MAP 504 INTERNATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION : HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT IN SPAIN

INTERNATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION
MAP 504

HIGHER EDUCATION
CONTEXT IN SPAIN
Dr. Danilo Hilario
Professor
Engr. Arman M. Giron
PhD - ELM

Spain Higher Education System
Types of Higher Education Institutions
• University Education
• Higher Non-University Education
Cycles of Higher Education in Spain
• First Cycle Programmes
• Second Cycle Programmes
• Programmes outside the Bachelor and Master
Structure
• Third Cycle (PhD) Programmes

• University Education
In Spain, higher education institutions are
classified according to whether they
organize university or non-university
provision. The later are further subdivided
into centres which offer advanced
vocational training cycles and specialized
education institutions.

University
Education
Public universities and private
universities are founded pursuant to a
specific act passed by the Legislative
Assembly of the region where the
institution will be located, or an act
approved by the Spanish Parliament, at
the proposal of the central government
and in accordance with the relevant
Autonomous Community Council. A
report from the General Conference for
University Policy is also mandatory.

Private universities and university
private centres may be created by any
individual or legal entity, regarding that
they respect the constitutional
principles as they are subject to State
and Autonomous regulations. University
private centres must be integrated into a
private university as centres belonging
to the university or they must be
ascribed to a public or private university.
University
Education

• Higher Non-University Education

Higher
Non-University
Education
Higher Vocational Training may be offered
in different types of institutions, namely,
in secondary education schools, which
also organize Compulsory Secondary
Education (ESO-Educación Secundaria
Obligatoria (Spain: compulsory secondary
education)) provision and Bachillerato
programmes, in national reference centres
and in integrated vocational training
centres. For detailed information on these
centres see the article on Organization of
the Education System and of its Structure.

• First Cycle Programmes
The Act on Education 2006 (LOE-Ley
Orgánica de Educación (Spanish)) includes
the two first-cycle programmes within the
Spanish education system as part of higher
education, even though they lead to rather
different professional and academic
qualifications. These two programmes are
Bachelor's degrees and Advanced Vocational
Training.

FirstCycle
Programmes Bachelor programmes belong to university
education, have an academic orientation and
are longer than non-university higher
provision. They lead to a Bachelor’s degree
assigned to level 2 qualifications within the
MECES.
Advanced Vocational Training belongs to the
stage of post-compulsory non-university
education and has a clear professional
orientation. These programmes lead to a
diploma of Higher Technician, included level 1
of the qualification framework (MECES).

FirstCycle
Programmes Branches of Study:
• Arts and Humanities.
• Experimental Sciences.
• Health Sciences.
• Social Sciences and Law.
• Engineering and Architecture.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Admission Requirements:
The Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sport (MECD) regulates the access to
university studies. It establishes the
general conditions at a national level
and at a regional level through the
corresponding Educational Authorities,
which in turn, are in charge of adapting
and developing these rules within the
scope of their competences.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Access to University Education depends
on the Academic Situation of
Candidates:
• Students holding a Bachillerato
certificate who have passed the
university entrance examination
organized by the education
authorities and public universities.

FirstCycle
Programmes
• Students coming from the education
systems of the Member States of the
European Union (EU), or from other States
that have signed international agreements
with Spain that are applicable in this
regard, on a basis of reciprocity. In this
case, they have to meet the requirements
established in those countries for students
to have access to their universities, under
the same conditions as students who have
passed the university entrance
examination.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Universities enjoy the autonomy to design
the curriculum for the programmes and
degrees they offer. However, the
programmes must be verified by the Council
of Universities and receive authorization
from the relevant regional government, once
they have been submitted to consultation of
the National Agency for Quality Assessment
and Accreditation (ANECA) and/or the
analogous Agency of the corresponding
Autonomous Community.
Curriculum:

FirstCycle
Programmes Teaching Methods:
Universities follow the principle of
autonomy to decide on methodology.
To be more precise, university
departments are the basic bodies in
charge of both teaching and research
of their respective areas of
knowledge.

