What Is a Diploma Supplement and Why European Employers Ask for It
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 03, 2026 • Guides, Study in Europe
The Diploma Supplement is a standardized document that explains your degree in detail so employers and universities in other countries understand exactly what you studied. Every country in the Bologna Process issues it automatically and free of charge, alongside your diploma.
🎓 Describes your program's level, content, grading system, and the national education system behind it
📩 Issued automatically and free of charge in most Bologna Process countries, usually in English alongside your national language
💶 If your university does not issue one automatically, request it from your registrar at no extra cost
🏠 Employers and universities use it to compare your qualification to their own system without a separate evaluation
What the Diploma Supplement is
The Diploma Supplement is a standardized document attached to your degree certificate that explains, in plain detail, what your qualification means. Developed jointly by the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, it became a standard requirement across countries in the Bologna Process, according to the European Education Area .
Unlike a transcript, which lists your grades, the Diploma Supplement explains the structure of your program, your university, and the higher education system of your country, so a reader anywhere in Europe understands your qualification without outside help.
What information it contains
The template follows the same eight-section structure everywhere, regardless of country or university:
Information identifying you, the qualification holder
Information identifying your qualification: title and field of study
Information on the level of your qualification, bachelor's or master's, and where it sits in the national framework
Information on the contents of your program and your results
Information on the function of your qualification, including what further study or professional status it grants
Additional information relevant to your specific case
Certification of the document itself
Information on the national higher education system you studied in
Because every Diploma Supplement follows this structure, an employer in one country finds the section they need without knowing anything about your specific university.
Free and automatic under the Bologna Process
Countries in the Bologna Process committed to issuing the Diploma Supplement to every graduate automatically, free of charge, and in a widely spoken European language such as English or French, alongside the national language version, per the ENIC-NARIC network .
In practice, most universities across the EU and wider EHEA hand it to you together with your diploma, without a separate request or fee. If your university skips this step, especially outside the EHEA or for older qualifications, ask your registrar's office directly. It stays free.
Why employers and universities ask for it
An employer or admissions office receiving an application from an unfamiliar university has no easy way to judge how your grades or degree title compare to their own system. The Diploma Supplement solves this by describing your program's content and level through a shared European framework instead of assuming the reader recognizes your specific university or grading scale.
This matters most when you apply for jobs or further study in a country different from the one where you graduated. A master's degree title alone does not tell an employer what you studied or how your program compares to local expectations, but the Diploma Supplement's content section does.
Diploma Supplement versus a recognition statement
The Diploma Supplement describes your qualification. It does not declare your degree equivalent to a specific foreign qualification on its own. If a foreign employer or university needs a formal statement of equivalence for licensing or further study, you still need a separate comparability statement from an ENIC-NARIC center, alongside your Diploma Supplement.
Keep this distinction in mind when an application asks for a "recognition" or "equivalence" document specifically, since a Diploma Supplement alone may not satisfy that request even though it covers most information needs for job applications.
How to request yours if it was not automatic
Contact your university's registrar or student records office directly, referencing the Diploma Supplement by name
Ask specifically for the English or other widely spoken language version if your national language version is not useful to your intended reader
If your university closed or cannot issue one, contact your national ENIC-NARIC center for a comparability statement instead
Keep both a digital and printed copy alongside your diploma and transcript, since some employers and universities want the original