Not to be confused with National Diploma (UK) . A Higher National Diploma (HND) is a higher education qualification of the United Kingdom. A qualification of the same title is also offered in 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.n 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.