Joint European Degree Label

Based on the Council of the European Union Resolution on a joint European degree label and the next steps towards a possible joint European degree, the Joint European Degree Label is being awarded as of 2026. By developing a set of common European criteria underpinning the award of the label, it recognises and rewards joint programmes which can demonstrate a strong European dimension of the learning experience and excellence in collaboration arrangements between higher education institutions that deliver the programme.

The label aims to increase the visibility of high-quality joint programmes across Europe, promote common European quality standards, make joint programmes easier to understand and recognise, and support deeper cooperation between higher education institutions. In doing so, its ultimate goal is to help students, employers and institutions identify joint programmes that demonstrate strong transnational cooperation and which have a distinct European dimension.

Awarding the label
The awarding bodies for the Joint European Degree Label are either consortia of self-accrediting higher education institutions (i.e. those that are not subject to mandatory programme-level external QA and have the right to deliver programme and award degrees without external approval) or EQAR-registered QA agencies based in EU or EEA EFTA states. Therefore, all EQAR-registered agencies meeting this condition are eligible to award the label, and the list of agencies that are currently offering this possibility is available here: List of agencies awarding the JEDL.

Receiving the label
Joint European Degree Label can be awarded to joint programmes of any level of higher education (Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral) if the following eligibility conditions are met for the programme:

• it is offered by a consortium that includes at least two degree-awarding higher education institutions from at least two EU Member States
• it leads to a joint degree award
• it corresponds to a nationally recognised degree type at EQF levels 6, 7 or 8 (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate)

Joint programme consortia composed exclusively of self-accrediting higher education institutions can conduct the evaluation and award the label themselves, while all other consortia need to select one of the QA agencies listed above to conducted an external evaluation and award the label.

For more detailed information on the award process, see the section on Award procedure.

Joint European Degree Label builds on top of existing QA architecture in Europe, most notably the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) and European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes (European Approach).

At the level of label award criteria, the criteria require that internal and external QA of the joint programme is conducted in line with the ESG, and that the programme is evaluated using standards of the European Approach. Additionally, certain criteria for awarding the label are deemed to be partially or fully covered by the European Approach, meaning that programmes that have been succesfully evaluated through the European Approach, do not have to demonstrate compliance with these criteria separately. The Operational guide for the Joint European Degree further provides a mapping between the Joint European Degree Label criteria and European Approach standards; more information on this can be found under the section on Award procedure.

At the level of label award procedure when the label is awarded by QA agencies, the evaluation of joint programmes against the Joint European Degree Label criteria can either be conducted as a stand-alone procedure or in combination with the joint programme external QA evaluation, preferably through the European Approach. In any of these cases, the validity of the awarded label is until the end of the current accreditation period, which aligns the reaccreditation cycle with the Joint European Degree Label evaluation cycle.

At the level of awarding bodies, only EQAR-registered QA agencies can award the Joint European Degree Label, thereby ensuring that the awarding body itself is compliant with the ESG.