Pan-Canadian qualifications frameworks

The Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework was adopted in 2007 by provincial and territorial ministers responsible for postsecondary education in Canada. It is part of the overarching Ministerial Statement on Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada. In addition to the Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework, the statement outlines procedures and standards that provide general guidelines on assessing the quality of new degree programs and new degree-granting institutions.

You may also obtain information on the academic credentials offered in Canada's education systems.

What is a qualifications framework?


A qualifications framework acts as a reference document to help place individual qualifications within their respective education systems. It is a tool that:
  • describes the main purposes and learning expectations for each qualification in a particular education system, and the relationship between the different qualifications;
  • provides the continuum of learning expectations along which any new qualifications can be placed in that education system;
  • provides a context for policies on credit transfer and qualification recognition that facilitate lifelong learning;
  • assists in comparing one's own standards with those in other education systems, whether for purposes of study elsewhere or the export of programs to other jurisdictions.

A qualifications framework is an important recognition tool that facilitates the mobility of internationally trained individuals between countries that have different education systems and issue different qualifications.

You may read more about qualifications frameworks.