Higher National Diploma

A Higher National Diploma (HND) is a higher education qualification of the United Kingdom. A qualification of the same title is also offered in Argentina,Finland,India, Malta,Nigeria, and some other countries with British ties. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities at an advanced level, and is considered equivalent to the second year of a three-year university degree course.

Pearsons describes an HND as "A semi vocational / semi professional qualification, usually studied full-time, in 2 to 3 academic years time [that] can be studied part-time. It is equivalent to the first two years of a 3 year degree (with honours), and it's at the same level of the 2nd year of an ordinary bachelor degree or to the Diploma of Higher Education".

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the HND is a qualification awarded by many awarding bodies, such as The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH Advanced diploma), Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and BTEC (Vocational programs). In Scotland, a Higher National is awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The attainment level is roughly equivalent to second year of university, a Diploma of Higher Education, but in some cases may be marginally below that of a bachelor's degree. An HND takes two years of full-time study, or one year full-time following successful completion of a Higher National Certificate; part-time study takes longer.

...
Wikipedia