The National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) is a system used to describe levels of educational qualifications in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. Responsibility for maintaining and developing the framework lies with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland

National Qualifications Authority of Ireland

The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland or NQAI was set up under the Qualifications Act, 1999 to develop and promote the implementation of a National Framework of Qualifications across education and training in Ireland.-The Authority's role:The Authority’s principal tasks are as...

.

Launched in 2003, the NFQ was developed as a means of comparing training and qualifications between institutions of education at all levels. It includes primary school, second level, FETAC, HETAC, Dublin Institute of Technology

Dublin Institute of Technology

Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...

 and university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 courses. The framework consists of 10 levels, ranging from basic certificates to doctoral level. A 'fan diagram' http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/images/FanDec2006.jpg is used to illustrate the progression of the levels.

Framework

EQF European Qualifications Framework European Qualifications Framework is a European Union initiative to create a translating facility for referencing academic degrees and other learning qualifications among EU member states...  level	EHEA European Higher Education Area The European Higher Education Area was launched along with the Bologna Process' decade anniversary, in March 2010, during the Budapest-Vienna Ministerial Conference....  cycle	NFQ National Framework of Qualifications The National Framework of Qualifications is a system used to describe levels of educational qualifications in Ireland. Responsibility for maintaining and developing the framework lies with the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland....  level	Major award types
1		1	Level 1 Certificate
		2	Level 2 Certificate
2		3	Level 3 Certificate Junior Certificate
3		4	Level 4 Certificate Leaving Certificate
4		5	Level 5 Certificate Leaving Certificate
5		6	Advanced Certificate
	Short cycle within 1st		Higher Certificate
6	1st	7	Ordinary Bachelor's Degree
		8	Honours Bachelor's Degree Higher Diploma
7	2nd	9	Master's Degree Post-Graduate Diploma
8	3rd	10	Doctoral Degree Higher Doctorate

External links

• National Framework of Qualifications website
• National Qualifications Authority of Ireland website
• Relationship between the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
  Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
  The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated as CEFR, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries...
  
  and the National Framework of Qualifications