1.- STUDENTS WITH A DEGREE FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY OF THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA (EHEA) which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework and qualifies for access to doctoral studies in the country of issue.

They must present legalized documentation, except in the case of EU members states or EFTA members.

Official documents issued in a foreign language must be accompanied by a Spanish translation.

This admission shall not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party, nor its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies.

2.- STUDENTS WITH NOT HOMOLOGATED FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS FROM EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS OUTSIDE THE EHEA.

They will be able to access official doctoral studies without the need to homologate their degrees, after verification by the university that this accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish university Master's degree and that it entitles them to access doctoral studies in the country in which the degree was awarded.

Prior to submitting the application for admission to doctoral programmes for the academic year 2024-25, they must have submitted the application for verification of the requirements indicated in the previous paragraph.

The application form that must be submitted, along with the documentation required for this process, at the Validations Department (Student Building, Avda. Complutense, s/n. Ciudad Universitaria. 28040 Madrid. Telephone: 91 394 1288), can be downloaded at the following link: 

https://www.ucm.es/doctoral-school/additional-information-for-students-having-performed-studies-abroad

Access by this path will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous qualifications of the student, nor their recognition for other purposes than that of studying PhD studies.

Documentation

REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCUMENTS ISSUED ABROAD

All official documents (official degree obtained or certification of its issue, academic transcript of grades/qualifications stating, among other things, the official duration in academic years, the study plan followed, the subjects taken with the grades and the time load of each of them, as well as the total time load, and the original of the letter certifying that the studies taken and completed by the student give access to a PhD in the country where they were taken), must be submitted:

• be issued by the competent authorities, according to the law of the country concerned.
• be duly legalised and translated, where appropriate.
• must be accompanied, where appropriate, by the corresponding official translation into Spanish.

LEGALISATION OF ACADEMIC DOCUMENTS ISSUED ABROAD

The legalisation of documents is a necessary procedure for the processes of access to PhD studies. With this procedure the studies carried out abroad are validated and it varies according to the country of origin of the studies.

The legalisation must be affixed to the original document before the copy to be certified or authenticated is made.

DOCUMENTS THAT MUST BE LEGALISED:

• Academic qualifications or titles.
• Academic records.
• The Diploma Supplement (SET).

WAYS OF LEGALISATION, ACCORDING TO THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF THE STUDIES:

1. Documents from EU member states or EFTA members

   Legalisation is not necessary, only translated documentation must be presented.

2. Documents from member countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) which do not belong to the EU or EFTA
   

   The competent authorities of the country recognize the signatures of the academic managers and issue the Hague Apostille, which must appear on the original document.

3. Documents from signatory states of the "Hague Convention" of October 5, 1961. List of countries
   

   The competent authorities of the country recognize the signatures of the academic managers and issue the Hague Apostille, which must appear on the original document.

4. Rest of the countries:

   The information corresponding to this legalisation must be provided by the university where the studies were taken, by the competent authority or by the consular services of the country of origin of the degree. The steps to be followed for legalisation through diplomatic channels are:

   1) recognition by the Ministry of Education of the country of origin of the signatures appearing on the original document.

   2) legalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin of the recognition mentioned in the previous section.

   c) recognition of the previous signature by the Spanish Consulate in the country of origin.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS TRANSLATION

All documents issued in a foreign language must be accompanied by a translation into Spanish, which may be done:

1. By sworn translator, duly authorized and registered in Spain (search engine for sworn translators)
2. By any diplomatic or consular representation of the Spanish State abroad.
3. By the diplomatic or consular representation in Spain of the applicant's country or, where appropriate, the country of origin of the document.
4. By the Gabinete Lingüístico from the Centro de Idiomas Complutense.