1997 version

ISCED 1997 levels of educationedit

Level	Description	Principal characteristics
0	Pre-primary education	Initial stage of organized instruction, designed primarily to introduce very young children to a school-type environment and to develop their cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills. Designed for children from age 3 to the start of primary education.
1	Primary education or first stage of basic education	Normally starting between the ages of 5 – 7, designed to give a sound basic education in reading, writing and mathematics along with an elementary understanding of other subjects.
2	Lower secondary education or second stage of basic education	Designed to complete basic education, usually on a more subject-oriented pattern. It builds upon the learning outcomes from primary education (ISCED level 1) and aims to lay the foundation for lifelong learning and human development.
3	Upper secondary education	More specialized education typically beginning at age 15 or 16 years and/or completes secondary education in preparation for tertiary education, or to provide skills relevant to employment, or both.
4	Post-secondary non-tertiary education	Programmes that straddle the boundary between upper- and post-secondary education from an international point of view. ISCED level 4 programmes, considering their content, cannot be regarded as tertiary programmes. They are often not significantly more advanced than programmes at ISCED level 3 but they serve to broaden the knowledge of participants who have already completed a programme at level 3.
5	First stage of tertiary education	Tertiary programmes having an educational content more advanced than those offered at ISCED levels 3 and 4. These programmes may be academically based or practically oriented / occupationally specific. Entry to these programmes normally requires the successful completion of ISCED level 3A or 3B or a similar qualification at ISCED level 4A. All degrees and qualifications are cross-classified by type of programmes, position in national degree or qualification structures and cumulative duration at tertiary.
6	Second stage of tertiary education	Tertiary programmes leading to the award of an advanced research qualification, e.g. Ph.D. These programmes are therefore devoted to advanced study and original research and are not based on course-work only. It typically requires the submission of a thesis or dissertation of publishable quality which is the product of original research and represents a significant contribution to knowledge.

ISCED 1997 fields of educationedit

• 0 General programmes
  • 01 Basic programmes
  • 08 Literacy and numeracy
  • 09 Personal development
• 1 Education
  • 14 Teacher training and education science
• 2 Humanities and arts
  • 21 Arts
  • 22 Humanities
• 3 Social sciences, business and law
  • 31 Social and behavioural science
  • 32 Journalism and information
  • 34 Business and administration
  • 38 Law
• 4 Science
  • 42 Life sciences
  • 44 Physical sciences
  • 46 Mathematics and statistics
  • 48 Computing
• 5 Engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • 52 Engineering and engineering trades
  • 54 Manufacturing and processing
  • 58 Architecture and building
• 6 Agriculture
  • 62 Agriculture, forestry and fishery
  • 64 Veterinary
• 7 Health and welfare
  • 72 Health
  • 76 Social services
• 8 Services
  • 81 Personal services
  • 84 Transport services
  • 85 Environmental protection
  • 86 Security services
• Not known or unspecified