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.
Founded in 1592, Trinity College Dublin is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland. It is Ireland's oldest university. It is also the highest ranked university in the country and one of the world’s top 100.
Overview
Trinity College’s campus is in Dublin city centre, opposite the former Irish Houses of Parliament. The university has three faculties comprising 25 schools. These offer degree and diploma courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Trinity has approximately 17,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university has Past students include the writers Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, the scientists William Rowan Hamilton and Ernest Walton, the political thinker Edmund Burke, and the former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom. It contains over 4.5 million printed volumes, in addition to significant quantities of maps, music and manuscripts. One of the most noteworthy of these is the world-famous Book of Kells.
History
Founded by royal charter, Trinity College helped to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland. Because of this, Trinity was the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history. Because of this, from 1871 to 1970, the Catholic Church in Ireland forbade its adherents from attending Trinity without permission. From January 1904, the university accepted female students.
Rankings
Trinity has the following international rankings:
- 98th in top 100 world universities
- 31st in the world in Nursing
- 32nd in the world for English Language and Literature
- 39th in the world for Modern Languages
- 43rd in the world for Politics and International Studies
