NARIC guide on Higher Education Systems in the European Union

Another feature of the university sector is the small part played by non-State institutions. This is the student distribution for
the 1991/92 academic year:
State universities 1 154 233.
Non-State universities 39 956.
The distribution of students between the various types of studies for the 1991/92 academic year was as follows:
Facultades (including university colleges) 726 885.
Escuelas Técnicas Superiores 100 955.
Escuelas Universitarias 366 349.
There are not many foreign students at Spanish universities. For the 1991/92 academic year only 24 883 students out of a total
of 1 194 189 were not of Spanish nationality. Of these, 4 435 came from other European Community countries. Due to the
progressive incorporation of the non-university higher education studies in the university system, the number of nonuniversity
higher education students is very small.
The distribution by country was as follows (1991/92):
Belgium 182
Denmark 28
Germany 1 347
Greece 29
France 1 508
Ireland 42
Italy 365
Luxembourg 7
Netherlands 183
Portugal 170
United Kingdom 547
Total 4 408
Note: This figure (i.e. 4 408) does not include students from the European Community countries taking part in Erasmus programmes in Spanish
universities. The number of Erasmus students was 3 500 for the 1991/92 academic year.
I.3. Organisation of courses of study
General organisation
University studies are organised in cycles according to the following pattern. The first cycle, lasting for three years, is taken in
the Facultades, Escuelas Técnicas Superiores and Escuelas Universitarias. The first cycle attended in Facultades and
Escuelas Técnicas Superiores is not a final one; it forms a basic, generalised curricular module in which the basic subjects are
taught. Students do not receive a degree or diploma on graduation but move straight on to the second cycle of studies, which is
more specialised.
The first cycle taken in Escuelas Universitarias is a complete course. It lasts for three years in an applied or ‘vocational’ area.
After graduation, students are awarded the degree of Diplomado, Ingeniero Técnico or Arquitecto Técnico, as appropriate. In
many cases through the ‘pasarela’ system it is possible to pass from a first cycle qualification to a second cycle of different
studies ( 1 ).