Chapter I. Access, admission and enrolment

Chapter 1 governs access and admission to university Master’s degree courses run by the University of the Basque Country - UPV/EHU, as well as the enrolment process. Any aspects requiring further development will be covered by the rules established by the Postgraduate Commission. All information will be published in a timely manner on the university website.

Article 1. - Access requirements for Master’s degrees.

To be eligible for access to an official university Master’s degree, candidates must comply with at least one of the following criteria:

a) be in possession of an official Spanish university Undergraduate degree (Grado) or another Spanish university Master’s degree.

b) be in possession of an official Spanish university degree obtained in accordance with syllabuses pre-dating the current system of university teaching implemented under the principles established by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA): Undergraduate (Licenciado), Architecture, Engineering, Diploma, Technical Architecture or Technical Engineering degree.

c) be in possession of a foreign higher education qualification that is officially recognised as the equivalent of an official Spanish university degree or has been declared equivalent to the academic level acquired in a university Undergraduate or Master’s degree by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.

d) be in possession of an Undergraduate or Master’s degree issued by a university or higher education institute in a country in the EHEA, which permits access to Master’s studies in said country.

e) be in possession of a foreign higher education qualification obtained in an education system outside the EHEA that is equivalent to an Undergraduate degree; said qualification does not need to have been officially recognised as equivalent providing the University has checked that it reflects a level of training equivalent to the corresponding official Spanish university qualification and that in the country in which it was issued, it provides access to postgraduate studies. Under no circumstances does access by this pathway imply the accreditation of the qualification held by the interested party, or its recognition for any purpose other than access to the Master’s degree.

Acceptance of candidates applying through this pathway is subject to authorisation by the Postgraduate Commission. Requests may be submitted prior to the pre-enrolment period for University Master’s Degree studies, following the procedure established for this purpose by the Postgraduate Commission and published on the UPV/EHU website. In the event of a candidate not having submitted a request or obtained the aforementioned authorisation at the moment they wish to pre-enrol, they may continue with the admissions process on a conditional basis, with said admission being automatically rendered null and void if they fail to obtain the necessary authorisation within the deadline established for formalising their enrolment in the timeframe approved by the Postgraduate Commission for each academic year.

f) under exceptional circumstances, Undergraduate students who have yet to pass their graduation project and who have yet to earn up to 9 ECTS credits in order to obtain their Undergraduate degree may request admission onto one of the university Master’s degrees at the UPV/EHU for which the Postgraduate Commission has established this possibility. However, in accordance with that stipulated in Article 18 of Royal Decree 822/2021, of 28 September, priority shall always be given to candidates actually in possession of an official university Undergraduate degree. Under no circumstances may any candidate admitted through the pathway outlined in this section obtain a Master’s qualification without having first earned the Undergraduate degree with which they accessed the course.

Article 2.- Admission requirements and the issuing of offers.

1. In addition to complying with the access requirements outlined in Article 1, candidates who wish to be admitted and to formalise their enrolment on a university Master’s degree at the UPV/EHU must also comply with the specific requirements established by the corresponding Master’s course, which are outlined in the Syllabus Reports of the corresponding programmes and are published on each Master’s degree website.

Depending on the candidate’s accredited qualifications, they may be required to complete complementary training in some disciplines. Under no circumstance may the credit burden exceed the equivalent of 20% of the total credit requirement for the degree course. Complementary training credits shall be awarded the same value as all other credits in the syllabus of the university Master’s degree.

2. The places available on university Master’s degree courses will be established annually by the Governing Board.

Those Master’s degree which, over the past two years, have had fewer than 10 students enrolled on them, may be excluded from the UPV/EHU offer. In relation to inter-university Master’s degrees, this figure refers to students throughout the entire network.

3. No Master’s degree may leave previously offered places unfilled if applicants exist who meet the established requirements. To fill these places, applications must have been formalised within the established deadlines, and admission and enrolment must be carried out within the first week of classes for the corresponding course.

