New UC3M admissions process

This year Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has developed a new admissions procedure for non-European international students that they may choose to enrol at the University without the complexities that first doing the Spanish university entrance exam entails for them. This new process leads to increase the cultural, geographical and linguistic diversity of the students on the University campuses.

UC3M is one of the first Spanish universities to implement the new admissions process. This change helps young people who want to study at the UC3M. It is one of the University’s own projects, intended to create a more diverse campus and facilitate the admission of students from other countries and cultures.

The next enrolment period for international students who have not taken the Spanish entrance exam runs from January 12th to May 29th, 2015. To meet the student’s profile requested is necessary to hold a High School Diploma, Secondary Education Diploma or equivalent certificate  and a minimum grade of notable(B).  The University seeks students from non-European educational systems (such as Latin America, Asia and the Middle East) for all degree programs, but especially for Humanities, Information and Documentation, Tourism and, at the School of Engineering, for Telecommunications, Telematics and Communication Systems.

In the first enrolment period, more than a dozen students from countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Macedonia, Portugal and Venezuela, among others, were accepted for academic year 2014/2015. One advantage of this process is that it saves time, according to some of the students admitted, such as Cizia Tavolieri (see photo; second from the right), Claudia Elena Izaguirre (second from the left) and Andreina González (on the left), from Venezuela. “I was able to apply entirely via the Internet, which is valuable for students like me who don’t live in Spain,” said González about the system.

“In addition to offering the option to study a degree course taught in two languages, the fact that the University is quite young and renowned also caught my attention,” said Victor de Gouveia (in the center of the photo), who is enrolled in Computer Engineering, as is Cvetanka Jovanovka (on the right). “I am already in love with the University,” admitted Gouveia.

International community

UC3M houses a large international community. The percentages of professors and students who are foreign are 11.5% and 18%, respectively, and the figure reaches 44% in the case of doctoral students. As a reflection of that demand, up to 14 degrees are offered in Spanish and English, 4 degrees are exclusively in English and over 20% of the postgraduate programs are taught in English.

UC3M has two internationalization programs: the Erasmus program for exchanges with European countries and the non-European mobility program for exchanges with the rest of the world. The European mobility of UC3M students is noteworthy.  UC3M ranks number one among Spanish universities and third among European universities in the proportion of its undergraduate students who participate in the Erasmus program. That is, 37% of University graduates have participated in this European mobility program, and for many degree programs, this figure is as high as 50%. Furthermore, 17.5% of students have participated in non-European mobility programs.

In the European sphere (Erasmus), UC3M has signed approximately 780 agreements with 350 member universities in 29 European countries. The countries with the highest number of agreements are Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. As for figures on exchange with Europe, 1,700 places have been offered and about 1,300 applications have been received in academic year 2014/15. The number of students received is the same.

In the non-European sphere (MNE), UC3M has signed 128 agreements with 121 universities in 24 countries around the world. The countries it has the most agreements with are the United States (50), Brazil (15), Canada (9), Korea (8), China (8) and Australia (5). Regarding figures on exchange with non-European universities, more than 900 applications have been received and 533 places offered in the current academic year. In addition to the aforementioned countries, there are also different agreements with Latin American countries such as Argentina, Peru and Mexico and with universities in other, more exotic places, such as the United Arab Emirates, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Vietnam. In conclusion, non-european mobility program at UC3M is top among Spanish universities regarding number of agreements, quality of partners and number of places offered each academic year.

Many of the students come for the quality of the teaching at UC3M, which ranks in the world’s top 50 universities that are 50 years old or less. The youth of the university faculty is also a factor that is considered: fewer than 20% of the professors are older than 50. It is a university that is very focused on students, with the highest average entrance score in the Autonomous Region of Madrid: 10.44.

International students do not come to UC3M only because of its academic excellence. In recent years, Madrid is becoming increasingly known as a cosmopolitan European city, attracting tourists from all over the world with its vibrant cultural and social life.  Also, its position between Europe and Africa allows students to visit a large number of nearby countries on vacation getaways.

• Application for high school graduates from non-EU member countries