Professional Documents
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Revisin 00
1. Spain's higher education legal framework: "Official and accredited education" and "Non-official education".
1.1 Official and accredited education. In Spain, accreditation of official university study programmes is regulated by law and monitored by governmental agencies responsible for verifying their quality and suitability for official approval and accreditation, by means of a nationwide scheme involving government dependent bodies and agencies that act independently from the Academic institution offering the study programme. Officially approved and accredited professional study programmes lead to degree qualifications ( Ttulos) with full academic and professional effects, and the degrees awarded in accordance with the latest higher education system are: 1. 2. 3. Bachelors Degree (Grado) - 240 ECTS Credits (4 years ) Masters Degree (Master Universitario) - 60 to 120 ECTS Credits (1-2 years) Doctoral Degree PhD (Doctorado) - (3-2 years)
Accredited Bachelor's Degrees and Masters Degrees qualifications will always be described as "Grado" and "Master Universitario". These qualifications comply with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework, a European Union wide coherent framework for higher education academic credits transfer. Officially approved and accredited university study programmes must implement this framework by law in order to attain and retain accreditation in Spain. 1.2 Non-official education. Not all EHEA compliant study programmes in Spain are officially approved and/or accredited by government agencies. Some universities offer proprietary study programmes as an alternative to accredited study programmes for a variety of reasons: attending the continuing education market for individual self-advancement and also providing higher education to individuals that have failed to acquire Bachelors Degree qualifications. These programmes fall within the category of "Non officially approved and accredited" or " Estudios no oficiales" and they have no academic or professional effects. This means that they do not entitle the bearer to claim to have any specific academic or professional qualifications, as far as the Spanish authorities are concerned. Universities offering non-official study programmes are legally bound to clearly differentiate between officially approved and non-officially approved qualifications when naming their offer of non-official qualifications. For instance, non-accredited Master's Degrees will be described as " Master" on its own, without the term "Universitario". Certain non-officially approved and accredited study programmes may acquire a well deserved reputation. However, neither Professional Association, Government Agencies, Judiciary Authorities, nor Universities -other than the study programme provider- are obliged to recognize non-official qualifications in any way. 2. Accreditation System University taught study programmes accreditation is granted through the Spanish National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA). This is a government dependent quality assurance and accreditation provider for the Spanish Higher Education System and ensures that the data held in the Spanish Registry for Higher Education Universities and Qualifications, the Universities, Campuses and Qualifications Registry (RUCT), is correct
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and up to date. The RUCT acts as the Governmental official registry for the legal status of officially approved Universities, Campuses and Qualifications. All study programmes must be accredited by ANECA prior to their inclusion in the RUCT. The RUCT records all officially approved Universities and their Bachelor's Degrees, Master's Degrees and PhDs, and each and every one of the officially approved and accredited study programmes and universities are assigned a specific number Code (Cdigo) by the RUCT. The same study programme may adquire different codes as it progrsses through various stages of official approval (by local government, by central government, etc) Prospective students should check the RUCT Code awarded to the study programme of their interest at every stage of their enquiries concerning degrees in Spain.
1:Registro de Universidades, Centros y Ttulos (RUCT) for Paisajismo search / "Mster Universitario en Paisajismo" appears twice due to two different approval stages, by Local Government and National Government.
The ANECA Registry records all events in the life of an officially approved and accredited study programme or an university. ANECA makes recommendations regarding procedures, staffing levels, quality of teaching, resources available to students, and continuity or loss of accreditation. The ANECA Registry Search Facility may be the simplest and safest way to verify the status of all officially approved and accredited study programmes in Spain. It is also possible to track qualifications by using the search facility that several Autonomous Communities own accreditation agencies offer. These agencies work within the ANECA framework, and generally show more detailed information about the study programmes available in each territory (ie: Catalonia, Madrid, etc) 3. Qualifications framework for Higher Education. The Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (MECES) is the reference framework adopted in Spain in order to structure degree levels. This framework is implemented at state wide level through various local governments, but final official approval and accreditation remains within the Government of Spain approved agencies remit.