4. At least 5% of the places offered shall be reserved for students with a recognised degree of disability equal to or higher than 33%, as well as for students with permanent educational support needs associated with personal disability circumstances, which in previous studies have required certain resources and support to ensure full educational inclusion. Students must provide proof of their circumstances by presenting a certificate issued by the administration or competent body. If the places reserved are not filled, they will be made available to other candidates.

Article 3.- Pre-enrolment and documents to be submitted.

Admission applications must be submitted online through the application available for that purpose.

2. For each academic year, the Postgraduate Commission will establish the calendar, the procedure and the documents that must be submitted by candidates during pre-enrolment. This information will be made available in advance every academic year, both on the UPV/EHU's website and in the secretariats set up for this purpose in the corresponding Faculties. The documents submitted during pre-enrolment will be the ones taken into consideration during the Master’s admission process.

The specific calendar and admissions procedure for degrees run in conjunction with other national or international higher education institutions will be adapted to that established in the corresponding qualification and agreement. 

3. Every academic year, the number of pre-enrolment periods will be determined by the Postgraduate Commission within the approved timeframe and following the approved procedure. Candidates may only pre-enrol on one Master’s degree course at a time. 

4. In the event of various pre-enrolment periods being established, second and subsequent periods will only feature those Master's degree courses that have admitted all suitable candidates and still have free spaces. Master’s degrees that still have candidates on the waiting list, but foresee that not all places on offer will be filled, may also participate in second and subsequent pre-enrolment periods, providing they can duly justify this prevision in the eyes of the office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for Postgraduate studies.

5. In the event of a Master’s degree that still has candidates on the waiting list participating in a new pre-enrolment period, said candidates will have priority over those who pre-enrol in the new period, regardless of their admissions grade.

6. In the event of new pre-enrolment periods being established, candidates who did not pre-enrol in previous periods may pre-enrol. Those who are on a waiting list for a Master’s course when a new period is established may pre-enrol on another degree, as may those who have been admitted onto a course but have not reserved a place within the established deadline, although in both cases, this will automatically cancel out the option selected in the previous pre-enrolment period. This also applies to those who were excluded during the previous period as a result of failing to comply with the admissions criteria.

7. Once a pre-enrolment period is over, under no circumstances will candidates be allowed to modify or expand their application for admission onto a course until a new pre-enrolment period has been established.

Article 4. - Pre-selected and excluded Master's degree applicants.

After the end of the pre-enrolment period, the Academic Commission of each Master’s course will analyse the pre-enrolment requests received in order to determine whether or not the applicants meet the general access requirements and the specific requisites established for the degree. The Faculty running each Master’s degree will be responsible for ensuring these checks are carried out and that the results are published and all interested parties notified, on the date and following the procedure established each academic year by the Postgraduate Commission.

The applications of those who meet the general requirements for accessing a Master’s degree course, as well as the specific requirements for the course in question, and the applications of those who are in a position to meet them during the academic year prior to the start of the course, will be pre-selected for the admissions process. All applications will be assessed on the basis of the documents provided by the applicant within the pre-enrolment period, and in accordance with the merit-based evaluation criteria established for the corresponding Master's course. This evaluation will be used to select which applicants are offered a place on the course.

The applications of those who fail to meet the general requirements for accessing a Master’s degree course or the specific requirements for the course in question, and who are not in a position to meet them during the academic year prior to the start of the course, will be excluded from the process. If excluded, applicants may lodge an appeal with the Faculty running the Master’s course, within a maximum period of 3 working days. In the event of the Faculty also denying their appeal, the student may, within a period of one month from the date of notification, have recourse to the Vice Chancellor of the University of the Basque Country.

Article 5.- Admission process.