FirstCycle
Programmes Progression of Students:
Universities, making use of the
autonomy granted to them by
legislation, establish the conditions for
the promotion of the students, as well
as the minimum and maximum periods
of permanence of students.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Student Assessment:
The results obtained by students in each
subject, which appear in the student’s
record, receive a numerical mark from 0 to
10, with a decimal position, which can be
followed by a qualitative mark:
• 0 - 4.9 : Fail
• 5.0 - 6.9 : Pass
• 7.0 - 8.9 : Very good
• 9.0 - 10 : Excellent

FirstCycle
Programmes Certification:
On completion of a Bachelor's
degree programme, students
receive a Bachelor’s degree in the
relevant area of specialization. The
diploma bears the specific name
given to the degree in the Registry
of Universities, Centres and Degrees
(RUCT).

FirstCycle
Programmes Short-Cycle Higher Education:
(Advanced Vocational Training)
Advanced Vocational Training is
structured in a series of training
cycles, organized into vocational
modules and classified according
to a number of professional
families established in the
Catalogue.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Branches of Study:
• Administration and
Management
• Arts and Crafts
• Building
• Chemistry
• Commerce and
Marketing
• Computer and
Communication
• Electricity and
Electronics
• Energy and Water
• Extractive
Industries
• Farming
• Food Industry
• Glass and Ceramics
• Graphic Arts

FirstCycle
Programmes
Branches of Study:
• Health
• Hotel and Tourism
Industry
• Imaging and Sound
• Installation and
Maintenance
• Maritime and Fishery
• Mechanical
Production
• Personal Image
• Safety Environment
• Socio-cultural and
Community Services
• Textiles, Clothing and
Leather/Fur
• Transport and
Maintenance of
Vehicles
• Physical and Sport
Activities
• Wood, Furniture and
Cork

FirstCycle
Programmes
Admission to Advanced Vocational Training
depends on the fulfilment on one of the
following requirements:
• To hold a Bachillerato certificate.
• To have a Technician diploma and have
completed a specific training course
leading to Advanced Vocational Training
cycles, either in a public or private
institution authorized by the relevant
education authorities.

FirstCycle
Programmes
• To have passed an entrance examination to
Advanced Vocational Training Cycles or a
university entrance examination for
students over 25.
• To hold a university degree or equivalent.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Education Authorities allocate
places according to the following
criteria:
• Between 60% and 70% of the places are
set aside for students with a Bachillerato
certificate.
reserved for students who have passed the
preparatory course.
held in reserve for students applying for
admission through other channels.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Curriculum:
• An identification of the qualification: name,
length of the programme, professional branch or
branches to which it is associated, MECES level,
and its correspondence with the relevant
European Qualification Framework.
• Professional profile: general, social, personal and
professional competences related; and an
inventory of the professional qualifications and
competence units of the National Catalogue of
Professional qualifications included in the
programme.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Curriculum:
• Working environment, which consist of, among
other things, a list of jobs and positions
associated with the qualification.
• Prospects within the relevant production sector or
in other sectors.
• Structure of the programme: general objectives
and configuration of the vocational modules
(objectives, assessment criteria, basic contents,
pedagogical guidelines, minimum length and
equivalent number of ECTS credits for the purpose
of validation with other levels of MECES).

