It is important that your qualifications are internationally recognised. Transferable qualifications aid mobility, making it easier for you to move from studying to launching a career, or to further study elsewhere. In Europe, a number of instruments have been developed to ensure that your qualifications mean something and are recognised, wherever you choose to go.

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)

The ECTS was introduced to ensure that periods of study abroad were recognised, thereby enhancing the quality and volume of student mobility in Europe. Recently, the ECTS has been developing into an accumulation system and is increasingly becoming a general reference for national credit systems. It supports the objectives of the Bologna Process by making study programmes easy to read and compare for local and foreign students and by facilitating mobility and academic recognition.

The Diploma Supplement (DS)

The non-recognition and poor evaluation of qualifications is now a global problem. The Diploma Supplement is a document attached to a higher education diploma that provides a standardised description of the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies that were successfully completed by the graduate. The Diploma Supplement provides transparency and facilitates academic and professional recognition of qualifications (diplomas, degrees, certificates).

The DS offers students: a diploma that is more readable and easily comparable abroad; a precise description of their academic career and the competencies acquired during the study period; an objective description of their achievements and competencies; easier access to opportunities for work or further study abroad; improved employability.

The European Quality Charter for Mobility

The European Quality Charter for Mobility [PDF: 69.8KB] offers guidance for periods of mobility in another country for the purposes of formal and non-formal learning. It is aimed at students, trainees, volunteers, teachers and trainers, with a view to enhancing their personal and professional development. The Charter consists of ten principles implemented on a voluntary and flexible basis.

The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF)

The EQF aims to link all national qualification systems in the EU by 2010. This will make qualifications more readable and transferable and allow citizens to move more easily to another country to work or study. The EQF will eventually apply to all types of qualifications, from the end of compulsory education onwards. The core of the EQF is its eight reference levels that are not based on learning inputs (length of learning experience, type of institution) but rather learning outcomes (what knowledge the student has acquired).

The ENIC Network (European Network of Information Centres on academic recognition and mobility)

The ENIC Network provides information on: the recognition of foreign diplomas, degrees and other qualifications; education systems in foreign countries as well as the ENIC's own country; opportunities for studying abroad, including information on loans and scholarships, as well as advice on practical questions related to mobility and equivalence.

The NARIC Network (National Academic Recognition Information Centres)

The NARIC Network aims to improve academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study in the Member States of the EU and the EEA countries.