Listing Awarding Bodies
Postgrad.ie lists all of the awarding bodies in Ireland, the UK and abroad. Most major postgraduate awards are made by bodies with statutory powers, but there are also many professional organisations that make their own awards in relation to postgraduate study. While courses and educational programmes in Ireland lead to qualifications from Irish awarding bodies, it sometimes be the case that courses lead to non-Irish awards, for example awards from international bodies, or national awards from other countries.
Certain Irish institutions are both providers of courses and programmes and also awarding bodies for postgraduate certification in their own right: these are the Irish universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT).
An award is an academic qualification (degree, diploma or certificate) conferred in recognition of the successful completion of a higher education programme of study, either at undergraduate or postgraduate level, and issued by a designated awarding body. The National Framework of Qualifications sets out the criteria for major and non-major awards. Non-major awards include, minor awards, special purpose awards
and supplemental awards.
Major awards are the principal class of awards made at a given NFQ level and reflect a significant volume of learning, e.g. Honours Bachelor Degree (NFQ, Level 8), Master Degree (NFQ, Level 9), Doctorate Degree (NFQ Level 10).
In Ireland, following the changes in the qualifications system as a result recent legislation, the number of statutory bodies has been reduced as the new awards councils FETAC and HETAC have assumed the the awarding functions previously fulfilled by several other Irish organisations such as the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), National Council for Vocational Awards (NCVA), Solas, Teagasc, the National Tourism Certification Board (CERT) and Bord Iascaigh Mhara.
Postgrad.ie lists all of the awarding bodies giving postgraduate certification in Ireland and the UK below.
The Institute of Public Administration (IPA) is Ireland’s only public service development agency. The IPA focuses exclusively on public sector development.
History of Institute of Public Administration (IPA)
The IPA was founded in 1957. It is the main provider of education, training and development services for the public service in Ireland, as well as research services. The IPA offers a wide range of postgraduate programmes in public management.
Qualifications and accreditations
The Whitaker School of Government and Management at the IPA offers more than 30 nationally accredited qualifications. These sit at levels nine and ten on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). Named after T.K. Whitaker, one of Ireland’s most eminent public servants, the School provides third-level programmes in, among other areas, public management, local government, healthcare management, HRM, finance, and business studies.
The IPA is a recognised college of University College Dublin (UCD). From 2012, any student entering an accredited IPA Programme has graduated with a UCD award. The IPA and UCD are part of the wider National University of Ireland (NUI) network.
