Different types of higher education courses

Because everyone is different with different career goals and different styles of learning, there are lots of different types of higher education courses.

Which type of course you choose will depend on your current situation, your plans for the future and the way you like to learn.

Read about the main types of HE qualifications below to see which one might suit you.

Honours degrees

• Honours degrees are academic higher education qualifications that help you develop a thorough understanding of a subject.
  

• Honours degrees are often subject based rather than focusing on a specific profession so they can offer a wide range of employment options.
  

• There are a huge number of subjects to choose from like Ancient History and Archeology to Outdoor Adventure and Ocean Exploration.
  

• Honours degrees are not all book-based learning and depending on the subject you choose, there can be lots of practical learning too.
  

• Honours degrees normally take 3 to 5 years to complete if you study full-time but you can also study for them part-time or by flexible or distance learning.

For more information go to

direct.gov.uk - Bachelor Degrees

Foundation degrees

• Foundation degrees are employment-related qualifications that provide professional development in a broad range of vocational areas from Chemical Technology and Commercial Music, to Police Studies, Textiles or Tourism.
  

• They have been designed jointly by universities, colleges and employers which means you will be training for the skills that employers think are important.
  

• Foundation degrees usually take 2 years to complete full-time but many people choose to study part-time or by flexible learning, often while working.
  

• Foundation degrees are valuable qualifications in their own right, but you can usually progress to an Honours degree through further study sometimes referred to as a 'top-up year'.

For more information go to

www.fdf.ac.uk

www.foundationdegree.org.uk

direct.gov.uk - Foundation Degrees

Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas

• HNCs and HNDs are work-related courses.
  

• They are available in a wide range of subjects from Accounting to Video Production.
  

• HNCs are often studied part-time over 2 years by students who are also working while HNDs take 2 years full-time to complete, or longer part-time.
  

• HNCs can allow entry into the second year of an honours degree and HNDs allow entry into the second or third year.

For more information go to

direct.gov.uk - HNDs and HNCs

Higher Education Diplomas and Certificates

• You can study for a range of Higher Education Diplomas in subjects as varied as Accounting, Construction, Engineering, Nursing, and Textile Design.
  

• Higher Education Diplomas usually take 2 years to complete.
  

• You can normally convert your Higher Education Diploma to a degree with an extra year of study.
  

• Higher Education Certificates are academic rather than vocational qualifications and usually take 1 year of full-time study to complete.