Tuesday, 29.04.2008
Equivalent Qualifications
Remarkable progress has been made in recent years in the area of international recognition of qualifications. It is now possible for people from all over the globe to identify the equivalent of their award in any other country. Read on to discover what your current qualification is worth in Ireland, and the value in your home country of the course you are aiming to apply for...
It is highly advisable that an international student should find out the Irish equivalent of any qualification he/she was awarded already, before selecting a course in Ireland. It would be quite annoying to discover the course you completed in Ireland has the same value as an award you already have! To prevent such an unpleasant situation, the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) provides a service whereby the equivalent level from the National Framework of Qualifications of an international award may be made known to the applicant.
The NQAI is in the process of compiling a database of the second and third level educational awards in other countries. Prospective students, from the countries listed at the International Qualifications Database, can work out their current educational level in an Irish context at this web location. This website also provides information on the value of an Irish qualification in your home country, which is particularly valuable if you plan to return home and work on completing your course in Ireland.
The following guidelines are for those students with an award not from a country listed in the NQAI’s database...
Second Level qualification holders
The Central Applications Office (CAO) is the body responsible for processing school-leavers’ applications to undergraduate courses in Ireland. International students applying to one of Ireland’s 14 Institutes of Technology can avail of a scoring system on the CAO’s website that compares the various international second level qualifications with Ireland’s Leaving Certificate. This information can be found here.
International students, applying for a course not provided by the Institutes of Technology, need to contact the college in question directly. The admissions office will inform the student as to the value they attach to the student’s second level award.
Third Level qualification holders
International students, who are seeking the value that is attached to their third level qualifications in Ireland, need to send the following information to the NQAI:
Completed application form (application forms can be downloaded here
Certified photocopy of the qualification in its original language
Certified photocopy of the transcript/marks sheet/list of subjects studied in the original language
Certified translation of the qualification into English or Irish (if applicable)
Certified translation of the transcript/marks sheet/list of subjects studied into English or Irish (if applicable)
NQAI contact details:
Qualifications Recognition - Ireland,
The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland,
5th Floor Jervis House,
Jervis Street,
Dublin 1,
Ireland.
This service is free of charge and applications take 8 to 12 weeks to process.
NB Exam Scores – It is important to remember that although you may have a qualification that meets the minimum entry requirements of an Irish college, it is usually necessary that you achieved a high score in your exams for your application to be successful. For example, to have a realistic prospect of gaining entry to a degree programme in Ireland, a minimum score of three grade Cs at A level is required in your public (school) examinations. Contact the relevant Irish college if you have any further queries on this issue.
