ISCED Defined Levels of Education
| Level | Description | Principal characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Early childhood education | initial stage of organized instruction, designed primarily to introduce very young children to a school-type environment and to develop their cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills. |
| 1 | Primary education or first stage of basic education | normally starting between the ages of 5 and 7, designed to give a sound basic education in reading, writing and mathematics along with an elementary understanding of other subjects. |
| 2 | Lower secondary education or second stage of basic education | designed to complete basic education, usually on a more subject-oriented pattern. It builds upon the learning outcomes from ISCED level 1and aims to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and human development. |
| 3 | Upper secondary education | more specialized education typically beginning at age 15 or 16 years and/or completes secondary education in preparation for tertiary education, or to provide skills relevant to employment, or both. |
| 4 | Post-secondary non-tertiary education | captures programmes that straddle the boundary between upper- and post-secondary education from an international point of view, e.g. pre-university courses or short vocational programmes aimed to preparing individuals for labour market entry as well as tertiary
education. The individual acquires knowledge, skills and competencies below the high level of complexity characteristic of tertiary education. |
| 5 | Short-cycle tertiary education | tertiary programmes having an advanced educational content, cross-classified by field (see below). The individual is provided with professional knowledge, skills and competencies, but below the level of Bachelor. |
| 6 | Bachelor or equivalent | tertiary programmes providing participants with intermediate academic and/or professional knowledge, skills
and competencies, cross-classified by field (see below). These programs lead to a first degree or equivalent qualification. |
| 7 | Master or equivalent | tertiary programmes providing participants with advanced academic and/or professional knowledge, skills and
competencies, cross-classified by field (see below). These programs have a substantial research component leading to a second degree or equivalent qualification, but do not yet lead to a doctoral qualification. |
| 8 | Doctoral or equivalent | tertiary programmes leading to the award of an advanced research qualification, e.g. Ph.D., cross-classified by field (see below). Doctoral programmes exist in both academic and professional fields and are only offered by research-oriented tertiary educational institutions such as universities. |
| Education not definable by level | Programmes for which there are no entrance requirements. |
Read more about this topic: International Standard Classification Of Education
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