FirstCycle
Programmes
Curriculum:
• Basic requirements for educational facilities: work
spaces, minimum equipment according to the
number of students, teachers’ qualifications and
areas of specialization.
• Equivalence between vocational modules and
competence units for accreditation purposes.
• Validation, exemption and equivalence
procedures.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Curriculum:
• Information regarding requirements, according to
current legislation, for professional practice.
• Branches or subjects of the Bachillerato which
may contribute to admittance in case of
competitive admission procedures.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Different Vocational Modules which
Integrate Advanced Vocational
Training Cycles :
• Modules associated to competence units from the
National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications.
• A module devoted to professional training and
guidance, which includes information regarding
learning and employment opportunities, labour
organization, business and corporate
relationships, basic labour legislation, rights and
obligations arising from labour relationships, as
well as training on health and safety at work.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Training Cycles :
• A module on business skills and
entrepreneurship, which includes training on the
mechanisms for the creation and basic
management of companies, self-employment
opportunities, social responsibility of
companies, innovation and creativity in
processes and labour procedures.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Training Cycles :
• A work placement module (FCT), without
employment status, aimed at completing the
acquisition of the professional competences
that have been attained in the training
institutions. Placement also enables students to
achieve professional identity and maturity and to
complete knowledge related to, among other
areas, production and marketing issues,
economic management and social and labour
relationships within companies.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Training Cycles :
• A project module. This is a specific unit within
higher vocational training aimed at integrating
the different abilities and knowledge included in
the curriculum of all the módulos that make up
each training cycle. Students must complete a
project which integrates all the technological
and organizational variables related to the
qualification.
• Additional modules, not directly linked to
competence units.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Teaching Methods:
• In compliance with the curriculum
planned by Education Authorities,
educational institutions must bear in mind
the specific characteristics of their
student population, as well as their
expectations and the training possibilities
available in the area, especially regarding
work placement module (FCT), in order to
provide them with adequate opportunities
to acquire the competences of the
relevant qualification.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Progression of students:
• Students are given a maximum of four
opportunities to pass each vocational module,
except for work placement module, where
students only have two opportunities.
Exceptionally, Education Authorities may
organize extraordinary official examination calls
for those students who have already used up the
four regular opportunities to pass the module
due to illness, disability or any other personal
circumstances which may have hindered normal
progress in their studies.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Student Assessment:
• Student assessment in vocational
training is carried out in each of the
vocational modules, according to the
objectives established as desired
educational outcomes, to the
assessment criteria for each of these
modules and to the general learning
objectives established for the whole
training cycle.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Certification:
• On successful completion of these
programmes, or after passing the required
examinations, students receive a diploma of
Higher Technician in the corresponding area
of specialization. This diploma provides
accreditation of the competences included in
the relevant professional profile, together with
working, social and personal competences, as
well as with professional qualifications and
competence units. The diploma has official,
academic and professional validity
nationwide.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Certification:
• Students who have not successfully
finished all the modules in each training
cycles at this level may apply for a
certificate of their academic record,
which specifies the completed
vocational modules, as well as the
relationship between these ones and the
corresponding competence units
accredited in the National Catalogue of
Professional Qualifications.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Certification:
These certificates have official validity
nationwide, must be printed in official standard
forms, and must include, at least, the following
details:
• Personal information.
• Specific information about the training cycle.
• Information about the school where the
programme has been carried out.
• The final marks obtained in each of the
vocational modules, specifying the year and
the order of the official call for examinations.
• Admission requirements.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Certification:
Finally, the system for Vocational Training allows
for the possibility of sitting specific
examinations leading to a diploma of Higher
Technician. This is an alternative option to in-
class or distance provision. These examinations
are intended for persons who already possess a
considerable training in a specific professional
field but have no official qualifications, and who
are able to plan their own learning activity
without assistance. Candidates are allowed to
take single final examination for each
programme module.

FirstCycle
Programmes
Organizational Variation:
Advanced Vocational Training provision
must be flexible in order to allow
students to combine training, work and
other types of activities. Therefore,
students may enrol in complete
programmes, in individual components
or in distance education.

• Second Cycle Programmes
The goal of university Master's degree
programmes is to provide students with
advanced specialized or multidisciplinary
training, geared towards academic or
professional specialization, or towards the
acquisition of basic research skills. The
workload required in a Master's degree
programme ranges from 60 to 120 credits of
the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

SecondCycle
Programmes
Master’s Degree Program:
Master’s degrees can be professionally,
academically or research oriented:
There are professionally oriented Master’s
degrees which entitle the holder to perform a
professional activity that is regulated in
Spain,
Academically oriented Master’s degrees aim
to look in depth at an academic or scientific
field, and research-oriented Master’s degrees
focus on the acquisition of basic research
skills

