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Tool IV · Diploma Supplement

Reading a Diploma Supplement, section by section

A diploma names a degree. The Diploma Supplement explains it – to an employer, a university or an authority that has never seen the institution that awarded it.

Primary sourceDiploma Supplement template (2018)
Sources checked26 October 2026
Reading time3 min
Polish versionSuplement do dyplomu →

In a nutshell

A diploma is short: a name, a degree title, a seal. Abroad, that is often not enough – nobody knows what a given title means in another country's system. The Diploma Supplement is a longer document attached to the diploma that answers exactly those questions.

It always has the same eight sections in the same order, so an employer in Madrid and a university in Warsaw know where to look for the level, the content and the results of studies.

Sources: [1] [2]

In short
1996–98The Supplement was developed by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and UNESCO-CEPES.
8sections, always in the same order.
2003Berlin: every graduate to receive it automatically and free of charge.

What it is

The Diploma Supplement describes the holder's learning outcomes and the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies completed. Its aim is transparency: making a qualification readable for people outside the system that issued it.

It was developed between 1996 and 1998 by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and UNESCO-CEPES. The latest version was adopted as Appendix IV of the Paris Communiqué in 2018, together with explanatory notes.

Sources: [1] [2]

The eight sections

  1. The holder of the qualification – name, date of birth and, where available, a student identification number.
  2. The qualification – its name and any title it confers, the main fields of study, the awarding institution and its status, and the language of instruction.
  3. Level and duration – where the qualification sits in the national and European frameworks, its workload in credits or years, and the entry requirements.
  4. Programme and results – mode of study, learning outcomes, the courses taken with credits and grades, the grading system and the overall classification.
  5. Function of the qualification – whether it gives access to further study and to a regulated profession.
  6. Additional information – certified achievements beyond the programme, such as placements, and where to find more information.
  7. Certification – date, name and signature of the responsible official, and the institution's stamp.
  8. The national higher education system – a short description of the country's system: access, qualifications framework, types of institution and quality assurance.

Sources: [2]

What graduates can expect

In the Berlin Communiqué of 2003 ministers set a clear goal: every student graduating from 2005 onwards should receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge, in a widely spoken European language.

The Lisbon Recognition Convention also asks its parties to promote the Supplement, or a comparable document, among their higher education institutions (Article IX.3).

Sources: [3] [4]

What this means for you

  • Graduates: keep the Supplement with your diploma and send both when applying abroad.
  • Employers: section 3 gives the level, section 4 the content and grades, section 5 whether the degree opens a regulated profession.
  • Recognition offices: section 8 explains the system the degree comes from.

Sources: [2]

In Poland

In Polish the document is called suplement do dyplomu. Under the Act on Higher Education and Science (Article 77), a university issues the diploma together with the supplement, and two copies of each, within 30 days of graduation. A student who asks before graduating also receives a copy of the supplement in English or in another foreign language in which the programme was taught. The layout of the supplement is set in Annex 3 to the national regulation on studies.

From 1 January 2027 the rules change. The diploma and the supplement are issued free of charge in electronic form within 30 days. On request, the university also issues – free of charge – an electronic copy of the supplement in English. Paper versions, including a copy of the supplement in Polish and English, are prepared on request and only after the electronic documents have been issued. The change was introduced by acts of 2023 and 2025.

For additional copies the regulation sets a fee of 20 zł – for example for a further copy of the supplement in a foreign language, or for a duplicate (§ 36).

Sources: [5] [6] [7]

Sources

  1. EHEA – Diploma Supplement
  2. Diploma Supplement template (2018), Paris Communiqué Appendix IV
  3. Berlin Communiqué (2003)
  4. Council of Europe – Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (ETS No. 165), text
  5. Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce), Dz.U. 2018 poz. 1668 as amended; ISAP, unified text as of 16 October 2026
  6. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1837 – Act of 21 November 2025 amending, among others, the Act on Higher Education and Science (electronic diplomas from 1 January 2027)
  7. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1207 – Consolidated text of the Polish regulation on studies (rozporządzenie w sprawie studiów)

Sources checked on 26 October 2026. Official documents are linked, not republished.