Grades and study results

Schools in secondary education use the grades 1 (insufficient) to 10 (very good) to assess the study results of students. The minimum grade for a pass is a 5.

Educación secundaria obligatoria (ESO)

The table below shows the grades used by educación secundaria obligatoria (ESO).

Bachillerato

The table below shows the figures that schools use during the bachillerato.

The following documents allow students to prove that they have completed Spanish secondary education:

• the diploma of secondary school, the Título de Bachiller; and
• the grade lists of the Título de Bachiller: these may look different but students should at least have grade lists from both school years: year 1 (primer curso) and year 2 (segundo curso).

Higher education institutions also use the grades 1 to 10 to assess students' results. The minimum grade for a pass is a 5.

The following documents allow students to prove that they have completed Spanish higher education:

• a Graduado diploma and grade lists;
• a Máster Universitario diploma and grade lists;
• a Doctor diploma.

These are nationally recognised diplomas (títulos oficiales). Universities issue these diplomas on behalf of the king of Spain (Rey de España). The name of the king is always on the diploma.

Is the diploma from a centro universitario? Then the name of the King and the name of the university are on the diploma. The name of the centro universitario does not appear on it, because it is not part of a university – it is only linked to the university. The name of the centro universitario is usually mentioned on the grade list.

Please note:
It often takes a long time for students to receive the official diploma. There are many steps in the process:

1. Students have to apply for the official diploma at the university, after passing all the subjects. They usually have to pay for this application.
2. They get a certificate of this application: certificación supletoria provisional del título.
3. The university gives a list of all graduates to the Spanish Ministry of Education, which gives each graduate an individual identification number.
4. This identification number is entered in the Spanish central register of diplomas on the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training's website: Consulta de Títutulos Universitarios Oficiales (in Spanish only). If you want to look up the diploma in this register, the student must give permission.
5. To prevent fraud, Spanish universities issue the official diplomas, printed on secure paper.

Diploma Supplement

The Diploma Supplement is called Suplemento Europeo del título in Spain. Universities always give this Diploma Supplement to graduates who have taken an official Grado or Máster programme and have applied for their diploma.

This Diploma Supplement is usually bilingual: Spanish and English. On the website of the Spanish Ministry of Universities, Ministerio de Universidades, you can find examples of the Diploma Supplement.

• See 2 examples of a Graduado diploma supplement in this PDF:
  Suplemento Europeo al Título GUÍA DE GRADO (pages 59-70).
• See an example of a Máster Universitario diploma supplement in this PDF:
  Suplemento Europeo al Título GUÍA DE MÁSTER (pages 57-64).

You can find more information on the Diploma Supplement (DS) on the Europass website, including examples of diploma supplements.