FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a "Máster Universitario" (academic master's degree)

It is an official postgraduate study, that is, recognized, verified and accredited by the Spanish Administration, adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) the purpose of which is to train experts or specialists in the scope of the master's degree (digital libraries, digital archives and continuity in this case).

 

2. Can I study for this master's degree if I am a graduate? Moreover, if I have a diploma?​

YES. According to the Royal Decree 822/2021 of 28 September 2021, establishing the system for official university teaching: in order to be admitted to the University Master's degree it will be necessary to possess an official Spanish university qualification or another issued by a higher education institution in the European Higher Education Area which entitles the holder to access a master's degree course in the country issuing the qualification. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the master, any first degree studies are appropriate, by completing free basic training supplements. Students with a degree in library and information science related areas do not require these supplements.

 

3. I live in a country that is outside the European Union, although I do possess a university degree. Can I study for the master's degree?​

YES, and you do not need to validate your qualification. When you send in your application for admission to the university, you will need to attest that you have an educational level equivalent to that of an official Spanish university degree, which would entitle you to admission to post graduate studies in your own country.

📝 │ Legalization of Foreign Degrees

 

4. I am disabled. Can I study for this master's degree?​

YES. The University and the Master's degree are concerned with ensuring accessibility and will provide solutions accordingly. In fact, and in respect of the hearing impaired, from the 2013 /14 academic course, a sign language interpreter has been made available in face-to-face classes and all course videos will be subtitled. TVE filmed a report on the integration of deaf students to the Master's course for its programme "En lengua de Signos" (7 minutes, 15'21" to 22'24" band).

 

5. What does an ECTS credit mean in a Master's degree?

ECTS is the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System which all European Universities use to facilitate European validation and recognition of degrees and qualifications. At the master's level 1 ECTS credit amounts to approximately 30 hours of study of a subject. Therefore, the 60 ECTS of the Master involve about 1,800 hours of dedication.

 

6. How much does a master's degree cost?​

For the Academic Year 2022-2023 the prices (still pending approval by the Community of Madrid) are:

• Reservation fee: €450 (it will be paid once the student receives notification of admission to the master’s, and deducted from the first tuition payment. The reservation fee will only be refunded if the master program is cancelled)
• 60 ECTS in the first academic year:
  - EU students: €2,701.2 (€45.02/ECTS credit)
  - Non EU students: €5,044.2 (€84.07/ECTS credit)

The enrolment fees do not include the cost of issuing the master’s degree certificate.

 

7. Can the Master's degree be completed within one academic year?​

YES, Yes, since you can choose whether to enrol as a full or partial time student. You can do it *in a year* if you choose the full time student option (FT), for which you must register the 54 ECTs of the subjects with teaching. It is not necessary to enrol at that time the 6 ECTS of the Final Dissertation (Trabajo de Fin de Máster, TFM), which can be postponed until dates close to its completion and defence. Notwithstanding, we highly recommend that if you cannot spend at least 35 hours weekly on studying and the activities in the master's course, you should consider the possibility of registering as a part time student (PT).

 

8. Can I complete the Master's degree in two or three academic courses?​

YES. If you register as a part time student (PT), provided that you register for at least 18 ECTS credits each year. You can take the master's degree in *two years* if you can spend about 20 hours a week. If you have less, consider to study in *three years*.

 

9. Can I register for the Final Dissertation (Trabajo de Fin de Máster, TFM) once I have chosen a tutor and decided on the subject?​

YES. In fact, we recommend that you do not register for the Master's when you begin your studies; if you register the remaining 54 ECTS, it will be considered a full time registration. Leave registration of the 6 ECTS for the TFM until following consultation with your tutor, you have decided on the theme or title of the dissertation and the call to present and defend it: either in February  if only the TFM remains for the Master's degree to completed, or July or September. Any of these calls will apply to the same convocation; there are no extraordinary convocations.

