Social:QF-EHEA

Short description: Frameworks describing higher education qualification

Qualifications Frameworks in the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA) are frameworks describing the higher education qualifications of countries participating in the Bologna Process. National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) provide a mapping between higher education qualifications and an overarching framework, allowing the cross-comparison of qualifications from different countries.

The overarching framework was adopted in May 2005 at a meeting of education ministers of the 48 participating countries. It consists of three cycles, approximately equivalent to bachelor's, master's and research doctorates (PhD-equivalent) degrees in the Anglophone world (note that US first professional degrees such as MD and JD are not PhD-equivalent, even though they are titled "doctorates"). A "short cycle" is also recognised within the first cycle, equivalent to British foundation degrees (US associate degrees).

QF-EHEA in Spain

The NQF in Spain is the Marco Español de Cualificaciones para la Educación Superior (MECES) (Spanish Framework for Higher Education Qualification). This replaced the earlier system of diplomado, licenciado and doctor from 2005, with a transitional period lasting until 2013. The mapping to the EHEA framework is:

MECES level	Qualifications	Equivalent EHEA cycle
4	Título de Doctor	Third Cycle
3	Título de Grado universitario con 300 ECTS o más Título de Máster universitario Título de Máster en Enseñanzas Artísticas	Second Cycle
2	Título de Graduado Título de Graduado de las enseñanzas artísticas superiores	First Cycle
1	Técnico Superior de Formación Profesional Técnico Superior de Artes Plásticas y Diseño Técnico Deportivo Superior	Short Cycle

QF-EHEA in the United Kingdom

The NQFs linked to the QF-EHEA are the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Framework for Qualifications of Higher Education Institutions in Scotland (FQHEIS). The FQHEIS was certified as being aligned with the QF-EHEA in 2006 and the FHEQ in 2008.

The levels on the two national frameworks, and their mapping to the QF-EHEA, are as follows:

FHEQ level	FQHEIS level	Qualifications	Equivalent EHEA cycle
8	12	PhD/DPhil Professional doctorates	Third Cycle
7	11	Master's degree Integrated master's degree Primary qualifications (first degrees) in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science	Second Cycle
		PGCE PGDip PGCert	N/A
6	10	Bachelor's degree with honours	First Cycle
	9	Bachelor's degree (ordinary or pass degree)
		Graduate Certificate Graduate Diploma Professional Graduate Certificate in Education	N/A
5	N/A	Foundation degree	Short Cycle
	8	DipHE
	N/A	HND (awarded by a degree-awarding body)
4	N/A	Higher National Certificate (awarded by a degree-awarding body)	N/A
	7	Certificate of Higher Education

QF-EHEA in the Republic of Ireland

The NFQ for Ireland is the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), which spans the full range of educational qualifications available. It was verified as compatible with the EHEA Framework in 2006. The NQF has the following mapping to the EHEA Framework:

NFQ level	Qualifications	Equivalent EHEA cycle
10	Higher doctorate Doctoral degree	Third Cycle
9	Master's degree	Second Cycle
	Postgraduate diploma	Second Cycle (Intermediate qualification)
8	Honours bachelor's degree Higher diploma	First Cycle
7	Ordinary bachelor's degree
6	Higher Certificate	Short Cycle