1. Pre-selected applications will be ordered in accordance with the evaluations carried out by the Academic Commission of the Master's degrees, applying the established assessment criteria, although in all cases the priority awarded in article 3.5. to those assigned to the waiting list during previous pre-enrolment periods must be respected. No one who pre-enrols in a new period may be admitted until all candidates pre-selected for the waiting list during the previous period have been admitted.

2. Students admitted onto a university Master’s degree in accordance with the procedure established in these regulations must confirm their place reservation in accordance with the established conditions and within the established deadlines. Admission is dependent on compliance with this requisite.

To confirm the reservation of their place on the course, candidates must pay the amount established as an advance on the enrolment fees. The amount paid to reserve a place will be subtracted later on from the total fees due; failure to pay the stated amount will result in the candidate in question losing their place on the course. In the event of the candidate not formalising their enrolment, the sum paid to reserve their place will not be refunded, except when failure to enrol is due to the candidate not fulfilling the access and/or admission requirements. The procedure for formalising payment will be established by the Postgraduate Commission and the sum will be established by the Department of Education’s Price Order.

Candidates eligible for the exemptions outlined in the current Order of Prices do not need to pay this reservation fee (or need only pay the percentage corresponding to their condition).

3. Candidates must have reserved their place in order to proceed with enrolment. Those who have reserved a place and who hold one of the qualifications outlined in points a) to e) of Article 1, must formalise their enrolment within the established deadline and following the method established for each academic year, which shall be published on the UPV/EHU website. Undergraduate students who have yet to pass their graduation project and who have yet to earn up to 9 ECTS credits in order to obtain their Undergraduate degree should proceed in the same way for admission onto one of the university Master’s degrees at the UPV/EHU for which the Postgraduate Commission has established this possibility. In the event of a candidate failing to formalise their enrolment within the established deadline, the reservation of their place on the course will automatically be cancelled. During enrolment, the Faculties running the Master's courses are responsible for ensuring compliance with RD822/2021, according to which students with an Undergraduate degree have preference over those who have not yet earned their undergraduate qualification.

3. Once the admissions procedures corresponding to the different pre-enrolment periods established have been completed, if any free places are left on any Master’s degrees, interested candidates may submit an application directly to the Secretariat of the Faculty running the course. These applications will be assessed on the basis of the same criteria as those outlined above.

Students admitted onto a university Master’s degree must enrol in all subjects they wish to take over the coming academic year within the deadline established in the calendar approved by the Postgraduate Commission. The number of credits for which students may enrol will be the number established by each university Master’s degree in its corresponding report.

Article 6.- Enrolment procedure.

The enrolment process shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for postgraduate studies. During this process, information regarding the documents to be submitted by each student will be published every academic year on the UPV/EHU website and at the Secretariats established for this purpose in each corresponding Faculty.

The Postgraduate Commission will approve a double list each academic year. One list will feature those Master’s degrees that accept or may accept the conditional enrolments referred to in Article 18 of Royal Decree 822/2021, of 28 September. The other list will feature those Master’s degrees that do not accept conditional enrolments.

Students aged 28 years and under will automatically be charged for School Insurance. Students over the age of 28 must take out their own insurance policy. The university has a voluntary insurance policy to which any interested party can adhere. This should be done directly with the corresponding insurance company.

Article 7.- Enrolment deadlines.

Two enrolment periods are established.

The first will open prior to the start of the degree course.The calendar with the dates and deadlines for pre-enrolment and enrolment will be proposed each academic year by the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for postgraduate studies, and will be approved by the Postgraduate Commission.

During the final weeks of the first semester, and up until 31 January, the Faculty running the Master’s course will open up a second enrolment period for those not yet enrolled on the course. At this time, candidates may only enrol on subjects that have not yet begun. Applications, which must be duly justified, should be sent to the Dean or the Head of the Faculty running the Master’s course, and must have previously been authorised by the Master’s degree Academic Commission.

