Widening accessEntry from college

As ‘The Place of Useful Learning‘, we have a proud history of inclusivity at the University of Strathclyde. We know that the very best students can come from a diverse range of backgrounds and with a similarly diverse range of qualifications.

HNC & HND qualitications

We welcome applications from prospective students who have, or expect to have, academic credit gained at college through Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) qualifications.

Whether you're progressing from school to college and then onto university, or embarking on a new pathway to university via college as an adult returning to education, we want to make sure that the available pathways are as clearly laid out as possible. This will allow you to plan your route into the right Strathclyde degree course for you.

Applying with HN qualifications

What is articulation?

Articulation agreements with partner colleges

Support for articulating students

Support for care experienced students

University admissions policy

The information provided here describes the eligibility requirements for students to apply for entry to a degree programme offered by the University of Strathclyde. In all cases, entry is governed by the University’s Admissions Policy and is not guaranteed.

It is important to note that the academic credit you are able to bring with you into a degree programme is not always based on SCQF Level alone. The course content that you have studied at college must also be closely matched with the course content of the degree, so that you have the same knowledge and understanding as students who entered the degree course in Year 1.

Not all HNC and HND courses cover the same content, depending on where you study, therefore you are encouraged to make sure that the HN course you hope to attain will be accepted as a valid qualification toward the degree course that you aim to progress into.

Similarly, there are some degree courses where the content taught by the University in Year 1 is professionally accredited, therefore any credit gained at college would, of necessity, only allow you to apply for entry into Year 1 of that degree.

An example of this is the BA Primary Education degree, which requires that students study material accredited by the General Teaching Council of Scotland in Year 1. It is not possible, therefore, to join this degree in any other year.

In all cases where accreditation is required, offers would only ever be made to HN students for Year 1 entry.