Qualifications - What does my Education count for?

[freshheir 6]

Hi there,

 

So my Green Card was just approved and I'm preparing to start applying for work. I understand pretty much any job will want to know my education and I'm not sure where my education stands to an American standard. See I went to Canada's Sheridan College (considered an "art school" by many) for a very extensive "art" program (it was theatre production - set design, building, props, management etc). 
 

My program was called an "Advanced Diploma" because it was a 3 year college program. In the US, I understand that anything called a diploma is referring to high school. And Canada doesn't have Associates Degrees. I also feel that calling what I have an associates degree is selling myself short, because it was a 3 year program, not 2. This also means it also wasn't a bachelor's degree.

 

How do I determine what to call my qualification? Is there a way for me to find out?

 

Thanks

Edited August 8, 2017 by freshheir

[cyanmavi 101]

25 minutes ago, freshheir said:

Hi there,

 

So my Green Card was just approved and I'm preparing to start applying for work. I understand pretty much any job will want to know my education and I'm not sure where my education stands to an American standard. See I went to Canada's Sheridan College (considered an "art school" by many) for a very extensive "art" program (it was theatre production - set design, building, props, management etc). 
 

My program was called an "Advanced Diploma" because it was a 3 year college program. In the US, I understand that anything called a diploma is referring to high school. And Canada doesn't have Associates Degrees. I also feel that calling what I have an associates degree is selling myself short, because it was a 3 year program, not 2. This also means it also wasn't a bachelor's degree.

 

How do I determine what to call my qualification? Is there a way for me to find out?

 

Thanks

I am not sure what exactly to advise in your situation but just wanted to let you know that you are misguided in thinking that anything called a diploma refers to high school in the US. A college diploma is a college diploma, even doctorates get diplomas.

I remember seeing a post where someone mentioned a institution where you can get your diploma evaluated, I don't remember the details, you can give the search button a try.

Also depending on what you want to do, your past work experience and the kind of job you are looking for, your diploma credentials might not matter in your case. If you are gonna apply to school, you can contact the admissions office directly at the school and get your diploma and your transcript evaluated that way.

Good luck!

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

30 minutes ago, freshheir said:

Hi there,

 

So my Green Card was just approved and I'm preparing to start applying for work. I understand pretty much any job will want to know my education and I'm not sure where my education stands to an American standard. See I went to Canada's Sheridan College (considered an "art school" by many) for a very extensive "art" program (it was theatre production - set design, building, props, management etc). 
 

My program was called an "Advanced Diploma" because it was a 3 year college program. In the US, I understand that anything called a diploma is referring to high school. And Canada doesn't have Associates Degrees. I also feel that calling what I have an associates degree is selling myself short, because it was a 3 year program, not 2. This also means it also wasn't a bachelor's degree.

 

How do I determine what to call my qualification? Is there a way for me to find out?

 

Thanks

What does the Canadian high school look like?  How long do you go to school for?  

I'm asking because in Sweden where I'm from we go one year longer, we graduate hs the year we turn 19 and we also have concentrations for the entirety of the hs education, such as natural sciences, social sciences and many others. This means that our pre-requisites are baked in to our hs and our BSc diplomas are therefore 3 years not 4 and also translated as such. Is there any such similar system in Canada?

I agree with the previous poster. In your case I would get my credentials evaluated if you want to know how it translates. You can also just write in your resume that it is a Canadian diploma inbetween Associate and Baccalaureate. I have one degree that's midway between a MSc and PhD and an explanation worked fine. 

I also believe that in your line of business there are so many different kinds of educations and levels thereof that I really can't see an employer being either surprised nor confused.

Good luck!

[Cryssiekins 976]

I know what you're saying!  The common terms here are different than in Ontario.

 

I have a diploma from Humber in Toronto and am a licensed paralegal in Ontario.

 

When I moved to NY, I simply listed Humber College and the program on my resume.

 

My job titles and descriptions were enough to get me and interview and that's when I could explain face to face.  Luckily I live in a border town so it wasn't such an uphill batter, but even now my boss refers to my college diploma as a degree. 

[freshheir 6]

2 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I also believe that in your line of business there are so many different kinds of educations and levels thereof that I really can't see an employer being either surprised nor confused.

This is very true, and I think that this will definitely apply in about a year when we move into a city. Right now my husband is finishing his Bachelor's in a very very small town and we are sort of in the middle of nowhere so my artistic career is limited without long commutes that I will admit I will not commit to (I did that while in Canada and it was something I knew I didn't want in my life, even with necessary sacrifices), so in the meantime I am looking for pretty much anything local to get me by. In this situation, having a post-secondary education might mean more, but it's specifics not meaning so much. In that case, I'm not sure what to put on the job applications for 'education'. But with what cyanmavi said, if I can write in my own response I will say "Advanced Diploma" and they should understand it is post-secondary.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

4 minutes ago, Cryssiekins said:

Luckily I live in a border town so it wasn't such an uphill batter, but even now my boss refers to my college diploma as a degree. 