Branches of Study:
University Master's degree programmes are
associated to one of the following knowledge
branches:
• Arts and Humanities.
• Experimental Sciences.
• Health Sciences.
• Social Sciences and Law.
• Engineering and Architecture.
SecondCycle
Programmes

In order to apply for admission in
Master's Programmes, candidates must
hold an official university degree,
issued by a Spanish university or by a
higher education institution within the
European Higher Education Area
(EHEA), which qualifies for admission
at this level.
Each university decides on the number
of students who may be admitted to
Master's degree programmes.
SecondCycle
Programmes

Curriculum:
Universities have autonomy to design their
own curriculum, which must include: core
and optional subjects, seminars, an external
placement, supervised projects, Master’s
theses, evaluation activities and other
assessment criteria, as well as any other
specific programme features. Once the
curriculum has been drawn up, it is
submitted to the University Council for
validation, according to the procedures
established by the National Agency for
Quality Assessment and Accreditation
(ANECA).
SecondCycle
Programmes

Teaching Methods:
Universities have full autonomy to decide
on the teaching methods used for their
provision. In Master's degree programmes,
university departments are responsible for
the organization of teaching and research
activities in their respective subjects or
knowledge areas. However, teachers are
free to follow the methodological principles
and pedagogical methods they wish, and to
resort to the resources they consider most
appropriate for their activity.
SecondCycle
Programmes

Progression of Students:
Universities, making use of the autonomy
granted to them by legislation, establish the
conditions for the promotion of the students,
as well as the minimum and maximum
periods that a student may remain in a
programme. In order to pass a subject,
students are allowed to sit examinations for
a limited number of times. Students have
between four and six attempts depending on
the degree programme or institution.
Moreover, they are allowed to take final
examinations for the same subject only
twice a year.
SecondCycle
Programmes

Student Assessment:
Student assessment in university
Master's degree programmes must be
carried out according with the
regulations established in the
curriculum for each programme.
• 0 - 4.9 : Fail
• 5.0 - 6.9 : Pass
• 7.0 - 8.9 : Very good
• 9.0 - 10 : Excellent
SecondCycle
Programmes

Certification:
On successful completion of the programme,
students receive a Master’s degree in the
relevant field of studies. The diploma bears
the exact name of the qualification,
according to the Registry of Universities,
Centres and Degrees (RUCT). The diploma is
issued, on behalf of the King of Spain, by the
university Vice-Chancellor. It has official
validity nationwide, and qualifies for
regulated professional practice, under the
conditions established in the relevant official
documents.
SecondCycle
Programmes

• Programmes outside the Bachelor and
Master Structure
There are no official university programmes
outside the Bachelor's and Master's
structure in Spain. However, the degrees
belonging to the former systems of
university education will be in operation
until 2015.

• Third Cycle (PhD) Programmes
PhD programmes belong to third-cycle university
education and lead to the acquisition of skills
and competences for quality scientific research.
Doctoral studies are assigned to Level 4 of the
Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher
Education (MECES), which comprises those
qualifications aimed at providing students with
advanced training in research procedures

ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes
Organization of Doctoral Studies:
Official PhD programmes are
structured into different doctoral
programmes, which are further divided
into a series of courses, seminars and
other academic activities focused on
research training which do not require
an ECTS structure. In any case, the
central activity at this level is
research.

• University graduates who hold a
diploma leading to admission into a
Master's degree programme, issued
by a Spanish university or by a higher
education institution within the
European Higher Education Area
(EHEA); or applicants who have
completed at least 300 ECTS credits
of official university education, 60 of
which must belong to a Master's
degree programme.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

• University graduates who hold an official
qualification of at least 300 ECTS credits,
awarded by a Spanish university.
• University graduates in Health Sciences,
who, after gaining a position in specialized
health training by means of an entrance
examination, have already passed at least
two years of training in a programme
leading to an official degree in any of the
specialized branches of Health Sciences.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

• Candidates in possession of a
qualification from a foreign country,
once the universities certify that
the programme provides equivalent
training to the one offered in a
Spanish university Master's degree
programme and that the degree is
also a pre-requisite for PhD studies
in the country issuing the diploma.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