 

10. Does the Master's degree include work placements in companies and administrative bodies?​

Yes, but this is considered complementary or extracurricular work practice. The work placement will be carried out in prestigious centres with which the University has special agreements, and students are covered by the university with an accident and civil liability insurance policy. If you also want these practices to appear in your academic record and in the European Supplement to the Title as one more subject, your credits (3 ECTS for every 90 hours), additional to the 60 for the Master's course, may be registered at a cost of 25% of the official credit price.

 

11. Are there any classroom based classes in the virtual learning mode?

YES. There will be a face-to-face class approximately every two weeks taking into account the class timetable. These sessions consist of 50-minute classes taught for each subject registered in the term in question.

According to the virtual model, there are face-to-face sessions on Fridays approximately every two weeks, taking into account the class timetable established at the beginning of the course. These face-to-face sessions involve classes of fifty minutes with the teacher of each subject enrolled in the semester in question. There will be at least one class for each ECTS in the subject.

 

12. So, do I have to attend all these classes?​

NO. All classes are broadcast live, so that they can be followed remotely, and recorded so that you can view them when it suits you and how many times you want. So, you can not only take part in the class if you assist in person; also if you follow the live class through chat, Twitter or other synchronous media; and also if you follow the recorded class, raising the issues in the specific electronic forum of each subject. Most of the emphasis is placed on the learning activities that the teacher has programmed for students. The teaching material and the activities will be provided in digital format throughout the platform.

13. Will the activities that I do on the learning platform be monitored? Won't I feel a bit lost if I can't attend a class?

NO, not at all. Communication between teachers and students and among students is very fluid through digital media. Teachers continuously monitor the activities carried out on the learning platform, answer their questions and resolve their doubts within a maximum of 48 hours, and review, evaluate and inform in short terms the work they deliver.

 

14. What type of study material will be available to me?​

For each subject that you register you will be provided with material expressly created by your teachers (texts, videos, tutorials, exercises, etc.) readings, forums, chat and other different activities, which include practice use of IT applications, as well as all the services of the University Library including database search and access to the full text of the works found. Both the teaching material and the activities will be available from the teaching platform while the student is registered for a subject.

 

15. How is the assessment made?​

The evaluation is continuous and formative. Teachers evaluate learning through very diverse individual and group activities, which have a pre-set weight in the final qualification, and through final exams.

 

16. What are the final exams?​

All subjects will have a final exam that must be taken at the University's facilities or online at the end of each term or academic year. Final exams will be concentrated in one or two days. The online exams will require the application of an automated system of verification of non-existence of academic fraud or impersonation. In order to take the exams online, students will have to obtain authorization from the Master's Management, with the prior written consent of the application of the anti-fraud system.

The exams will generally consist of a test exposed and performed on the educational platform that all students must do in a synchronized way.

The future student should carefully consider that in each term all their exams are concentrated in one or two days, to enable the attendance of foreign students or students from outside the Autonomous Community of Madrid. In no case will the duration of the exams exceed 1 hour.

The student may choose whether to take the exams of the first term subjects at the end of the term or in the second term exam period, thus grouping in three days the final exams of all the subjects registered in the regular final exams. If a subject is not passed, the exams of the extra exam session will also be grouped in two days. We insist that the purpose of the grouping is to minimize travel to the Madrid campus.

 

17. If I decide to apply for this master's degree, when will I know whether or not my application has been successful?​

You will be informed if you have been accepted on the programme or if you have been put on the waiting list (as appropriate) when the registration application period has concluded and the selection process is complete. Exceptionally, you may receive the communication before the end of this period. On the website page of the university on the application for admission to masters programs, please refer to the "Application period" sections for the regular and extended terms.

 

18. Do I have to pay anything before I enrol?​

YES, but it's an advance payment of administrative and tuition fees. Thus, when applying for admission, you will have to pay €27.54 for each master's request, amount that will later be deducted from the administrative fees, exclusively in the master's degree you enrolled. Once admitted, you will have to pay €450.00 as a reservation, deposit that will be deducted from tuition fees at the time you enrol.