At this point in our college careers, we’re more or less familiar with the language of the US academic system. Waiting at the end of our 4-year trek is our parchment-sealed bachelors degree, proudly posted on office walls and kitchen fridges all around the nation. But our academic prowess doesn’t end here. After a summer of celebratory grad toasts, many of us pursue a number of higher-learning options, whose corresponding degrees label us the most accomplished in our field. There’s the chance to emerge with a burnished Master’s Degree, deeming you a self-proclaimed “master” in the subject. Then there’s the golden Doctorate, a degree that confers its lucky holder the chance to pursue high-level teaching or a top professional position. Of course, our brains have been wired to associate these glossy degrees with post-college success--the result of panning out high scores in our nation’s slew of cutthroat grad schools. Depending on our career choice, we take on the role of student years beyond claiming alumni-status and departing from Tuft’s cozy doors. With this mentality in mind, I was surprised to learn that while sitting right alongside them in lectures--scribbling the same notes and listening to the same drone of the professor day in and out--my career path looked entirely different from the students to my left and right. Upon my arrival, I’d been shocked
to discover that the 23-year-old intercambio I’d just shared savory tapas with was a practicing lawyer --a position he’s boasted since completing his university studies. Another 21-year-old friend of mine, currently swimming through a 50-page thesis, enthusiastically explains how he is about to title himself a practicing engineer. Each and every graduating university senior I chat with slides into conversation their excitement to wheedle their way into Alcala’s fancy professional crew. Where was the swamping med school applications, the grueling LSAT classes, the top-notch business schools marked by shiny, golden plaques? How do Spanish students seem to pass-on-by higher-learning options to smooth-sail into the professional scene of their dreams?I was soon to discover that these post-grad discrepancies have their origins in the very makings of the Spanish university degree. In Spain, at the prestigious University of Alcala included, a very popular undergraduate option is the Licenciatura--one that requires 4-6 years of rigorous university study in a specific academic field. But here’s the catch. While achieved at the undergraduate level, the Spanish Licenciatura degree holds the same professional weight as an American postgraduate masters degree. With this golden ticket in hand, Spanish students are granted direct access to the fields that correspond with their academic specialties--a smooth, jump-start into their “real-world” careers. A Licenciatura law degree, for example, grants its holder professional membership in an upscale Bar Association--the immediate chance to enter fancy firms and mahogany-walled courtrooms. Likewise, after 6-years of messy labs and thorny equations, med students put on blue scrubs and proclaim themselves doctors in-training. Unlike our slew of specialized, post-grad programs disconnected from college grounds, Spanish undergraduate and mastery study is consolidated into one, uniform endeavor. Once achieved, it becomes the very stepping-stone into each competitive field of employment.
This quasi-magical Licenciatura degree, also commonly labeled a “second-cycle” or “superior” degree, isn’t the only option under Spain’s university umbrella. Similar to our US bachelor degrees, Spain also offers a more “general” degree that encompasses just undergraduate studies and, therefore, doesn’t directly route into the professional arena. These “first-cycle” or “intermediate” university degrees are commonly achieved after three years of study, rather than our typical four. To tiptoe into the professional camp, Spanish students with this degree might also require a more advanced program option--depending, of course, on their specific career aspirations. An “interme
diate” Spanish degree can in fact confer you professional access to the field of Diplomacy and Technical Engineering, for example. In light of the spiraling career differences I just ticked off, Spain is currently undergoing an important change in its university system--part of an ongoing movement to standardize university degrees around one common code. The Licenciatura and intermediate degrees distinct to the Spanish university are being progressively transformed to the Grado and Master system, one that just about mirrors the competitive lingo of our own career hunt. This future Grado, achieved after 4 years of academic study, will basically parallel the US bachelor’s degree. Plumping it up with a higher-level degree will require an additional 1-2 years in a masters program--marked, in turn, by a separate masters diploma. The Grado will essentially replace Spain’s old “intermediate degree,” but its completion will require added courses, requirements, and time within the university’s doors. And, as opposed to an all-in-one Licenciatura, those with higher-education aims will bulk up their four-year title with a separate masters title--relatively new career jargon to Spain’s career-hungry undergrads.
Between its efforts to modify its antique academic system, Spain seems dedicated to “slowing down” the process down a bit more--allotting students more time in the comforting world of academia. This exploratory, self-set student pace, the drawing out of academics before hovering real-world reality sets in, has always sat at the forefront of US academics. It’s this single idea that sits at the foundation of liberal arts schools like Tufts--swarming with a diverse tangle of majors, classes, professors, and extracurricular opportunities. Conversely, Spain’s current academic system entails solidifying your professional goals upfront--setting yourself on an academic track to quickly enter its real-world equivalent. For those early-dreamers who knew their career w
ith the spelling of their names, the licenciatura option is both appealing and pragmatic--a confident, lets-get-this-show-on-the-road mentality. But for the more back-and-forth rest of us, the chance to dabble in varied subjects--choose a major that doesn’t exactly have a concrete, career equivalent (English, anyone?)--lets us explore our options before narrowing down a specific career venue. We have the right to snag degrees in areas that simply interest us and later on pursue advanced studies more connected to our career route. While it slightly elongates that encounter with real-world professionalism, Spain’s academic revamp introduces this exploratory, US, mentality into the framework of its academic values. And, depending on the career course, it assures those in Spain stay students for just a tad longer. Considering our unwavering love for our prestigious, Jumbo-headed, Tufts, that can’t be such a bad thing, right?
Between its efforts to modify its antique academic system, Spain seems dedicated to “slowing down” the process down a bit more--allotting students more time in the comforting world of academia. This exploratory, self-set student pace, the drawing out of academics before hovering real-world reality sets in, has always sat at the forefront of US academics. It’s this single idea that sits at the foundation of liberal arts schools like Tufts--swarming with a diverse tangle of majors, classes, professors, and extracurricular opportunities. Conversely, Spain’s current academic system entails solidifying your professional goals upfront--setting yourself on an academic track to quickly enter its real-world equivalent. For those early-dreamers who knew their career w
ith the spelling of their names, the licenciatura option is both appealing and pragmatic--a confident, lets-get-this-show-on-the-road mentality. But for the more back-and-forth rest of us, the chance to dabble in varied subjects--choose a major that doesn’t exactly have a concrete, career equivalent (English, anyone?)--lets us explore our options before narrowing down a specific career venue. We have the right to snag degrees in areas that simply interest us and later on pursue advanced studies more connected to our career route. While it slightly elongates that encounter with real-world professionalism, Spain’s academic revamp introduces this exploratory, US, mentality into the framework of its academic values. And, depending on the career course, it assures those in Spain stay students for just a tad longer. Considering our unwavering love for our prestigious, Jumbo-headed, Tufts, that can’t be such a bad thing, right? 