These periods do not cover enrolment on the MGA, which must be completed within the period established by the Faculty or during the corresponding academic year, in accordance with the conditions established in the regulation governing the completion and defence of the MGA. Those who are obliged to complete their MGA in a single academic year must formalise their enrolment at the start of the course, or during the second enrolment period outlined in the previous paragraph.

Students may ask for their enrolment to be modified. Said requests should be sent in writing to the Dean or the Head of the Faculty running the Master’s course, and must have previously been authorised by the Master’s degree Academic Commission. Modifications may be requested up until 31 January of each academic year, providing the subjects affected have not yet begun. Modifications do not lead to the reimbursement of any fees or public prices paid, except under the circumstances outlined in Article 11.

Article 8. - Price and method of payment.

1.- Students must pay the University those sums established each academic year by the Basque Government Department responsible for universities. Enrolment is not considered effective until the established sum has been paid; this in no way affects that outlined in the following sections regarding reductions, exemptions or within-deadline payments.

2.- To benefit from reductions in or exemptions from public prices, applicants must provide proof of meeting the requirements within the enrolment deadline.

3.- If applicants decide to pay their enrolment fee in instalments, they must respect the deadlines established by the Basque Government in the Order of Prices.

4.- Payments for exceptional enrolment extensions or rejected grants may not be made in instalments.

5.- Those who have not paid their enrolment fee due to having applied for a grant are subject to that stipulated in the Basque Government Order that governs the prices for the public higher education services provided by the University of the Basque Country - UPV/EHU.

6.- School insurance, student cards and other administrative fees must be paid in a single instalment (upon enrolling).

7.- Credits shall be recognised in accordance with that established in Chapter II of these regulations. In all cases, recognition shall be dependent on the fees corresponding to said credits being paid, in accordance with that established each academic year by the Basque Government Department of Education, Universities and Research.

8.- Students who have not paid their enrolment fees shall be considered to be in debt to the University; said debt shall be established by means of a resolution and notification. No one with any debts outstanding to the UPV/EHU may use the services provided by said institution, and in particular shall not be permitted to engage in any new studies or enrol on any new courses, and neither shall any degree or other certificates or informative notes regarding the student's academic transcript be issued. Students shall recover all their rights the moment they pay the outstanding sum owed to the UPV/EHU.

9.- Only those who, at the time of enrolment, meet all the requirements established in the call for grants and have submitted their grant application may enrol as grant students. Said students must present the grant application submission slip alongside the other documents required for enrolment. Failure to do so will result in the student being required to pay the prices corresponding to the subjects on which they are enrolled, although this does not preclude them from applying for a grant.

However, students enrolled as grant students for having met the academic requirements but who are eventually not awarded the grant and request cancellation of the enrolment once they receive notification of said rejection, are not considered to be in debt to the university.

Article 9.- Types of Enrolment and Exemptions to Public Prices.

The sum due from each student will depend on their specific conditions and circumstances, as established in the Order of Public Prices issued each academic year by the Basque Government Department responsible for universities.

UPV/EHU students in the final year of their Undergraduate degree who have been awarded the ‘with Honours’ epithet and enrol in an official Master’s degree at that same university for the following academic year will benefit from reduced enrolment fees. This reduction will be equivalent to the cost of the number of credits for which they were awarded the ‘with Honours’ epithet in the last year of their Undergraduate degree. The same reduction will be applied to students on a university Master’s degree lasting for more than one academic year.

Article 10.- Cancelling enrolment.

1.- Students will be deemed to have enrolled from the moment they pay their enrolment fees. Nevertheless, if, prior to the end of the course, it is noted that a student has enrolled on a course but does not meet the access and admission requirements, said enrolment shall be cancelled by means of a Resolution issued by the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for postgraduate studies, at the instance of the Faculty running the Master’s course on which they were enrolled, and any public fees paid shall be reimbursed.

2.- In accordance with that stipulated in Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 11 September, approving the modified text of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country Act on Administrative Fees and Public Prices, requests by students for cancelling enrolments submitted within the established deadline and in accordance with the legally established procedure shall, under no circumstances except those outlined in article 11, lead to the reimbursement of any public fees paid.

