A high school diploma is a transcript that is awarded to a high school student as a guarantee that this student has fully completed the whole study course. In other words, we can say that it is an official piece of paper that confirms the authenticity of knowledge of the person who has been awarded that official paper (diploma).
It is very important for the educational institutions to grab a few good templates of diplomas. It is a vital official piece of paper and it should represent the authenticity of the institution and student. The design should be attractive and the font and dates should be clear and readable. Well, before you go ahead to select a high school diploma template for your institution, let me explain the types of diploma and some other important things regarding them.
High School Diploma Types
High school diploma has different types. You need to consider them while selecting a diploma template. It should be relevant to your course of studies. Let’s see what major types of a high school diploma are.
College Prep Diploma
It is awarded to a student who has completed the basic course of studies with a particular GPA score. When it is said that you need to provide a College Prep Diploma, you need to provide a certain piece of paper to the student where you will mention his name, roll number, registration number and a particular GPA score of that student in the course of studies. For authenticity of paper, you will add the seal and logo of your institution along with your signature on it.
Honors College Prep Diploma
It is another type of high school diploma. When a student completes the basic course of studies in high school along with some additional difficult coursework, he is eligible to get Honors College Prep High School Diploma. You will add the details of his additional coursework, his regular course of studies, GPA, student name, roll number and registration number on it. Besides, you will add your college logo and seal along with your signature on it to make it authentic for other institutions.
International Baccalaureate Diploma
International Baccalaureate Diploma is awarded to the student who has completed his two years studies with an international curriculum. The international curriculum should be according to the standards of the International Baccalaureate Organization. After two years of studies, the student is eligible to get this diploma. Add the student’s name, roll number and registration number on this diploma. Add the course of studies he has completed along with your institution’s seal, logo and your signature of course.
Diploma in Special Education
Some students have a kind of disability. By the end of high school, they get a diploma. Their course of studies is a bit easier and changed according to their disability. However, it does not affect the authenticity of their studies. If you have a student with some disabilities in your institution, he will be awarded a Diploma in Special Education instead of a regular high school diploma. For him, select a relevant template for more appreciation and encouragement for disable students. Add his name; roll number and registration number to the diploma. Add your institution’s seal and logo and your signature to it.
Diploma for Occupation
It is also awarded to the students who have some disability, but it is selected for some different purposes.
Some special students cannot finish their course of studies due to some reason. If his conduct and attendance percentage are good during the course of studies and he has at least two-year relevant work experience, he will be awarded a Diploma for occupation.
Why the People Need a Diploma
- A diploma is proof that you have completed a particular course of study. If you hold a certain diploma, you will have more opportunities for employment. It will help you find a better job. Since a diploma states your course of studies and the GPA, it will help you to get an attractive position in a company.
- Furthermore, if you have a diploma, you would be able to continue your education. You can get admission to your desired college because your high school diploma is proof that you have completed the relevant and basic course of studies.
- If you are already on job, a high school diploma can raise your salary. It will provide your boss with a reason to increase your monthly salary when the annual cycle of negotiating the workers’ skills is completed.
- It is also a motivation for you to move ahead in the fast stream of life. When you hold your high school diploma, you feel like you are filled with intrinsic motivation. It gives you a sense of pride and new enthusiasm to pursue a better goal in life.
Tips to Create Your Own Diploma Template
Being the owner of an institution, you need to own some diploma templates. There are two ways to get a high school diploma template. You can either download a free/paid template or create a new one with some specifications.
Creating Your Own Diploma Template
Proper Dimensions: Make sure your diploma template has a proper dimension of a standard certificate template. It should not be wide or long enough to be difficult to print. The appropriate length and width are very important. The size should be according to the A4 that is considered the print-friendly size. Letter size is also better if you prefer.
Landscape VS Portrait Mode: The old institutions are still following the landscape mode. However, the new institutions are a bit trendy and they prefer the portrait format for it. You have your own choice to create it in any format.
Sober Color-Scheme: High school diploma has some specific color scheme. Make sure that you are not including more than four colors in it. It should be sober in color scheme. If you make it more colorful, it will look like the kids’ choice. Be reasonable in selecting the color scheme of your high school diploma. Select a light color such as white, off-white and something like this. It will make the watermark of your institution visible in the middle of the paper.
Borders: The border should be beautiful and attractive. It is a very important aspect of your diploma template. But don’t select a very thin or extremely thick border. Select a medium sized attractive border to give a beautiful look to your diploma.
Official Font Style: You need to use official fonts always. A diploma template should be readable when it is in printed form. Select an official font from the following list.
- Agency FB Bold
- Algerian
- Arial Narrow
- Arial Narrow Bold
- Arial Narrow Bold Italic
- Arial Narrow Italic
- Arial Rounded MT Bold
- Arial Unicode MS
- Baskerville Old Face
- Bauhaus 93
- Bell MT
- Bell MT Bold
- Bell MT Italic
- Berlin Sans FB
- Berlin Sans FB Bold
- Berlin Sans FB Demi Bold
- Garamond Italic
- Gigi
- Gill Sans MT
- Gill Sans MT Bold
- Gill Sans MT Bold Italic
- Gill Sans MT Condensed
- Goudy Old Style
- Goudy Old Style Bold
- Juice ITC
- Jokerman
- Informal Roman
- Imprint MT Shadow
- Kunstler Script
- Goudy Stout
Proper Font Size: Font Size should be appropriate. It should be readable when the diploma is printed. When the design is clumsy, it means you need to revise the font size.
Title font should be 30 or below. A 30 font size is perfect for the name of your institution. In the same way, the details such as the institution’s address, and the details of your student’s name, roll number, registration and others should be between 24-26 font sizes.
How to Customize a High School Diploma Template?
If you have downloaded a free/paid high school diploma template, you can customize it according to your own institution. Following are the steps to customize it for a lawless high school diploma.
- Open the template. Make sure, you have downloaded a template that does not keep a watermark on it.
- Open the image in Photoshop. Now, add your logo in the center as a watermark and make it transparent by selecting the relevant tool.
- Edit the name, roll number, registration number, and other dates. If you have a copy of your signatures, copy it from there and paste at the bottom of the Diploma.
- If you want to add a tagline to state the motto of your institution, add it below the name of your institution.
Printing a Diploma
- Printing a high school diploma template is a more important aspect. You need to follow some precautions in this respect.
- The size of the template should be appropriate. If you do not maintain the size of the template, the printing quality will be poor. Check the template in Print Preview.
- Add a 0.5” margin to your template if it does not contain it. Otherwise, some parts of the template will go out of the paper.
- You need to use a high-quality printing paper. If the paper quality is not good, you will see a dull diploma template after printing. It can lower the position of your institution. Use a high-quality paper for printing diploma.
- Ink quality should be also up to the mark. The ink jet or dot printers are not appropriate to print this diploma. Make sure, you are using a LaserJet printer.
Free High School Diploma Templates [Download]
See a variety of high school diploma templates below. Select the one you want to use for your institution. Check the details and font size. Customize it according to your requirements and use as your own high school diploma template.
