Equivalence of studies between Spain and the United States

Miguel Ángel Pollino

Coordinator of LegalSpain

07/03/2023

Secondary education in Spain is distributed over 6 years. The first 4 years, compulsory, make up Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO). Once the ESO is finished, the Baccalaureate can be taken, which is a two-year preparatory period for entering the Spanish university. The Baccalaureate in Spain has different branches depending on what you want to study, for example: scientific-technical baccalaureate, artistic baccalaureate, humanistic baccalaureate, etc. After completing Baccalaureate, it is necessary to pass some university entrance exams to access higher education.

If you are from the United States or you are finishing your high school there and you are thinking of studying your university degree in Spain, this post will be useful for you to know the equivalence of studies between Spain and the United States.

Once you have chosen Spain as the destination to continue your studies, you will have to take into account different aspects such as preparing for the PCE tests and the homologation of your Secondary Education title.

In the case of preparing for the PCE tests, we can also help you. One of our companies is Escuela PCE: an international leading academy in preparing for tests and the only one specialized 100% in their preparation. There is no academy that competes at the level of teachers, syllabi and materials with us. Do not accept imitations and ask us!

For the homologation, as a general rule you will need to have your study certificate and your qualification certificate duly legalized. For this, it is useful to know the equivalence of studies between these two countries. We can manage the approval process for you from start to finish, with the best prepared and most experienced team, and you can find more information here.

Equivalence of studies between Spain and the United States

The stage of secondary education in Spain consists of 6 years. These are distributed between Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO), which lasts 4 years, and Baccalaureate, which lasts 2.

Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) in Spain is equivalent to four years distributed from 1st to 4th of ESO. 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of ESO in Spain correspond to grades 7, 8 and 9 in the United States.

The 4th year of ESO in Spain corresponds to the 10th grade in the United States.

The 2 years of Baccalaureate in Spain correspond to grades 11 and 12 in the United States.

Here we can see a table of equivalence of studies between Spain and the United States:

Stage of education in Spain	Duration	Equivalence in the United States
1st ESO	1 year	Grade 7
2nd ESO	1 year	Grade 8
3rd ESO	1 year	Grade 9
4th ESO	1 year	Grade 10
Baccalaureate	2 years	Grades 11 and 12

Conclusion

It is important to note that this equivalence is only valid between Spain and the United States. In addition, it is possible that there are differences in the contents and teaching methodologies between the different educational systems. If you want to study in Spain, LegalSpain is the agency that will help you achieve it. Do you need help for the homologation or for the preparation of the PCE tests? Do you need professional and personalized advice? Write us and we will help you achieve your goals and your dreams!