When you successfully complete an educational course, a certificate, diploma or degree are conferred on you.

There are several differences between the two qualifications (degree and diploma) and they cannot be used in the same way.

The word degree has many meanings, but academically, it refers to a certification awarded at the university level. For example, the Bachelor of Arts, (B.A.) degree, is awarded when you complete a four-year program of study. It normally requires that, candidate obtain a minimum credit mark. A Master of Arts (M.A.) degree will require two or more years of study with a B.A. as a requirement and you need to pass certain examinations and, usually, the completion of a thesis or other research project.

A diploma, on the other hand, is a document that gives evidence that you have completed a course of study. Any graduate, whether of a university, a post-secondary school, or an eight-week or 6-month course, will receive a diploma. Nursing schools and teacher training colleges issue diplomas and certificates, but they do not award degrees.

Technically, you can safely say a diploma Is next to a degree in terms of hierarchy and weight.