University Pathway Program

These exams are designed to align your studies with a Spanish university. They are organized by UNED, the institution responsible for university entrance exams and for managing the grades in your academic record for submission to universities.

Since 2017, this score can be processed without taking the PCE exams, simply by submitting the grades from the last two years of high school. However, this is not recommended because your final score may be lower than the admission cutoff score of the university where you want to study. Keep in mind that the cutoff score is the minimum grade required to enter a university. The higher your score, the more chances you have of being accepted at any university you choose, as some, such as medicine, have a very high cutoff score.

To improve your score, you need to take the PCE exams. UNED will process your final score, CAU (university entrance qualification), using the following formula:
Score = (0.2 x NMB (high school average grade) + 4) + 0.1 x Subject1 + 0.1 x Subject2 + 0.1 x Subject3 + 0.1 x Subject4.
Roughly, 60% of the final score comes from the high school average, and 40% comes from the average of the 4 PCE subjects.

Additionally, your academic record score will also depend on whether you are a Student A (from the EU or a validated system) or Student B (studied in a country outside the EU). In the first case, your high school score will be counted from 1 to 10. In the second case, your high school score can have a maximum value of 6 points, making the PCE exams almost essential if you want to obtain more than 6 points.

There are three types of subjects: core, specialized, and elective.

You can take an exam session at the end of May or early June and an additional session in early September. The deadline for the publication of PCE grades in the May/June session is June 21, and for the September session, it is September 19. This date may vary each year.

Having a good level of Spanish is essential for studying at a Spanish university; it is a fundamental requirement. In some cases, a B2 language certificate is required.

Additionally, Catalan universities recommend a B1 level of Catalan. For this reason, by 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 can acquire an intermediate level of Catalan.

Some Subjects Require a Very Good Level of Spanish

You can start preparing for the PCE with a completed B1 level and will not have trouble understanding science subjects. However, if you plan to take humanities subjects such as language and literature, history, or philosophy, be aware that you will need to write texts in Spanish. In that case, having a B2 level is highly recommended.

Spanish Express Is Not for Everyone

This type of course is designed for students who can learn the language quickly for various reasons: they are already familiar with Spanish, have been exposed to it, or speak another Latin-based language like French. If that is not your case, it is better to learn Spanish gradually and take your time to fully grasp the complexity of the language.

Degrees with a cutoff score between 12 and 14, such as medicine or dentistry, are very difficult to achieve, especially if you come from a non-EU country. Keep in mind that UNED will give you a maximum of 6 points for your high school diploma, meaning you will need to pass 4 subjects to reach a total of 10 points and additionally obtain 2 points from 1 or 2 subjects to increase your cutoff score. It is not impossible, but if your high school grades are not very strong and you are not a top student, you might want to consider a wide range of degrees with great career opportunities and interesting prospects.

Spain is organized into autonomous communities, and each one has defined its own requirements for university admission. We recommend that you first choose the autonomous community where you plan to apply so that you can prepare according to its specific requirements.

The two most challenging subjects for international students are History and Spanish Language and Literature. Why? Because these are subjects they have never studied in their home countries and require a strong command of Spanish.

In communities where the EBAU exam is required, you will need to pass these subjects since it is mandatory to pass six subjects in total. In communities that require a specific high school track (3-4 subjects), these subjects won’t be necessary, as they usually require one core subject. Most students opt for a foreign language.

Another very important recommendation is to take the necessary time to prepare for university. You are very brave and intelligent for wanting to travel to Spain to study a degree.

It is a big challenge that involves: learning a language properly and preparing to take exams in that language on subjects that may be new to you (in the case of humanities subjects) or that do not always follow the curriculum of your home country.

That is why we recommend taking the necessary time and learning Spanish at a steady pace. Ideally, you should dedicate an entire year to studying Spanish before preparing humanities subjects on your own.

The preparation programs last 5 months. Sometimes, it is helpful to start preparing the subjects before the course begins, once you have reached a sufficient language level. The school can also guide you in this process. As we say in Spanish, “sin prisa, pero sin pausa” (slow but steady), or “a fuego lento” (slow-cooked), which is the best way to do it.

There is a session at the end of May/early June and an extraordinary session in early September. The deadline for publishing the grades of the first session is June 21, while for the second session, it is September 19. This means you will no longer be able to enroll in university that same year. However, the validity of the results from the second session lasts for two years and is intended for the following cases:

You did not take one of the subjects and postponed it for this session.
You failed one of the subjects.
You want to improve your grade in a subject.

Many of you may be afraid of Catalan because you think it is a mandatory requirement to study in Catalonia.

The truth is that no Catalan certificate is required for university admission (nor for Spanish); it is only recommended to have a B1 level. Courses may be taught in Spanish, Catalan, or English, depending on the university and the subjects. Moreover, Catalan is a Latin language like Spanish, so it is not difficult to learn if you already speak Spanish. At our school, we offer you the opportunity to learn it and obtain a B1 level.