A 

diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as college or university,

that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study. The word
diploma also refers to an academic award which is given after the completion of study in different
courses such as diploma in higher education, diploma in graduation or diploma in post-graduation.
Historically, it can also refer to a charter or official document,[1] thus diplomatic,
[2]
 diplomat[3] and diplomacy[4] via the Codex Juris Gentium Diplomaticus.[2]
The diploma (as a document certifying a qualification) may also be called a testamur, Latin for "we
testify" or "certify" (testari), so called from the word with which the certificate begins;[5] this is
commonly used in Australia to refer to the document certifying the award of a degree.[6][7]
[8]
 Alternatively, this document can simply be referred to as a degree certificate or graduation
certificate, or as a parchment.[9] The certificate that a Nobel laureate receives is also called a
diploma.
The term diploma is also used in some historical contexts, to refer to documents signed by a
King affirming a grant or tenure of specified land and its conditions (see Anglo-Saxon
Charters and Diplomatics).

Australia[edit]
In Australia, there are three varieties of Diploma currently recognized by the Australian Qualifications
Framework (AQF):

 a "Diploma", a qualification granted by vocational education and training (VET) sector or

university. It is typically completed with 12 to 18 months of full-time study. When
accepted for credit as part of a bachelor's degree, it is usually deemed to be equivalent
to the first year of the degree.
 an "Advanced Diploma", which is equivalent to an Australian "Associate Degree" and is
equivalent to the second year of a bachelor's degree.
 a "Graduate Diploma", which is undertaken after completing a bachelor's degree (or
being deemed to have equivalent knowledge). This can be in a field other than that
covered by said degree (e.g., the Graduate Diploma of Education necessary to become
a school teacher in most Australian states). It can also be a coursework-only qualification
undertaken as additional study in a specialisation within one's degree area.
The "Vocational Graduate Diploma" was a short lived AQF qualification equivalent to the "Graduate
Diploma", intended to be delivered exclusively in the VET sector. On January 1, 2015, all such
qualifications being offered lost the word "Vocational" from their title.[10]