In the French Community, the academic grade awarded on completion of the 1st cycle of higher education is known as Bachelor’s. The training leading to the Bachelor degree is provided in both long-type (transition bachelor’s) and short-type higher education (professional bachelor degree).

As mentioned above, Short-type Higher Education in the French Community has a special meaning. It is an education comprising a single cycle of studies of a professional nature.  It cannot therefore be confused with the concept referred to in 7.2.2 : Short-Cycle Higher Education. For the moment, this type of education is only organized by Social Advancement Higher Education institutions. It has the particularity of offering 120 ECTS diploma courses, also part of the 1st cycle of studies. It is the "Brevet d'Enseignement supérieur" (BES), a qualification corresponding to level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework. Later, these studies can be integrated or validated in a short-cycle bachelor degree course.