Estudios Internacionales

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Spanish University System

	University Degrees and Diplomas from Spain Curriculum Academic Year Grading System

UNIVERSITY DEGREES AND DIPLOMA FROM SPAIN

The following official degrees can be obtained at Spanish universities:

Bachelor's Degrees, 3-year Engineering Degrees, and 3-year Architecture Degrees (Diplomado, Ingeniero técnico or Arquitecto técnico): These are described as "first cycle" courses and they usually have a duration of three years.
Bachelor's Degreees with Honours, Engineering Degrees and Architecture Degrees (Licenciado, Ingeniero or Arquitecto Superior): In these courses, after completing the first cycle, students undertake a second, in-depth cycle for specialization in their respective fields and preparation for their professional area. The total duration of these courses is usually four or five years.
Doctor: Admission to doctoral studies is only possible for graduates with a Licenciado, Ingeniero or Arquitecto Superior degree. Doctoral students must complete a series of courses for two academic years with a minimum of 32 credits (320 hours) and present a doctoral thesis, which must be approved. The thesis must be original research into material related to the scientific, technical or artistic field of the doctoral program undertaken by the student.

The autonomy of the Spanish universities enables them to organize postgraduate and specialized professional courses, which are extremely important for the completion of a student's academic curriculum and the attainment of a professional specialization. Students who complete these courses obtain the corresponding diploma or university degree.

CURRICULUM

The curriculum is the group of subjects organized by the university. If completed, the student has the right to a degree.

The credit (crédito) is the assessment unit. It corresponds to ten hours of theoretical or practical teaching. Credits are obtained by the appropriate verification of acquired knowledge. This assessment is generally in the form of written or occasionally oral examinations, established by each university.

Subjects (Asignaturas) included in the curriculum may be:

Majors (Asignaturas troncales): Compulsory material in all curricula leading to an official degree. They represent 30% of the subject load during the first cycle and 25% in the second cycle.
Compulsory Subjects (Asignaturas obligatorias): These are designated by the university as compulsory for the student within the corresponding curriculum.
Optational Subjects (Asignaturas optativas): The university establishes these subjects for students to choose from.
Free-choice Subjects (Materias de libre elección): All curricula must devote at least 10% of all credits to this type of material, which the student will apply to subjects, seminars or other activities he/she can choose freely from given by the university or another university, if permitted by the corresponding joint agreement.

ACADEMIC YEAR
In Spain, the academic year begins in the last week of September and ends in the first week of June. There are two holiday periods during the academic year: the Christmas break, from December 21- January 8, and the Easter break, which covers one week in March or April.

At the Carlos III University, all curricula are organiszed into two semesters. The first term begins in the last week of September and ends in the third week of January. The second semester begins in the third week of February and ends in the first week of June.

Examinations for the first semester are held from the end of January until mid-February, and the second semester examinations are held throughout June. Supplementary examinations are held in September for students who did not pass the February or June examinations.

GRADING SYSTEM

Marks given to students at Spanish universities are shown below. They correspond to the numerical score shown in brackets:
Excellent - Matrícula de honor- (10) - The highest rating is only awarded to a small number of students who have shown an exceptional performance. In the next course, the student has the right to choose a free subject.
Above Average- Sobresaliente- (9) - Given to students who have performed very well.
Average -Notable- (7-8) - Awarded to students with a medium/high level of performance.
Pass - Aprobado- (5-6) - This rating indicates that the student performed well enough to complete the subject.
Fail -Suspenso- (0-4) - The student did not pass the subject and must take another examination, though the number of possible repetitions is restricted.

FUENTE: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid