Diploma

A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or official document of diplomacy.

The diploma (as a document certifying a qualification) may also be called a testamur, Latin for "we testify" or "certify" (testari), so called from the word with which the certificate begins; this is commonly used in Australia to refer to the document certifying the award of a degree. Alternatively, this document can simply be referred to as a degree certificate or graduation certificate, or as a parchment. The certificate that a Nobel laureate receives is also called a diploma.

The term diploma is also used in some historical contexts, to refer to documents signed by a monarch affirming a grant or tenure of specified land and its conditions (see Anglo-Saxon charters and diplomatics).

In Australia, there are three varieties of Diploma currently recognized by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF):

The Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Graduate Diploma are all forms of Degrees, with a Diploma (Level five) qualification, being the entry level for Higher Education.

The "Vocational Graduate Diploma" was a short lived AQF qualification equivalent to the "Graduate Diploma", intended to be delivered exclusively in the VET sector. On 1 January 2015, all such qualifications being offered lost the word "Vocational" from their title.

In Ontario, Canada, diplomas are two and three year academic post-secondary programmes taught by colleges and institutes of applied studies, arts, and technology. Two year programmes are referred to as college diplomas, while three year programmes are called Ontario College Advanced Diplomas. Baccalaureate degrees in Ontario are commonly a year longer than an Advanced Diploma and are offered by both colleges and universities. The Canadian school system uses credits to calculate the value of a course load towards a diploma. To graduate and earn a diploma, the school decides how many credits each course contributes towards the diploma. For example, one college course delivered over 14 weeks of a semester counts for 3 credits towards the 60 credits for a complete 2-year program.

In Germany, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and other countries that adopted the German academic education system, diploma (in German Diplom) is the standard academic degree, needing at least 3.5 years to complete it, being comparable with a bachelor's and master's degree in one.