Spain is one of the favorite destinations for international students who want to do an official master’s degree. The university system, programs taught in English, and the possibility of working in the country after graduation make Spain a popular choice for many people from America, Asia, and Africa who want to continue their education. However, if you have studied outside the European Union, you will probably need to submit specific documentation and complete some additional procedures. One of the most important—and sometimes least known—is the sworn translation of your academic documents.
In this article, you will learn what documents you need to enrol in a master’s degree program in Spain with a foreign degree and why sworn translation is an essential step.
What type of master’s degree do you want to study?
The first thing you should know is that there are two types of master’s degrees in Spain:
- Máster oficial (Official Master’s Degree): regulated by the Spanish Ministry of Universities, this degree gives access to doctoral studies. It is valid throughout the European Union.
- Máster propio (University-specific Master’s Degree): awarded directly by the universities, this degree does not require official recognition of the admission qualification, although a sworn translation may be one of the requirements.
If your goal is to pursue an official master’s degree or continue on to a PhD, you will need to have your foreign degree recognised or declared equivalent.
To check whether a programme you are interested in is an official programme, you can use the Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos (Register of Universities, Centres and Programmes, only available in Spanish).
Documents required to access a master’s degree
Universities may vary in their specific requirements, but you will generally need to submit:
- Bachelor’s degree or university programme certificate
- Transcript or academic record
- Curriculum or description of subjects (sometimes required for equivalence)
- Passport or identity document
- Letter of motivation and academic/professional CV
- Proof of language level (Spanish or English, depending on the programme)
If your original documents are not in Spanish (or English, if the master’s degree is taught in that language), you will usually need to submit them accompanied by an official sworn translation into Spanish.
What is a sworn translation and why do you need one?
A sworn translation is an official translation that is legally valid in Spain, carried out by a translator accredited by the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación (Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation’). This type of translation must be signed and stamped by the sworn translator, and is required to submit documents in administrative and academic procedures.
Most Spanish universities require that documents for admission to master’s degree be accompanied by a sworn translation, especially:
- The certificate
- The academic transcript
- The programme syllabus
For admission and academic processing purposes, universities do not consider translations made using automatic tools, simple translations or those made by translators who are not sworn translators to be valid. Only sworn translations are considered officially valid.
If you need a sworn translation, Lingua Int can help you with the entire process: request a quote.
Do I need to have my qualifications recognised to study a master’s degree?
It depends on the type of master’s degree:
- For official master’s degrees, some universities require that your Bachelor’s Degree be recognised or, at the very least, that you apply for academic equivalence.
- For university-specific master’s degrees, it is not usually necessary to have your qualification recognised, but you will need to demonstrate that you have previous university education, and you will normally have to submit a sworn translation.
Read all about it in our article on the recognition of foreign certifications.
Always check the specific requirements on the website of the university or master’s degree you wish to enrol on.
What about apostilles and legalisation?
Before translating your documents, you must check whether they need to be apostilled (if your country is a signatory to the Hague Convention) or authenticated by a consulate (if it is not). This authentication certifies that the document is authentic in its country of origin.
If you have any questions about how apostilles work, here is a link to our article dedicated specifically to the Hague Apostille.
Conclusion
Accessing a master’s degree in Spain with a foreign qualification is entirely feasible, but it requires all your academic documentation to be in order. Make sure that your qualifications, transcripts and certificates are apostilled (if necessary) and correctly translated by a sworn translator. This will not only prevent delays, but also enable you to submit a complete application to any Spanish university.
At Lingua, we work with international students every year to help them prepare their documents so that they are legally valid in Spain. If you are thinking of studying a master’s or postgraduate degree at a Spanish university, contact us and let us help you.
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