The step before Level 5
Level 3 Diploma in Business Innovation and Entrepreneurial Skills
If you finished school at Grade 10, or your results do not meet the entry requirements for a Higher National Diploma, this is where you start. Six months at minimum, up to twelve, full time or part time.
It is awarded by Gatehouse Awards in the UK, and it leads directly into a Level 5 HND here or the first year of a UK bachelor's degree. Nothing is repeated and nothing is wasted.
The programme
Completion of Grade 10, high school year 10 or IGCSE equivalent.
The full programme pageWhat you cover
- Fundamentals of Business and Enterprise
- Entrepreneurial Skills and Innovation
- Business Communication and Professional Skills
- Basic Financial Management
- Introduction to Marketing and Digital Media
For parents
This is a real qualification with a UK awarding body behind it, not a bridging course invented by the college teaching it. The point of it is progression: a student who finishes it enters an HND with the foundations already in place.
A degree in three steps
A student who starts here can reach a UK degree in four years, and each step is entered on the strength of the one before it.
- 1
Level 3 diploma
Business foundations, communication and enterprise skills, assessed as you go rather than in an examination hall.
- 2
Level 5 HND
Two years at TIIB, awarded by Pearson, with a paid internship built into the programme.
- 3
Final year of a UK degree
One year abroad, because the diploma before it already carries 240 credits.
Not sure this is the right level
The finder will tell you. Four questions, and it reads the whole catalogue rather than this page.
If this is not the right shape
Questions people ask
Who is the Level 3 diploma for?
Students who have completed Grade 10, or high school year 10, or the IGCSE equivalent, and anyone who does not yet meet the entry requirements for a Level 5 HND.
What can I do after the Level 3 diploma?
Straight into a Level 5 Higher National Diploma at TIIB, or into year one of a UK bachelor's degree. It is designed as the step before, not as a qualification you stop at.
Next steps
- University pathways
Where each qualification sits, and which universities take the credits.
- Fees and funding
What the diploma covers, and how an instalment plan is agreed.
- How to apply
About ten minutes, and your answers save as you go.
If the route starts here
Applications are open for the next intake, and admissions will tell you honestly whether you should start at this level or go straight to a Higher National Diploma.
An admissions counsellor replies within one working day.