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Not all universities offer degrees named exactly the same, even if they have similar academic and professional effects. Each university may present proposals for the study programme considered to meet professional and academic demand. The proposal will consist of a report linking the study programme being considered and the proposed qualification to be awarded. This report will be assessed by ANECA and sent for the Consejo de Universidades Espaolas upon approval. If the Consejo agrees with ANECAs approval, it will be included in the RUCT and ANECA registries.
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2 Spanish Official University Education Legal Framework - Official University Qualifications, Accreditation and Professional Practice Legal Framework in context with non official studies.
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There are generally two types of accredited Master's Degree programmes leading to qualifications specialised in the fields of Landscape: 1. Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture: Master Universitario en Paisajismo or Master Universitario en Arquitectura del Paisaje, at several Universities. Generally, for persons who hold a Bachelor's Degree in a field other than landscape architecture, and intend to become landscape architecture practitioners. 60 to 120 ECTS Credits over 1-2 years of full-time study, which may lead to a regulated professional qualification depending on the nature of the original Bachelor's Degree. Master's Degree in Landscape Studies: Master Universitario en (definition required), at several Universities. Generally, for persons who hold a Bachelor's Degree, and intend to become acquainted with areas of study related to landscape, urban design, planning, engineering, etc. 60 to 120 ECTS Credits over 1Gabino Carballo page 6
2.
2 years of full-time study, that may lead to a regulated professional qualification depending on the nature of the original Bachelor's Degree. Prospective students should investigate the specific aims and objectives of various programs before deciding where to enrol. The first port of call for research should be the RUCT and ANECA Registries, since they record the main facts about all accredited study programs at Grado, Master Universitario and Doctorado levels in Spain. ANECA's search facility currently offers 6 results for a Paisajismo search and 38 results for Paisaje search:
3 View of ANECA search facility for "Landscape Architecture" and Landscape labelled programmes.
7. Non-accredited qualifications
Universities may offer study programmes that fall outside the scope of the RUCT and ANECA's accreditation procedures. This kind of study programme is accredited by the university offering the qualification only. Professional Association, Government Agencies, Judiciary Authorities, and Universities are under no obligation to recognize non-official qualifications in any way, and they have no academic or professional effects. The bearer is not entitled to claim to have any specific academic or professional qualifications. Universities offering non-official study programmes are legally bound to differentiate between officially approved and non-officially approved qualifications when naming of their non-official qualifications, and they usually offer these non-accredited qualifications through the University's Continuing Education Schools, Lifelong Learning Centres, and other University affiliated facilities or bodies Non-accredited qualifications will be described as "Master" on its own, "Curso", "Posgrado", "Mdulo", or by means of English language terms such as "Undergraduate" or "Graduate Level", as well as terms similar to Grado without implying accreditation. Accredited Bachelor's Degrees and Masters Degrees qualifications will always be described as "Grado" and "Master Universitario".
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This prestigious Master is not registered in the RUCT, it is not accredited by theCatalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU Catalunya) or by ANECA, and as a continuing development study programme falls outside the official Academic and Professional Qualifications accreditation system in Spain. This Master is not to be confused with the UPC Barcelona Tech officially approved and accredited Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture (Master Universitario en Paisajismo). This affordable professional study programme is a Master Universitario and it is accredited and listed in the ANECA registry for professional Paisajismo and Paisaje qualifications with an publicly available assessment. It is a joint programme between the Architectural Faculty (ETSAB) and the Agricultural Engineering Faculty (ESAB).
4 Spanish Official University Education Legal Framework - Official university qualifications and accreditation, applicable laws and regulations.
RD 1393/2007, establishing the organization of university courses. RD 861/2010, amending Royal Decree 1393/2007, establishing the organization of university. RD 1614/2009, of 26 October, establishing the organization of higher studies in arts as regulated by Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education. RD 99/2011 regulating official doctoral studies.
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