The HCT credential characteristics of its higher diploma programs prepare graduates for positions within a profession. Higher Diploma degrees are awarded to students who have demonstrated the following:
- Knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles of their field of study, and of the way in which those principles have developed (GO1, GO2, GO7);
- An ability to select and use tools and technologies appropriate for their field of employment (GO4, GO7);
- An ability to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, including, where appropriate, the application of those principles in an employment context (GO7);
- Knowledge of the main methods of enquiry in their subject(s), and ability to evaluate critically the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems in the field of study (GO2, GO7);
- An understanding of the limits of their knowledge, and how this influences analyses and interpretations based on that knowledge (GO2, GO5);
- An ability to use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data, and to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis (GO2, GO4, GO5, GO8);
- An ability to effectively communicate information, arguments, and analysis, in a variety of forms, to specialist and non-specialist audiences, and deploy key techniques of the discipline effectively (GO1, GO4, GO8);
- An ability to identify, analyze and communicate solutions to a range of environmental and ethical issues relating to their field of study in both global and UAE contexts (GO1, GO2, GO3);
- An ability to undertake further training, develop existing skills, both individually and as a team member, and acquire new competences that will enable them to assume significant responsibility within organizations (GO5, GO6); and
- Qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making (GO1-8).
