Confused between Trinity level 6 Diploma vs BA (Hons) degree .

[Ballet4Boyz]

Hi everyone...... forgive my confusion regarding higher education qualifications !! I’m hoping someone with more knowledge can clarify things as I’ve ‘googled’ it - but it just throws up conflicting information !!

What is the difference between a level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance compared with a BA (Hons) in Professional Dance & Performance. 

I know they are both 3 year courses and are funded by either Dada or Student loans respectively. 

What I don’t quite understand is if they are deemed equivalent to each other and are they recognised as equivalent to each other by prospective employers in the dance industry. 

Also , if a dance student wished to change career totally, away from dance ..... which qualification would be more recognised by employers in other fields - or are they both regarded in the same way ?? 

Thanks v much 

Edited April 20, 2019 by Ballet4Boyz
Typo

[taxi4ballet]

From what I've learned, the dance industry looks at where you trained, not the name of the qualification.

 

Outside dance, then to the general public maybe a degree might be more useful as a qualification, and more likely to open doors to graduate careers in other fields.

[Ballet4Boyz]

Thanks taxi - that’s great !! 😊

 

[Ballet4Boyz]

I’m happy to be corrected but there seems to be a lot more college places offering the diploma course compared to schools offering places for the BA (Hons) course (for 16 yr olds) !! 

Does this mean the degree courses have many more applicants for each place available and therefore more competitive to win a place - or do many dance students favour the diploma for other reasons. 

Just trying to get an idea the reasons for choosing a degree course over a diploma & vice versa ??

I’m sure funding must play a part in a lot of decision making for many students .

[Pointetoes]

Funding for a degree is much easier, student loan. Funding for a diploma is dada, scholarship or private funding /loan. 

And because of that we told DD to only apply mainly for degree course. She was lucky and one of the Diploma course she applied for offered her a full scholarship. Our reasoning for this were we are in the unfortunate situation where are household income is too high for a dada but not high enough to be able to afford diploma fees. We also felt that a degree would open more doors to her if she changed direction. Her GCSE dance teacher advised her to do a degree. She had found that her friends who didn’t have a degree struggled to find employment once their careers had ended. Obviously things change over time. 

DD looked very closely at all the courses and has chosen to go down the degree route at a very well known college, so for her the best of both worlds a degree with a top name. 

 

At the end of the day you need to go where you will be happy regardless of anything else. 

Good luck 

[Anna C]

I think your first priority would be the school and its reputation, followed by likelihood of graduate employment and then funding.  Not everyone is eligible for DaDa funding (or full funding) and it doesn’t usually cover accommodation, just tuition fees.  Accommodation costs on top of uniform, food, exam entry fees etc can mean that some students couldn’t afford to take a place at a DaDa funded or private institution.  Hence it might seem as if many more students are applying for places which offer a degree and attract student funding from SFE et al.

 

SFE offers a loan for either partial or full tuition fees* as well as a means-tested maintenance loan for living costs.  That can make upper school affordable for families on a low income.   

 

*Some schools are only eligible for tuition fee loan of £6250 regardless of how much the fees are.  This could mean a shortfall in tuition fee funding of £3-4500 a year.

 

ETA cross posted with Pointetoes.

 

[Ballet4Boyz]

Thanks Pointetoes - that’s a very helpful insight and you’re right in that happiness is a top priority - as long as the financial side is do-able ! 😊

[Ballet4Boyz]

Thanks Anna - again, really helpful information. I’d also noticed some schools are only eligible for tuition fee loans of £6250, regardless of their fees. This would make a real difference when you may not get a great deal in maintenance loan either. You really have to look into individual colleges & courses so carefully. It would be so easy to end up applying to courses that at the end of the day could prove financially crippling , being offered a place, only to realise it’s not possible to accept the offer. 

[Kate_N]

2 hours ago, Ballet4Boyz said:

What I don’t quite understand is if they are deemed equivalent to each other and are they recognised as equivalent to each other by prospective employers in the dance industry. 

 

As far as I know (I work in HE) they are different things. A BA (Hons) is a degree. A Diploma is usually not the equivalent of a degree - at my place it's seen as equivalent to around 2 years of a degree course. 

 

2 hours ago, Ballet4Boyz said:

are they recognised as equivalent to each other by prospective employers in the dance industry. 

 

If the position sought is as a dancer, the level of qualification really will not matter - it'll be about the quality of the dancer as a dancer. All the degrees or diplomas really will not matter.

 

And no, a future employer in another field would rarely see a Diploma as equivalent to an Honours degree.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Kate_N

[Kate_N]

You might find this Gov.uk site useful: Qualification levels in England, Wales & NI

[Kate_N]

Or this: the official documentation of the QAA - the National Qualifications Framework. 

 

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Yes, a diploma is usually a level 5 qualification and is usually viewed as this by most University Admissions tutors. Therefore a BSc is more easily recognised. However, if changing career path it is easier to get degree funding if you previously studied for Trinity Dip as opposed to a degree.

There is now funding available to do MSc/MAs and even PhD. They do have to be paid back but is only a small amount each month.

[Ballet4Boyz]

Hmmm thanks Kate & Mummy TT, very much food for thought !! 

When you look at the links - it seems to suggest that the level 6 diploma is at an equivalent to the degree which is also level 6. 

I agree though ..... I think an employer from another field would view them differently !!

Thanks for your help - would feel very daunted without the help from forum members 😊

[Bluebird22]

Happy to be corrected on this... but I think funding for the Degree courses from Student Finance is GCSE grade dependent.

This is probably not an issue for most but I have had some students who have found maths hugely problematic, so it’s been discussed!

[Picturesinthefirelight]

They are both Level 6 on the Qualifications Framework so are both the same standard but the diploma does not contain the academic content the degree does. Because of this you can top up the Level 6 diploma to a full degree by completing a distance learning course with a university. 

 

Most degree courses have academic entry requirements the average 16 year old will not have attained yet (the exception being a few classical ballet degree courses where you don’t need Level 3 Qualifications to gain entry) so the diploma is often offered on dance courses who admit 16 year olds. 

 

Also the maximum amount of tuition fees an institution offering the degree course gets is the £9,250 whereas tuition fees for diploma courses are often £12-14k. Some colleges feel they can offer more contact hours etc for the higher amount. 

 

No one looking to employ a performer is going to care about whether you have a degree or diploma. They will only care that someone has trained professionally at a recognised institution and can do the job. 

 

Its only if you want to move into sn area such as teaching in a school or college or a more academic field that a degree can make a difference  

[Ballet4Boyz]

Thanks Pictures ...... very helpful, as always 😊

[2dancersmum]

As pictures said, both qualifications are level 6 on the qualifications framework.

 

The main difference between them in terms of course content is percentage of academic versus percentage of practical. Diploma is approx. 25% academic and the degrees are approx 40% depending on the actual course (can be more). However, you do probably also need bear in mind that terms are often longer for the diploma colleges than some that offer the degree. DD had an extra 8 weeks of term doing a diploma than her friend at Trinity Laban so obviously a lot more hours of practical overall.

 

Trinity offer a top up course to the diploma to convert it to a degree - it is primarily distance learning and designed so that it can be completed when the graduate is already working rather than as a full time student.  Some establishments accept the diploma as entry qualification for MA courses but obviously still in the performing arts - if moving away from performing arts into other fields the diploma is less likely to be accepted.

 

Employers after graduating are not likely to be bothered about which qualification a person has - it still comes down to the audition and probably past experience.