University Pathway Program 2024-2025

These are tests designed to adapt your studies to a Spanish university. They are organised by the UNED, which is the body in charge of the university entrance exams for foreign students. The UNED is also in charge of managing the final grade of your transcript to present to the universities.

Since 2017, this mark can be processed without taking the PCE, just by presenting the marks of your last two years of baccalaureate. In any case, it is not advisable because your final mark may be lower than the cut-off mark of the university where you want to study. Remember that the cut-off mark is the minimum mark required to enter university. The more marks you have, the more chances you have of being accepted at any university you want to study at, as some universities, such as medical schools, have a very high cut-off mark.

To get a higher mark, you have to take the PCE. The UNED will process your final mark, CAU (university entrance qualification) with the following formula: Grade = (0.2 x NMB (average baccalaureate mark) + 4) + 0.1 x Subject1 + 0.1 x Subject2 + 0.1 x Subject3 + 0.1 x Subject4. More or less, 60% of the average mark of the baccalaureate + 40% of the average of the 4 PCE subjects.

On the other hand and, the grade of your transcript will also depend on whether you are an A student (from the EU or validated system) or a B student (you have studied in a country outside the EU). In the first case, your baccalaureate mark will be counted from 1 to 10. In the second case, your baccalaureate mark can have a maximum score of 6 points, so taking the PCE exams is almost essential if you want to obtain more than 6 points.

There are 3 types of subjects: common, modality and electives (I suggest you look for the common, modality and electives)

You will be able to sit an exam at the end of May/beginning of June and another extraordinary exam at the beginning of September. The deadline for the publication of the PCE grades for the May/June exams is 21 June and for the September exams is 19 September. This date can always vary from year to year.

It is important to know if the university uses the UNEDasiss Accreditation, if it requires a language certificate, if there is a minimum number of PCE subjects that you must take or pass (some universities may require 6 subjects, EBAU…).

Public universities are governed by the rules of each community and in Spain this can vary. It is not the same to study in Catalonia as in Madrid or the Basque Country. The destination of your university can determine the number of subjects you have to take. In Catalonia, as well as in Zaragoza, Oviedo, Castilla-La Mancha and Navarra, the EBAU with the NMB (average baccalaureate mark calculated by the UNED) is required. This means that you will have to take a total of 6 subjects (3 core subjects, 1 modality subject and 2 option subjects).

• In Andalusia, Cantabria, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands they also ask for the EBAU (6 subjects), but they do not use the NMB calculated by the UNED.
• In Madrid, León, Burgos, Salamanca and Valladolid they use the baccalaureate modality (3 to 4 core or modality PCE).
• In the Region of Murcia they ask for a minimum of 2PCE with requirements and in Valencia and Extramadura 4PCE without requirements.

In addition to the requirements of each community, you have to take into account the cut-off mark and the subjects that are weighted to get a higher mark in each university. This example shows the universities in Catalonia for 2022.

Once you are sure about the degree and the university where you want to study, we advise you to find out about all the requirements because, as you can see, they may vary depending on each university.

Obviously, having a good level of Spanish to study at a Spanish university is a fundamental requirement. In some cases, a B2 language certificate is required. In addition, at Catalan universities, a B1 level of Catalan is recommended. For this reason, at the end of the course you will be able to complete the B2 level of Spanish with an official certification from the Instituto Cervantes (SIELE diploma), or you will be able to acquire an intermediate level of Catalan.

You may begin PCE preparation with a complete B1 certificate and you will not have any problems understanding scientific subjects. However, should you wish to present yourself for language-related subjects such as Languages, Literature, History, or Philosophy, we advise that you will be required to write texts in Spanish and for this reason a B2 level is recommended.

It is very difficult to get accepted to degree programs with a cutoff grade of 12-14, such as Medicine or Dentistry. This is made harder if you come from a country outside of Spanish territory. Bear in mind that UNED will give you a maximum of 6 points for your baccalaureate, you must pass 4 subjects to obtain a total of 10 points, besides obtaining 2 points from 1 or 2 additional subjects to raise your cutoff grade. It is not impossible; however, should your baccalaureate grades be lower than expected, you would consider yourself a star student, we would recommend a plethora of alternative degree programs that link you to plenty of job opportunities. These programs have a high cutoff grade due to high demand, for this reason access is more complicated, even for native Spaniards. If your student profile isn’t the best, however you are determined to study one of these programs, we recommend that you look into studying in regions where access is much easier.

Each community is different. We are going to try to give you an explanation about the communities because it is a bit complicated to understand, even for the UNED. The 2 most complicated subjects for foreign students are History and Spanish language and literature, why? Because they are subjects they have never studied in their own countries and because they require a good command of Spanish. In the communities where the EBAU is required, you will have to pass them as it is compulsory to pass 6 subjects. In the communities where they ask for baccalaureate modality (3-4 subjects), it will not be necessary, because they ask for a core subject, normally, people choose a foreign language. The other communities ask for a number of subjects (2 or 4), but they do not require the subject (we explain this in requirements for university entrance). Catalan universities enjoy a lot of prestige and there are many foreign students every year, but you need to know this beforehand. As we say in Spanish, “quien algo quiere, algo le cuesta”.

Another very important recommendation is to take your time to prepare for university. You are very brave and very intelligent for wanting to come to study in Spain and we admire you for it. But, sometimes we think that you don’t understand the enormous work that this implies: you have to learn a language properly and prepare yourself to take exams in that language for subjects that are new to you (in the case of arts subjects) or that don’t always follow the syllabus of your country. That is why we tell you, take your time and learn Spanish slowly. The ideal would be to dedicate a whole year to the study of Spanish and then prepare some of your own literature subjects. The preparation programmes have a duration of 5 months, sometimes it is a good idea to prepare the subjects before you start, once you have reached a sufficient level. The school can also advise you on this. As we say in Spanish “sin prisa, pero sin pausa”, or “a fuego lento”, which is how everything works best.

This type of course is designed for students who can learn the language quickly for various reasons: they already know or have been in contact with Spanish or they already master a Latin language, such as French. If this is not your case, it is better to learn Spanish in a more gradual way and take your time to assimilate all the complexity of the language.

There is a call at the end of May/beginning of June and another extraordinary call at the beginning of September. The deadline for the publication of the marks of the first call is 21 June and those of the second call, 19 September, so you will not be in time to be able to enrol at the university that same year.  In any case, the validity of the results of the second call is for two years and is designed for the following cases:

• You did not take any of the subjects and you reserved them for this exam session.
• You failed any of the subjects.
• You want to get a better grade in a subject

We remind you that in all classes you have tutorial hours that you can take advantage of to discuss your doubts in a personalised way. It is important that you make the most of these hours, your teachers will be happy to help you.

Many of you are afraid of Catalan because you think it is a prerequisite for studying in Catalonia. The truth is that no certificate of Catalan is required to access the university (neither is Spanish), it is only recommended to have a B1. Subjects can be taught in Spanish, Catalan or English, depending on the university and the subjects. Moreover, Catalan is a Latin language, like Spanish, it is not difficult to learn if you already have a good command of Spanish. At our school we give you the pportunity to learn it and obtain the B1.