International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011

Framework adopted by the UNESCO in 2011 to classify educational activities as defined in programmes and the resulting qualifications into internationally agreed categories (levels and fields of education).

Comment

ISCED 2011 (levels of education) has been implemented in all EU data collections since 2014. ISCED levels are defined as follows:

  • Level 0 – Early childhood education
  • Level 1 – Primary education
  • Level 2 – Lower secondary education
  • Level 3 – Upper secondary education
  • Level 4 – Post-secondary non-tertiary education

Tertiary education:

  • Level 5 – Short-cycle tertiary education
  • Level 6 – Bachelor or equivalent level
  • Level 7 – Master or equivalent level
  • Level 8 – Doctoral or equivalent level.
Source

UNESCO, 2011.

Related term(s)
European qualifications framework for lifelong learning (EQF)
European Skills/Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO)
International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08)
Statistical classification of economic activities in the European communities (NACE)