Print this PostAs you can tell from the “halleluiah” title of this post, I’m pretty happy. Why? The answer’s simple, really. You see, my university degree from the USA has recently been officially recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Education. In case you didn’t know, the process of getting a university degree recognized here in Spain is known as homologación (hence the title: “I’m homologated”) and it’s both a very lengthy and a very time-consuming ordeal.
Let me give you the rundown on the whole “homologation process” (does anybody know if “homologation” is really a word in English??). To have your degree “homologated” (another possibly made up word in English), the ministry you need to talk to is the Ministry of Education; which, incidentally, has changed its name about three times in the past year. But this post isn’t about the various name-changes that the Ministry of Education has undergone recently, it’s about degree recognition — so let’s get back on track. You can find information about the recognition of foreign studies on the Ministry of Education’s website.
Basically, there are two types of university degree recognitions in Spain. The first type is what they call Homologación a un Grado Académico Español. This first type gives you a piece of paper saying that your degree is similar in difficulty and duration to a Spanish Diplomado or Licenciado degree. Thus, it does what its name suggests: it aligns your degree to a specific academic grade or level but it doesn’t align your degree to a specific academic major. The second type aligns your degree perfectly to a Spanish degree from the Official Spanish Catalog of Degrees. With this type of homologation, not only do you have your level of studies recognized but also your major. In both cases you have to submit legalized copies of your university degrees and transcripts, along with sworn translations.
I have the first type of degree recognition for two reasons. First, it’s faster than the second type (my homologación a un grado académico took about eight months, people tell me that the other type can take over a year). Second, my degree from the USA doesn’t really align perfectly with any degree from Spain’s Official Catalog, so I figured the chances of them actually giving me a “type-two homologation” were pretty slim.
In any case, I got a letter the other day in the mail stating that my degree had been “homologated” and telling me that I had to go to the central office in Madrid to pick up my official certificate. Making a trip to Madrid from Burgos just to pick up a piece of paper… convenient, right?
In fact, the exact words in my “homologation letter” were the following:
“Con objeto de ofrecerle un mejor servicio, le rogamos no demore la recogida de su documentación.”
Translated, that basically means, “In order to serve you better, we respectfully request that you don’t delay in picking up your documentation.” I love that logic: in order to serve me better, I have to make a three-hour trip to Madrid ASAP to pick up a certificate that they could have easily sent to me in the mail. Oh well, it’s not the first time I’ve had to handle Spanish bureaucracy and it probably won’t be the last.
So I went to Madrid and picked up my official document and now I can proudly say that I have my degree recognized to the level of Licenciado in Spain. I’m hoping to do a master’s degree here soon, so this recognition should be helpful with that in the near future… I hope.
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
Just a question, Chris…
Which is your degree? Got some friends waiting for some “homologaciones” and maybe their time has also come…
Thanks,
Ed
P.S. Nice blog by the way. Looking forward to having more time to read it properly…
Oh, and congratulations!
the word in English for “homologación” is Accreditation…..Im very sure, I worked as Accreditation Officer for an english company
What I didnt know was how the system works in Spain…and how much did it last!! 8 months!!!! for UK it is easier…you send your documents to NARIC UK, they charge you like 90 pounds, and they send you back a paper stating the equivalence of your studies. They do not need to have a similar degree in their own country…
congrats for surviving the spanish burocracy!! It makes no sense that you need to pick your documents up in Madrid!!
@Eduardo – My degree is from the USA and the official title is B.S.Ed (Bachelor of Science in Education). It corresponds to the level of “Licenciado” in Spain. For your information, I submitted the paperwork back in November and we’re now in June and I just got the positive results. But, remember, I only had my degree “homologado al grado académico de licenciado,” I did not ask for my degree to be “homologado a un título oficial español del catálogo de títulos.” Thus, it took MUCH LESS TIME than if I would have asked for it to be “homologated” to an official degree.
And thanks for the Congrats!
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@Pelocha – Thanks for the info about the correct term for “homologación,” you’re probably right. In US English, I think I’ve also seen it written as “official degree recognition.” I put “homologation” in this post because many times I refer to it like that when I’m talking to my American friends about the process… nothing like a little Spanglish. And yes, although it seems unbelievable, in Spain it took eight months for them to recognize my degree. It would have taken longer if I had asked for it to be aligned to an official degree in the Spanish University Degree Catalog, so I guess I got off easy.
Thanks Chirs,
My mate’s had a B.S in Comp. Eng. for maybe 8-10 years and still waiting for recognition from the Spanish authorities. Glad you got it tho.
Enjoy the summer!
@Pelocha, of course it makes sense. with all the crisis and unemployment, a bus/tran ride to Madrid is really a employment boost for many people: drivers, ticket sellers, etc…
Together we can!
E
@Eduardo – My flatmates said the same exact thing about the bus ride to Madrid: they make you go to Madrid because it creates employment during the crisis. I don’t know if there’s any truth to that, but perhaps.
