The Awarding Bodies - The Honorable Society of King's Inns

Awarding Bodies are organisations that are authorised to make awards, certification, or award qualifications

Listing Awarding Bodies

WhichCollege.ie provides an overview of awarding bodies operating in Ireland, the UK, and internationally. While many postgraduate qualifications are issued by organisations with statutory authority, a wide range of professional bodies also grant their own awards linked to advanced study. Although most Irish courses lead to qualifications from domestic awarding bodies, some programmes result in international or non‑Irish awards, depending on the institution or field of study.

A number of Irish institutions act both as education providers and as awarding bodies in their own right. This includes the Irish universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), which have the authority to confer postgraduate qualifications.

An academic award (whether a degree, diploma, or certificate) is granted when a learner successfully completes a recognised programme of higher education at undergraduate or postgraduate level. These awards are issued by designated awarding bodies and are aligned with the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The NFQ distinguishes between major and non‑major awards, with the latter covering minor, special‑purpose, and supplemental awards.

Major awards represent the primary qualification type at each NFQ level and correspond to substantial learning achievements. Examples include an Honours Bachelor Degree at Level 8, a Master’s Degree at Level 9, and a Doctoral Degree at Level 10.

Recent legislative changes have streamlined Ireland’s qualifications system, reducing the number of statutory awarding bodies. The responsibilities previously held by organisations such as the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), the National Council for Vocational Awards (NCVA), Solas, Teagasc, CERT, and Bord Iascaigh Mhara have been consolidated under the awards councils FETAC and HETAC.

Below, WhichCollege.ie outlines the awarding bodies responsible for certification across Ireland and the UK.

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The Honorable Society of King's Inns (HSKI) is the institution that controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland.

The primary focus of King’s Inns is the training of barristers. Law students who wish to take the Barrister-at-Law degree do so through the Society. They also admit graduates to the Bar of Ireland.

Education and Training

King’s Inn offers students both full-time and part-time training courses. King’s Inns also runs a two year part-time Diploma in Legal Studies. This is especially relevant for students who do not hold a law degree but who wish to become barristers. The course involves the study of substantive law. Graduates of the diploma are in the same position as those who have completed a law degree. They can then enter the Barrister-at-Law degree programme.

History of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns

The Honorable Society of King’s Inns is the oldest institution of legal education in Ireland. It was founded in 1541 during the reign of Henry VIII. The king granted the Society the lands and properties on which the Four Courts now stand but which were then occupied by a Dominican monastery. When the Four Courts were built in the 1790s, King’s Inns moved to Constitution Hill.

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