Don't get stuck in the sticky uphill batter!

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 minute ago, freshheir said:

This is very true, and I think that this will definitely apply in about a year when we move into a city. Right now my husband is finishing his Bachelor's in a very very small town and we are sort of in the middle of nowhere so my artistic career is limited without long commutes that I will admit I will not commit to (I did that while in Canada and it was something I knew I didn't want in my life, even with necessary sacrifices), so in the meantime I am looking for pretty much anything local to get me by. In this situation, having a post-secondary education might mean more, but it's specifics not meaning so much. In that case, I'm not sure what to put on the job applications for 'education'. But with what cyanmavi said, if I can write in my own response I will say "Advanced Diploma" and they should understand it is post-secondary.

An Advanced degree in the US is post Bachelor i.e. Master's and PhD, so idk if you should put that. .

[Cryssiekins 976]

10 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

Don't get stuck in the sticky uphill batter!

LOL my phone autocorrects the spelling to the way wny'ers sound when they speak. 

[databit 328]

Diplomas are still offered in the US in technical professions. Once many schools had these but most fell away after the 1970's. One of the longest-lived were Nursing school diplomas offered by teaching hospitals.

 

http://study.com/articles/What_is_the_Difference_Between_a_Certificate_Diploma_and_Degree.html

 

Edited August 9, 2017 by databit

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

44 minutes ago, databit said:

Diplomas are still offered in the US in technical professions. Once many schools had these but most fell away after the 1970's. One of the longest-lived were Nursing school diplomas offered by teaching hospitals.

 

http://study.com/articles/What_is_the_Difference_Between_a_Certificate_Diploma_and_Degree.html

 

I believe the OP (correct me if I'm wrong, that's how I understood it) meant that the word diploma itself has a different meaning in Canada. That it means what degree is in the US. I'm from a non-English speaking country (although we learn English from the age of 6 and sometimes earlier) and we use the words interchangeably - most likely since the English speaking countries use them differently. Before coming to the US I didn't know that they had different meanings here either.

[Cryssiekins 976]

1 hour ago, Suss&Camm said:

I believe the OP (correct me if I'm wrong, that's how I understood it) meant that the word diploma itself has a different meaning in Canada. That it means what degree is in the US. I'm from a non-English speaking country (although we learn English from the age of 6 and sometimes earlier) and we use the words interchangeably - most likely since the English speaking countries use them differently. Before coming to the US I didn't know that they had different meanings here either.

Correct.  

 

Canada awards diplomas for secondary (high school) and then most 2 and 3 year post-secondary at a college.  

 

Degrees are offered for 3-year + programs in some colleges and universities.  

 

Canadian colleges are the equivalent of "community colleges" in the US.  

 

Canada is just silly. 

[databit 328]

2 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

I believe the OP (correct me if I'm wrong, that's how I understood it) meant that the word diploma itself has a different meaning in Canada. That it means what degree is in the US. I'm from a non-English speaking country (although we learn English from the age of 6 and sometimes earlier) and we use the words interchangeably - most likely since the English speaking countries use them differently. Before coming to the US I didn't know that they had different meanings here either.

The reason I made the point was that in previous decades, diplomas from school like hospital nursing schools were treated as a separate category. In history, they were the ONLY category! ADN degrees only started in 1952, and it wasn't until 1960 that the American Nurses Association began pushing for the BSN. So diploma and degree at the college level are not interchangeable terms in the US, and never have been. 

 

However, nurses from these 3-year diploma programs still qualify  for a license. I think the last one just closed this year, only one I found: https://www.bridgeporthospital.org/medical-professionals/bhsn.aspx

[cyanmavi 101]

I found these:

http://gceus.com/

http://www.foreigntranscripts.com/

[NikLR 13,232]

At the very least it is the equivalent of an associate's degree (which is a 2 year diploma in Canada).   

I don't think it's silly at all to differentiate between a college and a university by saying ALL colleges offer 2 year diplomas or 3 year associates degrees and ALL universities only offer 4 year+ degrees.   IMHO the USA makes it harder by saying colleges and universities are the same but a community college is less than. 

 

I agree with getting your degree evaluated.  A 3 year degree is a bit of an odd duck down here. 

[Boiler 46,284]

 Does it matter? The jobs you will be looking at will require probable graduating High School and you can tick that box.