A guide to higher education systems and qualifications in the EU and EEA countries

European Commission Directorate-General For Education And Culture

Description

Education policy

Sujets

• Directory
• Higher education
• Member state of the European Union

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-EDUCATION-AND-CULTURE
• Nombre de lectures: 58
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

EDUCATIO N
TRAININ G
YOUT H
A guide to
higher education
systems and qualificado
in the EU and EEA countries
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION ** *
• *
*w
*
*• *
EDUCATION
TRAINING
(nl) YOUT H
A guide to higher education
systems and qualifications DK
in the EU and EEA countries
EL
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION Every effort has been made to present accurate and up-to-date infor­
mation, but inevitably certain parts of the document may have become
outdated after publication. No responsibility can be accepted by the
European Commission for any errors or omissions in the text, or for
any use which might be made of the information.
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is avail­
able on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Commu­
nities, 1998
ISBN 92-828-2049-1
© European Communities, 1 998
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium Contents
(fr)
Foreword by Edith Cresson 5
INTRODUCTION 7
Ml NATIONAL CHAPTERS
A 11 Austria
Belgium (French-speaking Community) 49 B(fr)
Belgium (Flemish Community) 107 «ni)
D Germany 145
DK Denmark 217
E Spain 273
EL Greece 305
F France 347
DK FIN Finland 401
1 Italy 461
IRL Ireland 525
IS 569 Iceland
L Luxembourg 611
E LI Liechtenstein 637
NL Netherlands 653
NO Norway 693
Ρ Portugal 725
S Sweden 789
EL UK United Kingdom 827
ADDRESSES OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIC
RECOGNITION INFORMATION CENTRES (NARICs) 887
F
III J
FIN Foreword
(fri
This second edition of the guide to higher educa­
tion systems and qualifications in the European
Union and European Economic Area was pub­
lished during a period of change in the national
(ni) education and training systems that will impact not
only on economic competitiveness but also on the
future of European society.
The international scene is increasingly characterised by the globalisation
of economies, the pressure of international competition and the funda­
mental evolution of the labour market towards a skills-dominated
approach. The rich potential of today resides in the production, trans­
mission and exploitation of knowledge.
Education and training therefore play a key role in the emerging social
structures. The Commission has already launched a series of initiatives to
make sure that every European citizen has access to education in the
framework of lifelong learning. The White Paper on the learning society
and the Green Paper on the obstacles to transnational mobility in Europe
in the field of education, training and research are two major steps
towards a European educational area.
For all people within the European Union and the European Economic
Area wishing to study or work outside their own country, this guide is a
EL
welcome source of information. It describes the qualifications awarded
by universities and other institutions for higher education in each
Member State. It is also one of the ways in which the Commission is help­
ing to clarify the situation with regard to professional qualifications in the
international labour market. Employers will find that with the guide's ref­
erence system they will be able to find what they need to know about a
particular diploma quickly and easily.
Finally, the historic political developments that have taken place in cen­
tral and eastern Europe have triggered important changes in education FIN
systems. They will also affect the movement of people in Europe as a whole. I hope that this publication, and its supplement on the central and
eastern European countries, which will be published later, will be of use
to all countries with which the European Union has political, social and
economic relations. It can serve as a valuable reference point when they
compare their own qualifications and systems of higher education with
those of the European Union and the European Economic Area.
I wish to thank everyone who has made this second edition of the guide
to higher education systems and qualifications possible, especially the
national academic recognition information centres (NARICs), who pro­
vided the text for the chapters on the national systems.
Edith Cresson Introduction
(fri The guide to higher education systems and qualifications in the European
Community was first published in 1991. This edition has been extended
to incorporate all the countries in the European Economic Area (EEA)
and accordingly the title has been changed to A guide to higher educa­
tion systems and qualifications in the EU and EEA countries. The first edi­
(ni) tion of the guide contained 12 countries while the current edition deals
with 18 countries but has 19 chapters (Belgium has two chapters, one for
the French-speaking system and the other for the Flemish system). 11 1
The auide is meant to serve educational institutions and also students and
graduates who wish to study in another European Union Member State
or in an EEA country. Besides, it is designed to be used by employers
wishing to assess the qualifications of prospective employees who are
eager to take advantage of the freedom of movement that is available to
them because of the single European market. It should, therefore, assist
in the implementation of the directive for a general system of recognition
DK
of diplomas (89/48/EEC), which came into force on 4 January 1991
and applies to regulated activities which require higher education and
training of at least three years and the complimentary general system
which covers short courses (less than three years) and vocational training
at secondary level. Employers require insignt into the wide variety of cer­
tificates, diplomas and degrees with which they are likely to be confront­
ed. They also need to know how to assess credentials issued within the
context of an education system that can be very different from their own. II
The guide is an attempt to present an EU and EEA-wide approach to the
subject. It is not designed as a mere repertory of the diplomas and EL
degrees awarded. Nor could it pretend to be exhaustive. This would have
lea to meaningless repetition in view of the number of diplomas and the
increasing variety of subjects they cover. Instead, it provides an insight
into the variety of structures within which higher education is offered and
the type of degrees each system is geared to deliver. This should provide
readers with enough background information to enable them to identify
the credentials that are presented to them, place them in their educational
context and make an informed assessment of their value.
The editor of the guide chose not to compare the 19 systems of higher
FIN education or their diplomas and degrees, but instead to present them as
objectively as possible in their respective national contexts. In view of the extreme diversity of structures, any attempt at comparison would have
necessarily introduced a subjective bias, which would be quite the oppo­
site of the aims of the guide.
The guide was prepared in close cooperation with the Community net­
work of the national academic recognition information centres (NARICs)
which were responsible for their country's contribution. The intention was
that all chapters would follow the same model. There are occasional vari­
ations from the common pattern, but circumstances and differences
between systems sometimes made this unavoidable.
Each chapter describes the structure of secondary and tertiary education
in one country, and ends with an overview of the diplomas and degrees
awarded in that country.
The chapters are organised as follows:
(i) a general introduction outlining the legal and political framework
within which education is structured;
(ii) an overview of the types of institutions for higher education and their
specific purposes;
(¡ii) an overview of the structure of secondary education, with descrip­
tions of the various types ofy schooling and of the diplo­
mas that are accepted for admission to higher education;
(¡v) an overview of the structure of higher education, with descriptions of
the various types of study programme and of the diplomas, titles and
degrees associated with them.
Each chapter has several appendices such as lists of diplomas and
degrees and sample study programmes. These are meant for purposes of
illustration and not all lists are complete. Specific educational terms are
deliberately left in the original language so as to avoid any confusion. To
translate them would have involved interpreting their value, which is not
the purpose of the guide. Instead, a glossary at the end of each chapter
explains the key terms.
No publication of this nature can ever be absolutely complete. More
detailed information can be obtained in the Member States from the
NARICs, the addresses of