Status of Doctoral Students/Candidates:
The normative allows for trainee researchers, who are
carrying out doctoral studies and are performing
research tasks in a specific and innovative project, to
sign a pre-doctoral contract, which has the following
characteristics:
• The contract is for a fixed period, and of a full-time
nature.
• It must be in written form and it must be between the
doctoral student and the public university or the
Public Research Organisation. Private universities or
universities belonging to the Catholic Church may also
offer this type of contract, but only if they receive
funding aimed at hiring research staff.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

Status of Doctoral Students/Candidates:
• It must be attached to a written admission on the
doctoral programme issued by the Doctoral
College or unit responsible for the mentioned
programme, in each case.
• The contract lasts for one year and is subject to
renewal up to a maximum of four years (six, in the
case of disabled students), always depending on a
favourable report issued by the academic
Commission or the Doctoral College, during the
time the doctoral student is on the programme.
• Those doctoral students signing the contract are
considered as pre-doctoral training research staff.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

Assessment:
Universities entrust doctoral colleges, and
other units in charge of programme
development, with the responsibility of
planning evaluation at this level. Thus, these
bodies must establish assessment
mechanisms, criteria and procedures.
Once the doctoral thesis is finished,
universities, through their doctoral colleges or
units in charge of the programme, establish
the procedures for submission and the
deadline for the defense to take place.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

In order to evaluate doctoral thesis, a
board of examiners must be appointed. The
majority of board members are experts
who do not belong to the same doctoral
college or programme. In addition, they all
must hold a PhD and have accredited
research experience. The board also has
access to the candidate’s personal activity
portfolio, which is also subject to
qualitative evaluation that supplements the
assessment of the doctoral thesis.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes
Assessment:

Finally, the doctoral thesis is evaluated by
means of a public defense session, during
which the candidate presents and defends
the thesis in front of the board of
examiners. Any other doctors who attend
the defense session are to ask questions to
the candidate, according to the procedures
established by the board. The board of
examiners issues a report and a
'fail/pass/very good/excellent' grade for the
thesis.
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes
Assessment:

The Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sport (MECD) and the universities must
establish the regulations for the award of
honours, distinctions and doctoral awards
for outstanding achievement of candidates
in doctoral thesis. The PhD diploma will
bear these honours. Once the doctoral
thesis has received positive evaluation, the
university is in charge of filing an
electronic copy, and to send copies to the
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
(MECD) and to the Council of Universities.
Certification:
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

Students in doctoral programmes may also
be awarded a series of distinctions, called
“mentions”, which can be added to the
official diploma, according to the criteria
and circumstances established in each
programme. These mentions are:
• European Doctorate Mention
• International Doctorate Mention
• Doctor Honoris Causa.
Certification:
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

In Spain, students may enrol in distance
PhD programmes at universities which
organize this type of provision. The
National University of Distance Learning
(UNED), dependent on the Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sport, has a wide
variety of distance doctoral programmes.
Some other private universities offer PhD
studies as well.
Organizational Variation:
ThirdCycle
(PhD)
Programmes

Admission of International Students
and Free Medical Care

Admissionof
International
Students
Students from a foreign
education system who want to
study at a Spanish university
must validate or certify their
studies and perform an entrance
exam for university
(Selectividad), which is held
every year. Study In Spain gives
advice to those who wish to sit
the Selectividad but wish to do it
in their country of origin.

Free
Medical
Care
Foreign students under the age of
28 years studying in any Spanish
university have insurance (Seguro
Escolar) that covers accidents and
illnesses.
Those foreign students over 28
legally resident in Spain are
entitled to Social Security benefits,
which in Spain are very advanced
and comprehensive.

References:
https://www.euroeducation.
net/prof/spainco.htm
https://www.um.es/estructu
ra/internacional/in/sist-
universitario.php

MAP 504 INTERNATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION : HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT IN SPAIN

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MAP 504 INTERNATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION : HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT IN SPAIN