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Higher Education Prospectus - Qualifications explained
Qualifications explained Don’t be overwhelmed by all the different qualifications. Here’s a handy summary of the main ones on offer at City of Bristol College. Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) These higher-level vocational qualifications are particularly popular within certain industries.
Foundation Degree A Foundation Degree is a higher-level vocational qualification consisting of 240 credits at level four or five.
They can be studied over one or two years and mean you can combine work and study.
Specialist skills and knowledge to maximise your employability in your chosen industry sector
Once you’ve completed your HND or HNC, you could top-up to a Foundation or Honours Degree. HNCs usually earn a minimum of 120 credits and for HNDs it’s 240 credits. Degree A Bachelors, or Honours Degree, usually takes three years of full-time higher level study to complete. It’s designed to give you a thorough understanding of a subject and develop analytical, intellectual and essay/dissertation writing skills. Level 6 degrees are highly attractive to employers and create the possibility of progression to a masters degree or a higher education equivalent.
It’s designed to help you develop:
Practical work experience skills General work skills like reasoning, professionalism and work process management to either supervisory or management level Enhanced skills, including communication, IT and problem solving. We have joined forces with partner universities and employers to design our Foundation Degrees. Most can be studied full-time over two years and some are available part-time over three years. Whether you’ve just left sixth form or college, want to develop your existing career, or change to a completely new one, a Foundation Degree will equip you with the necessary skills for your future. Once you’ve graduated you can choose whether to focus on your career, or carry on studying (usually for just one more full-time year) for an Honours Degree.
