SQA Advanced Certificates and Diplomas

We are a global awarding body offering qualifications and related services to employers, training providers, professional bodies and colleges. Our SQA Advanced qualifications are for use outside Scotland, providing learners and partners with a variety of course choices.

SQA Advanced qualifications meet the skills needs of employers and the requirements of education professionals.

About SQA Advanced qualifications

Guide to SQA Advanced Qualifications (254 KB)

SQA Advanced qualifications are Higher Education qualifications meeting the needs of employers and enabling advanced entry into many undergraduate degree programmes in universities and higher education institutions across the world.

Developed in partnership with colleges, universities and industry.

Achieving an SQA Advanced Certificate or SQA Advanced Diploma is one of the best ways to develop your career or progress into further studies.

There are SQA Advanced qualification courses in a range of subjects from Business and Computing to Hospitality and Retail so whatever you need, there is a qualification to suit.

Explore our courses

What is an SQA Advanced Certificate or Diploma?

SQA Advanced Certificates and SQA Advanced Diplomas provide practical skills and the theoretical knowledge needed to do a job.

The courses are made up of Units:

SQA Advanced Certificates are made up of 96 SCQF credit points and usually take one year to complete
SQA Advanced Diplomas are made up of 240 SCQF credit points and usually take two years to complete

SQA Advanced qualifications is a pathway to higher education

Learners study in their own country before moving abroad to complete a degree, entering directly into second or third year. This option is a cost effective route to studying abroad and achieving a degree at an international higher education institution.

Diploma to Degree

We make this journey as smooth as possible through our Diploma to Degree programme. SQA has articulation agreements with highly regarded international institutions. These institutions recognise SQA Advanced qualifications for advanced entry.

More about Diploma to Degree

Deliver SQA Advanced qualifications

To get started:

Become a centre - we check your organisation (centre) has the systems in place for delivery of SQA qualifications.
Choose your qualification - we check your centre has the relevant resources to deliver and assess the qualification.

Our team makes the process as smooth as possible.

Deliver these qualifications

Recognition/ Credential Evaluation

SQA's Advanced Certificates and Diplomas have been fully evaluated by a number of organisations, comparing them like for like against other countries education systems. This helps to demonstrate the quality and credibility of our qualifications as they are recognised around the world.

ACEI

The Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute (ACEI) is a Charter and Endorsed Member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE), a not-for-profit professional association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that approves and endorses private credential evaluation services in the U.S. ACEI is dedicated to the advancement of international academic exchange and understanding through the dissemination of information on world educational systems and evaluation of international educational credentials.

The following SQA Advanced Qualifications were evaluated by ACEI to gain an understanding of their value and equivalency in the US education system.

WES Canada

World Education Services Canada are a non-profit organization dedicated to helping international students and professionals achieve their educational and professional goals in the United States and Canada. They evaluate and advocate for the recognition of international education qualifications.

The following SQA Advanced Qualifications were evaluated by WES Canada to gain an understanding of their value and equivalency in the Canadian education system.

UK NARIC

UK NARIC is the designated United Kingdom national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills. They completed a study to benchmark the SQA Advanced Certificate and Advanced Diploma in the context of eight education systems: