Validating or gaining recognition for university studies completed abroad

Who can apply?

Any student who has passed subjects on a university degree program at a foreign university and who wishes to validate them before continuing with his or her studies at the UB.

Students should note that if they are seeking to validate their studies, they cannot apply for recognition at the same time.

Should a student have requested validation, he or she may only apply for partial recognition once validation has been denied, provided that validation was not denied for one of the following reasons:

• Degrees and diplomas with the sole endorsement of a university (and not officially recognized by the state’s ministry of education).
• Spanish degrees based on a syllabus no longer being taught or a syllabus not yet fully implemented.
• Foreign degrees that have no official academic validity in their country of issue.
• Degrees corresponding to foreign studies undertaken, either fully or partially, in Spain, in institutions not authorized to teach these courses.
• Degrees that have previously been validated in Spain or for which partial recognition has previously been solicited in order to continue studying in Spain.

Conditions applying

Subjects can only be recognized when the course contents and number of teaching hours are the same.

Students must register for the subjects that they have had recognized within a maximum of three years. Failure to do so means that the student will have to resubmit his or her application.

Under no circumstances can the granting of recognition be understood to mean that the student has been awarded a place on the course of study.

Application dates 

Applications for recognition can be made at any point during the academic year.

Procedure

Once the applicant has been awarded a place on the course, he or she must include the recognized subjects on their official academic record by completing the corresponding registration. Students should note that if they have not registered for these subjects within a maximum of three years, they will have to resubmit their application.

How to apply

• Ask for the application at the administrative office of the faculty or university school or affiliated centres teaching the course for which the recognition is solicited.
• Once the application has been confirmed, pay the fees on presentation of the corresponding form.

Documentation

• Accreditation of nationality, issued by the pertinent authorities in the applicant’s home country. A certificate issued by the applicant’s consulate in Spain, stating the applicant’s nationality and his or her registration on the Consulate Register, authenticated by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Academic certificate of the foreign studies completed and which the applicant wishes to have recognized, showing the grades awarded, as well as the minimum grade required in order to pass the subjects.
• Record of subjects passed, bearing the foreign University’s stamp.
• The syllabus of the degree begun by the applicant, listing the subjects of which it is comprised and stating the duration of the course in academic years, and bearing the foreign University’s stamp.

All documents must be original, having been issued by the pertinent authorities and duly authenticated and officially translated.

Original documents can be handed in with a photocopy and will be returned to the interested party once certified as being a true copy. If the photocopies have been previously certified as being a true copy before a lawyer or before the consular or diplomatic representatives of Spain in the country in which the documents were issued, the applicant need not present the original at the same time.

Contact information

Administrative office of the faculty or university school or affiliated centres teaching the course for which the recognition has been solicited.

FAQs

How do I obtain a place on the course? This depends on the number of credits for which you have been granted recognition.

• Minimum of 60 credits recognized (or one academic year if this is the case): you may apply directly to the faculty or university school where the course is taught.
• More than 60 credits recognized: you must apply to the faculty or university school where the course is taught in accordance with their dates for applications, but in all cases before the month of August in the year in which the student wishes to begin their studies.

How do I pay the application fees? Once the application for recognition has been made, print off the corresponding counterfoil and take it to a bank to make the payment.

Are the fees always the same? No. They vary each year in line with the Price Decree published by the Catalan Official Bulletin for each academic year.

Do I have to hand in the receipt acknowledging payment of the application fees for recognition at the faculty or school? The receipt does not have to be handed in but the student should keep it for future reference.

Do I have to pay for the subjects that are recognized? Yes, when registering so as to include these subjects on your academic record you must pay the fee established by the Price Decree for each academic year.

Steps to take

• Students should complete an application, pay the fees and hand in their documents, where necessary, at the faculty or school within the pre-established time period.
• The faculty or school will send its decision concerning recognition to the students’ address as given on the application form.
• Students must register for the subjects recognized in order to include them on their academic record.

Regulations

Regulations for the recognition of studies.