The ifs School of Finance was granted independent Taught Degree-Awarding Powers (TDAP) from 2 January 2010 by the Privy Council.

The ifs now awards both undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees in its own right without ratification from a third-party university. This is the first instance of an education provider specifically focused on financial services gaining the right to award its own taught degrees. It means that there is now an independent degree awarding institution exclusively serving the specific needs of the financial services sector.

The acquisition of TDAP acknowledges the ifs School of Finance’s academic integrity as a mature higher education institution with fastidious standards and rigorous academic governance.

It recognises the value of merging vocationally-based skills with the essential academic tools of conceptual and analytical thinking and reflects the quality and relevance of all ifs qualifications.

Gaining TDAP demonstrates that the ifs maintains the highest standards in such areas as:

• Academic governance and management
• Academic standards and quality assurance
• Teaching and assessment
• Student support and learning

TDAP: Frequently asked questions

TDAP: Student frequently asked questions

Evolution of the ifs School of Finance

The ifs is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter and has a remit to provide the financial services industry with a skilled and competent workforce whilst also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers.

It has long standing links with the financial services industry and an educational heritage spanning 130 years. It originally started life to provide qualifications for the banking sector, but has since expanded into other financial disciplines and now has over 60,000 students studying on its various programmes across the world.

The ifs offers qualifications across the educational spectrum from GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in personal finance to qualifications for regulated advisers and postgraduate degrees in financial services management.

The grant of Taught Degree-Awarding Powers was a hugely important step in the evolution of the ifs School of Finance. It endorses the ifs' unique approach of blending academic and vocational learning and evidences the quality and academic rigour of its programmes. Through applied learning that is informed and shaped by strong academic principles, the ifs is ideally positioned to continue to foster a culture of learning in the financial services industry that is both rigorous and relevant.