A Higher National Certificate (HNC), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is a

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

/ further education qualification in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Overview

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, an HNC is a '' Higher National'' awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. The attainment level of the qualification is roughly equivalent to 6th year at school, or one year of

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in Scotland, and a Certificate of Higher Education but being less extensive than that of a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside th ...

(HND). Studied full-time, the qualification normally takes one year or two years part-time. Many HNCs cover the same areas as an HND and it is often possible to complete an HND with one year full-time study after successfully completing the HNC. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an HNC (previously a level 5 qualification) is now Level 4 on the

Regulated Qualifications Framework The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are national qualifications framework, qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated ...

. In Ireland, an HNC is considered roughly equivalent to a FETAC level 6 Advanced Certificate; as both contain at least 8 modules/units at IRL level 6 (UK level 4) In Scotland, an HNC is Level 7 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

References

External links

Directgov: Higher National Certificates and Higher National DiplomasHigher National Awards (Engineering Council)

{{National Qualifications Framework Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom