Qualifications which may be offical recognised

Interested parties can apply for official recognition (homologació) of a foreign higher education qualification as equivalents to doctoral studies, a master's degree or as corresponding to a master's degree level of studies.

Criteria used as a basis for resolutions

Resolutions on official recognition will be adopted according to the following criteria:

  1. The correspondence between the level of academic requirements for access to studies leading to a foreign qualification and those same requirements for access to the Spanish qualification or level of studies in question.
  2. The duration and number of hours of education required to obtain the foreign qualification which the applicant wishes to be officially recognised.
  3. The correspondence between the level of studies required to graduate in the foreign qualification and the same concept for the proposed equivalent Spanish qualification.

Foreign qualifications and studies that are not valid in the country of origin will not be recognised; neither will non-official qualifications or diplomas.

Application and documents required

The procedure begins when applicants send an application to the university principal, attaching the following documents:

  1. A certificate accrediting applicants' identity and nationality.
  2. A certified copy of the qualification or certificate which applicants wish to be officially recognised.
  3. A certified copy of academic records for postgraduate degrees.
  4. An official document certifying that the university of origin is authorized or officially recognised as such in that country.
  5. An affidavit stating that applicants have not requested or obtained official recognition of a doctoral degree at another university in Spain.
  6. Proof of payment of the administrative procedural fee.

For the recognition that foreign qualifications represent a doctoral studies level of education, applicants must also attach the following documents:

  1. Explanatory report on their thesis, written in one of the official languages of the Valencian Country [Catalan or Spanish], stating the names of the members of the tribunal and the mark awarded, along with a copy of the thesis.
  2. Publications arising from the thesis.
  3. Doctoral studies conducted outside the EU must be accompanied by the doctoral studies regulations of the university of origin.

The documents issued abroad must fit the following requirements:

  1. They must be official and issued by the competent authorities.
  2. They must be presented in a legal fashion, either through diplomatic channels or, where appropriate, via the Apostille convention of the Hague. This is not necessary for documents issued by EU Member States or by signatories of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
  3. They must attach, if necessary, a sworn translation into one of the official languages of the Valencian Country [Catalan or Spanish]. It is not necessary to include sworn translations of the doctoral thesis, nor of the additional documents that the body charged with resolving such applications may ask for.

Resolution

  • The application is put on file and a report is made by the Subcomissió d'Estudis de Postgrau (Subcommittee of Postgraduate Studies) and the Comissió d'Estudis de Postgrau (Committee of Postgraduate Studies).
  • The resolution is passed by the principal, and a firm decision and notification of the end of the process must be made within six months. If no specific resolution is passed within this period, the application is understood as rejected.
  • The resolution of official recognition is communicated to the Spanish Ministry of Education so that it can be recorded in the special section of the National Register of Qualifications and so a registry credential number can be granted.
  • Finally, the corresponding certificate of official recognition is issued.

Documents for download

Legal Framework

  • Reial Decret 285/2004 (20 February) governing the conditions for official recognition and validation of foreign higher education qualifications and studies.
  • Reial Decret 309/2005 (18 March), amending the aforementioned Reial Decret 285/2004.