3.- Any rejection of an enrolment by the university must be duly justified, and shall result in the reimbursement of any public prices paid by the interested party. An appeal may be lodged with the Vice Chancellor of the UPV/EHU or with the competent body to which they delegate said authority, against the Faculty’s decision to reject an enrolment request.

Enrolment cancellations are categorised as follows:

The applicant fails to comply with one or more of the requirements for formalisation, even after a 10-day need-to-comply notice has been issued, and the other procedures established in article 68 of Act 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure for Public Administrations, have been followed.

Enrolments may also be cancelled at the request of the interested party, providing said request is made prior to 31 December each year; in such cases, the sums paid by the student shall only be reimbursed in the circumstances outlined in article 11 of these Regulations. Up until the 31 December, any requests for cancelling enrolment must be submitted to the Faculty secretariat and addressed to the Dean or Head of the Faculty running the Master’s degree. An appeal against the resolution adopted can be lodged within a period of one month with the Vice-Chancellor of the university or with the competent body to which they delegate said authority. Only subjects not yet assessed will be cancelled, with this in no way affecting that stipulated in Article 11.6.

After 31 December, no enrolment cancellation requests will be accepted, except when expressly authorised by the university following a request by the interested party and in accordance with that established in Article 11.6. Requests must be addressed to the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for Postgraduate studies and must have the authorisation of the Academic Commission of the corresponding Master's Degree course, as well as the authorisation of the Dean or Head of the Faculty running the course. Requests may be submitted no later than two months after the date on which the motive for the cancellation occurred, and always within the academic year of the enrolment to which the cancellation request pertains.

New students who cancel their enrolment must register once again if they later wish to resume their studies.

Article 11. Reimbursement of fees and public prices.

Public prices paid may be reimbursed under the exceptional circumstances outlined below:

Automatic cancellation of the enrolment due to an unresolvable issue.

When the sum paid is higher than current prices due to a calculation error or improper payment resulting from a cause not attributable to the student.

When sums have been paid by people who are exempt due to the awarding of a grant or scholarship, or because they are eligible for an exemption or subsidy, providing the application was made and accredited in time and in the proper manner, in accordance with that established in the Order of Public Prices for each academic year.

When a decision is issued regarding the official recognition of certain subjects and the student has already passed them.

When a request for enrolment cancellation and fee reimbursement is submitted before the official commencement of the academic year; in such cases, the public prices paid for enrolled, recognised or validated credits shall be reimbursed. . Under no circumstances will the amount paid to reserve the place be reimbursed. Requests must be submitted to the secretariat of the Faculty running the Master’s degree course.

When, at any time during the year, a student is prevented from continuing their studies during the rest of the year by exceptional, unexpected and duly justified circumstances such as a prolonged physical or psychiatric illness, the death of the student themselves or a first degree relative, the starting of a job whose working hours are incompatible with the continuation of the Master’s course or any other similar unexpected event. If such circumstances should arise, students should submit their request for reimbursement to the university register, along with the documents justifying the exceptional situation. Requests should be addressed to the Pro Vice-Chancellor responsible for Postgraduate studies, following the procedure and within the period outlined in Article 10.3. In the event of the exceptional circumstances being accepted as such, subjects graded as ‘Not Sat’ may also be cancelled. 

Article 12.- School Insurance.

1.- Payment for School Insurance is obligatory for all students enrolling on any official postgraduate course at the UPV/EHU. The age limit for eligibility for this insurance is 28 years.

2.- Foreign students from countries with which there is a tacit or express reciprocity agreement are also covered by the UPV/EHU’s School Insurance policy.

Article 13.- Accident and medical insurance.

The UPV/EHU has an accident and medical assistance policy called EHU Ikasle Asegurua, which covers all students enrolled on UPV/EHU Master’s degree courses in Spain.