Postnominals - Qualification Abbreviations
Swinburne graduands are entitled to identify their qualification(s) after their name. This is a guide to help you determine your postnominals (the abbreviated version of your qualification title).
For the specific abbreviation for your course, we recommend you check the Regulation 13 website.
Note: You can only use postnominals once your award has been conferred, i.e. you have received your certificate either at a ceremony or in the mail.
Step 1: Select your qualification descriptor
| Qualification Descriptors | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Doctor of Philosophy | PhD |
| Doctor | D |
| Masters Degree | M |
| Graduate Diploma | GradDip |
| Graduate Certificate | GradCert |
| Bachelor Degree | B |
| Honours | Hons |
| Associate Degree | AssocDeg |
| Advanced Diploma | AdvDip |
| Diploma | Dip |
| Certificate IV | CertIV |
| Certificate III | CertIII |
| Certificate II | CertII |
| Certificate I | CertI |
Step 2: Select your study descriptor
These study descriptors are for Swinburne accredited courses. If your course is externally accredited, you should check 
Regulation 13.
| Study Descriptors | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Accounting | Acc |
| Applied Science | AppSc |
| Arts | A |
| Business Administration | BA |
| Business | Bus |
| Business Information Systems | BusInfSys |
| Commerce | Com |
| Computing | Comp |
| Design | Des |
| Engineering | Eng |
| Entrepreneurship and Innovation | EI |
| Film and Television | F&TV |
| Health Science | HlthSc |
| Information Systems | InfSys |
| Information Systems Management | ISM |
| Information Technology | InfTech |
| International Business | IntBus |
| Management | Mgt |
| Multimedia | Mm |
| Psychology | Psych |
| Science | Sc |
| Social Impact | SocImp |
| Strategic Foresight | SF |
| Technology | Tech |
| Technology Management | TechMgt |
Step 3: Select your field of study
You may also add the field of study to the letters to describe your award, for instance if you undertook a tag degree or specialisation, within the area of study.
Example: Bachelor of Social Science (Media Studies) would equate to BSocSc(Media Studies)
Handy Tips
Order of Qualifications
The recommended order is the lower qualifications directly after your name, leading to the highest qualifications.
Example: J Smith DipBus, BBus
Institution Name
The name of the awarding institution should also follow your academic qualifications. If you hold multiple qualifications from the one institution then you just list it after all of the qualifications from that institution, not after each qualification.
Example: J Smith DipBus, BBus RMIT, MBA, PhD Swinburne
Professional Qualifications
If you are the member of a professional association, you may be entitled to include the postnominals for that association after your academic postnominals.
Example: J Smith BEng, PhD, Swinburne, FIEAust
Double Degrees and Dual Awards
Graduands of double degrees or dual awards are entitled to use postnominals for both programs, separated by a slash. In the case of dual awards, the order should commence with the lowest qualification, leading to the highest.
Example: J Smith BSc(Biotechnology)/BBus Swinburne
Honours
Students who have undertaken an Honours program, should list this after the qualification and study descriptor, and before the field of study descriptor (if applicable).
Example: J Smith MSc(Hons) (Network Systems) OR J Smith BInfTech(Hons)
