA titles, higher and honorary doctorates
- QAA: Higher Education Credit Framework for England: credit per year and award
- QAA: Characteristics Statement, Short-Cycle Qualifications: break-point awards, top-ups
- GOV.UK: What qualification levels mean
- GOV.UK: Check if your university or college can award a degree
- GOV.UK: Become an apprentice
- NCES, US Department of Education: Digest of Education Statistics, Definitions: US degree lengths
- Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011: section 5, award names and AQF levels; section 198, the National Register
- TEQSA: National Register of Higher Education Providers: registered providers
- Study Australia: Australia's education system: bachelor and honours lengths
- CHEA: Important Questions about "Diploma Mills" and "Accreditation Mills": signs of a diploma mill
- CHEA: Find accredited higher education institutions and programmes
- US Department of Education: DAPIP
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