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National Framework for Qualifications (and the MA)

  • 03-04-2008 3:51pm
    #1
    Stabshauptmann
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,885 ✭✭✭


    Heya,

    I've a few NFQ questions and thought maybe some of the knowledgeable people here might have the answer.

    what's the difference between an ordinary bachelors degree and an honours bachelor degree?
    How do I know which course is what?

    Does anybody know where the Trinity MA fits into the NFQ? I've heard that its only level 8 as opposed to other masters which are level 9. Is this true?


    Are professional diplomas included on the scale?


Comments

  • #2
    xeduCat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 793 ✭✭✭xeduCat


    By MA do you mean a 'real' or 'pretend' (not my words!) masters degree awarded by Trinity? I only ask because there is a thread here once every month about the 'Trinity MA' which is a relatively unusual award that is awarded some years after completing undergraduate degree ('bachelor' in TCD terms). Have a look at older threads if you like about that - but in any case it isn't mapped to the Framework that I know of (and tbh I doubt it ever will).

    OTOH if you mean masters degrees more generally like doing a taught or research masters in some subject or another (what TCD calls M Phil, M Litt, M Sc etc) then they are all level 9 so the level 8 thing isn't true that I know of. As for diplomas-you-do-after-degrees generally, it's supposed to be 'higher diploma' at Level 8 and 'postgraduate diploma' at level 9. I know the NUI institutions have already changed the 'H Dip in Education' into the latter but it's all quite slow (because universities are in practical terms independent when it comes to awarding degrees etc, it's not the same as for ITs and private colleges who get their awards validated by a State body which means the new framework was adopted much quicker.

    An ordinary bachelor degree ('level 7' in the NFQ) is the artist formerly known as a national diploma (in the old system used by RTCs/ITs of cert, diploma, degree). An honours bachelor degree ('level 8') is the artist formerly known as a degree of any sort. All the undergrad degrees given by Trinity (which for now are referred to as 'bachelor' of some sort, i.e. BA, LLB, BBS*, BAI) are, for NFQ purposes, Level 8s. It's possible to get an 'ordinary BA' from TCD in certain circumstances which (varying from course to course) is around three years worth of work (rather than the usual four) and that is supposed to come in at level 7 (again it's an old award and I'm not sure if any formal declaration has been made about it, but that's the intention I recall anyway). However in practice there are only a few 'ordinary BAs' in any given year in TCD. Most of the Level 7 awards in Ireland, so far, are the used-to-be-diplomas-now-ordinary-degrees that you get in an IT which (usually but not always) take three years if you go into them directly. Level 8 awards are given out by lots of different institutions and can be 3, 4 or (in some cases) 5 years.



    * Bachelor of B...s..t (nah, it's Business Studies, but I can't help myself)


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