Master’s degrees have been defined as a way to access the job market. Due to the diversification of employment, having a specialization in any field implies a competitive advantage when looking for work. The figures back it up: 82.7% of the people who completed a master’s degree are working, according to the Employability and University Employment Barometer.
The general requirement to access a university or own master’s degree is to have a bachelor’s or comparable university degree (minimum 180 ECTS credits or three academic years). In addition to this general condition, each master’s or postgraduate degree can establish specific requirements. These include that the degree is in a specific field, have professional experience, accredit a certain level of a foreign language, or master some computer programs, among others.
To demonstrate that these requirements are met, it is possible that the center where the master’s degree is taught may request to provide additional documentation, such as the curriculum vitae, an official certificate of language level, a letter of motivation or recommendation, among other documents.
Students who still do not have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent), but will obtain it before enrolling in the master’s or postgraduate course they wish to take, can register online, and they will have to present the degree or payment receipt in order to enroll.
Own master’s degrees do not give access to doctoral studies. Exceptionally, in some postgraduate diploma courses, access can be authorized to people without a university degree who for a justified reason (because they are professionals related to the field of knowledge of the course to be taken or because for personal interest or for other reasons they have sufficient knowledge) are considered fit to continue classes normally. If they pass it, they will be eligible for a certificate signed by the rector of the university that teaches the course. This possibility only applies, exceptionally, to postgraduate diplomas, but not to master’s degrees.
In Spain there are official titles and own titles. The official titles (undergraduate, master’s, doctorate) have the endorsement of the university that awards them and with the recognition of the State. These studies are subjected to a complete evaluation process that guarantees their quality and allows their inclusion in the Register of Universities, Centers and Degrees (RUCT). Own titles are endorsed by the prestige of the university (or training center) that grants them.
As pointed out at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, ??official titles are an essential requirement to work in the public service, but, in general, companies do not take into account whether the title is official or their own when hiring a professional, but the prestige of the program and the fact that it provides the student with the knowledge and skills required by the profile they are looking for.
The prestige of a master’s degree depends to a large extent on the work that this program has done in its sector and, above all, on whether it is recommended by former students or teachers who teach it.
It is important to assess whether it incorporates leading professors, what students from previous editions say, and what is the degree of knowledge and recognition of the program in the sector. To request it, a declaration must be completed in which it is formally accepted that, instead of the postgraduate degree, the person will obtain a certificate of achievement.
If the title has been issued by a university in the European Higher Education Area, the student must provide a copy of it and the academic certificate, both legalized (if they have been issued in a country that is not a member of the European Union or other than Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) and with its official translation into Spanish, and with the rest of the documentation that is required for enrolment.
If the title has been issued by a university that does not belong to the European Higher Education Area, the student does not necessarily have to validate his degree, but rather can demonstrate that it entitles him in his country of origin to be able to pursue postgraduate studies similar to those what are you looking for.