Congrats!
Homologation is a word in english
I have a degree in Religious Studies which is within the Humanities academic unit from my University. My degree is not, however, a bachelors in Humanities (which doesn’t even exist at the university I went to). I wonder if this would be comparable to a Licenciado en Humanidades or if it would be more worthwhile for me to go the route you took. What are the advantages and disadvantages of going route 1 over route 2? For my purposes, it would be to be able to earn a graduate degree in spain.
I also have an M.A. degree in Sociology, which was actually much much more difficult than getting my B.A. but is only a two year program, which as far as I can see was not on the list you linked (they only list Licenciado degrees). Do you know anything about accrediting graduate degrees like an M.A.? Ideally, I would like to finish my PhD in Sociology, but I don’t want my M.A. to count for nothing (it was damn hard!)
Did you have to gather all of your syllabi for all your coursework?
Thanks for this post. It seems so difficult to find any experiences of people who earned their degrees in the U.S. that are going through this process. If you can point me towards any other sources of information that you know of, I would be grateful.
@Blues – To find out if your degree is comparable to a Licenciado en Humanidades, you´ll have to request that they send you a copy of the “official degree catalogue” and look at the required courses for a Licenciado en Humanidades and compare them to what your core courses in the USA were. If most of them line up, it’s a match. If not, they probably won’t do it…. at least I THINK that’s how it works, you probably should check with the central office of the Ministry of Education in Madrid to be sure. Their contact info is located here:
http://www.educacion.es/horizontales/ministerio/atencion-ciudadano.html
If I were you I would call them, there is an option to send them an Email but from my experience, they don’t answer their emails. They do answer the phone and attend you very well via telephone (as long as you speak Spanish). If you’re in Spain, you can also stop by their office at c/ Alcala 36, Madrid. They have people to answer this type of question there as well.
To answer your other questions: I didn’t have to gather my syllabi because they didn’t ask me for it… but I know sometimes they do ask… so be prepared just in case.
And, I’m sure they can accredit a MA degree as well… I just don’t really know what the process would be. Check at the information office that I linked to in this comment.
Hi Chris, I’m really pleased for you! I’ve been waiting for my Hom. Grado Licenciado since December. They communicated their intention to turn it down, but I presented “alegaciones” and have my fingers crossed. by the way, how long was your US degree course? Mine is British. do you know of any who have manage to get their “homologation”?
Rebecca
@Rebecca – Good luck with your “alegaciones.” My US Degree course was a full, four-year, 120 credit course. And as far as knowing any Brits who have done homologation, I’m afraid I don’t… sorry I can’t be of more help there. In any event, good luck! I’m sure it will turn out well!!
Hi Chris, congrats! I’m just starting this crazy process. To get your degree homologado, did you have to get an official diploma legalized or will a copy do just as well? Thanks in advance!
@Ale – To answer your question, I had to get an official diploma legalized, I couldn’t use a copy. But your case may be different — I’d suggest checking with the Spanish Ministry of Education.
I’ve been calling the Ministry of Education to get some answers but no one picks up the phone lately. Anyone have any info on translating transcripts, who do you have them sent to to convalidate, etc? I have a Bachelors degree from the US and I need to convalidate my classes so I can sign up for a program at one of the hospitals in Madrid.Getting a little frustrated.. any help would be awesome!
Hello Chris,
I am just about to start the degree accreditation process. I am also going for a licenciado homologacion. So far, I have gathered my B.A. Diploma and university transcript and had both documents sealed with the Apostille of the Hague. Did the Spanish Ministry of Education require any other documentation besides this in your case? For example, were you asked for copies of the syllabi for each course you took?
Thanks in advance for your tips.
@Randy – In my case, they didn’t ask me for any syllabi or any additional documentation. But remember, you do have to have everything translated by a sworn translator recognized by Spain.
Hey Randy,
Syllabi is not required. I just got my diplomas and transcripts validated by the Spanish Embassy. All I needed were the original diplomas and transcripts with the Apostille of the Hague, along with the documents/seals from the notary and state county. According to the person I emailed with at the embassy, I could translate all the documents myself and the embassy would verify that they were correct and that would be sufficient. (One of my diplomas was in Latin and she said that that would have to be translated by a professional, but I took a chance and translated the document in english that came with my diploma to explain the Latin.) I’m sure my translations weren’t perfect, but the man at the embassy in D.C. was really nice and he let them pass. It was much easier than I thought!
Best of luck,
Ale
Thanks for the info! What all did you have to have translated? Your entire transcript? How much did this cost you? Thanks!
Hey Congrats on that – you might want to share the info on a forum I poston regularly (there are a lot of Americans on it) http://www.spainexpat.com/
It will generate traffic to your blog as well. Good luck.
Chris,
How long did it take you to get homologado a grado? I’m still waiting for the response, and getting a bit nervous as I haven’t heard anything from them since I submitted the paper!