The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) covers 10 levels, of which 6 – 10 correspond to academic degrees. These are the "associate degree" (level 6), which normally takes 2 years, the "bachelor degree" (level 7), which normally takes 3 years, the "bachelor honours degree" (level 8), which normally takes 1 year after the bachelor's degree and is mostly taken as an optional extension year depending of the discipline, the "master degree" (level 9), which normally takes 1 – 2 years for "research" or "coursework" degrees and 3 – 4 years for an "extended" degree and follows on from either a bachelor or honours degree and the "doctoral degree" (level 10), which normally takes 3 – 4 years following on from a master's degree or a Class I or IIa honours qualification. Also included within the higher education system are graduate certificates and graduate diplomas, both of which are at level 8 (honours degree level), as well as advanced diplomas, at level 6 (associate degree level) and diplomas at level 5 (first year of a degree course). In Australia, most degrees are issued ungraded, with bachelor's degrees with honours being the exception.