WHAT IS THE MECES EQUIVALENCE LEVEL?
It is a procedure whose purpose is to grant the equivalence level of the degrees of the old pre-Bologna catalogue of Spanish official undergraduate degrees (Arquitecto, Ingeniero, Licenciado, Arquitecto Técnico, Ingeniero Técnico or Diplomado) to the levels of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education (MECES.).
It is regulated by the provisions of Royal Decree 967/2014, of 21 November.
WHAT IS A CERTIFICATE OF EQUIVALENCE?
It is a document issued by the Sub-Directorate General for Degrees and Recognition of Qualifications that contains a graduate’s identification data and informs of the academic level of the pre-Bologna degree held that would correspond to him/her within the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education (MECES), as well as in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).
The certificate is requested and issued electronically, exclusively through the Ministry of Education website and the equivalence of the qualification to be requested must be published in the BOE (Spanish Official Gazette). The certificate will be entered in a special section of the National Register of Official University Graduates.
You can also obtain a generic certificate of your qualification. In the section Catalogue of "pre-Bologna" university degrees by area, you will find the complete catalogue of (pre-Bologna) degrees, with a link to the official resolution published in the BOE of the equivalence of each degree with its MECES level (Bachelor's or Master's).
DOES IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO MY DIPLOMA?
Certificates of equivalence to MECES levels do not confer any qualification different from the one already held, nor do they entail any change in the professional competences for which the qualification held qualifies, where applicable.
I CANNOT FIND MY DEGREE IN THE CATALOGUE OF "PRE-BOLOGNA" UNIVERSITY DEGREES WITH ITS EQUIVALENCE AT MECES LEVEL. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
It is possible that your degree is not in the catalogue of "pre-Bologna" university degrees with its equivalence at MECES level published on the Ministry of Education website, as it is an earlier degree and is called "non-renewed".
Royal Decree 1954/1994 of 30 September 1994, on the official recognition of degrees as equivalent to those of the Catalogue of Official University Degrees, effectively created this instrument, differentiating between renewed and non-renewed degrees. The former refers to the university degrees listed in the Catalogue, obtained after successfully completing curricula drawn up in accordance with the general guidelines approved by the Government for each degree, while the latter, non-renewed, are those obtained in accordance with curricula prior to the implementation of the aforementioned royal decrees, in accordance with Article 28.8.1 of Law 11/1983, of 25 August, on university reform, which was in force at the time. These non-renewed degrees were officially recognised as equivalent to the degrees in the Catalogue with the same academic and professional rights (see Annex to Royal Decree 1954/1994, 30 September 1994).
Therefore, it should be understood that, in application of the official recognition of those "non-renewed degrees" to the “renewed degrees” the equivalence to the MECES level of the official degrees "immediately prior" to the implementation of those of the EHEA (renewed) and which appear in the catalogue is de facto established.
Further information: Ministry of Education