For the academic year 2022/2023, Andalusia’s ten public universities offer 1,469 Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, with a total of 72,985 places available in both modalities.
In the case of bachelor’s degrees, a total of 595 degrees are on offer, with 50,829 places allocated. The academic training in which students specialise is quite heterogeneous in terms of thematic breadth and scope of knowledge, with a growing catalogue in recent years. Within this range of possibilities, there is also a proliferation of so-called double degrees, which combine similar or complementary disciplines to provide a more complete and cross-disciplinary education.
The courses offered by nine of the ten Andalusian public academic institutions, since the International University of Andalusia (UNIA) does not offer degrees, are distributed among the five main branches of knowledge: Arts and Humanities, Sciences, Health Sciences, Social and Legal Sciences, and Engineering and Architecture.
In terms of the allocation of places in this new academic year that has just begun, the degrees most in demand by Andalusian students in first preference have been Medicine, Nursing and Psychology, followed by Veterinary Science, Primary Education, Physical Activity and Sports Science, Law and Dentistry. In the case of Medicine, a total of 9,625 people have chosen it as their first option throughout Andalusia, compared to a demand last academic year of 8,515 applications. In Nursing, the high level of acceptance has resulted in 7,399 applications compared to 7,308 last academic year, and in Psychology, applications have reached 4,733, compared to 4,617 last academic year.
Access to undergraduate studies generally requires passing the Baccalaureate Evaluation Test for University Entrance (PEvAU) and places are allocated by each academic institution according to the mark (cut-off mark) and according to the preferences indicated by the students in their applications. For the purposes of admission, all the universities form a single area, known as the Single Andalusian District, so that, in the pre-enrolment process, students can choose degrees and centres from any of them under equal conditions.
Currently, the Andalusian public universities are in the last phase of awarding free places for new students and the process is expected to be completed by mid-October.
Degrees by universities
The classification of the degrees establishes that the University of Almeria (UAL) has started the academic year with 37 degrees, which can accommodate 3,053 students; the University of Cadiz (UCA) has 78 degrees for 4,855 students, the University of Cordoba (UCO) includes 55 degrees for 3,987 students and the offer of Granada (UGR) amounts to 100 degrees with a capacity for 10,918 places. For its part, the University of Huelva (UHU) has 39 courses of this type for 2,834 people, the University of Jaén (UJA) has 50 degrees with 2,930 places and the University of Málaga (UMA) offers 76 degrees for 7,405 students. In the case of the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville), the figures are 47 degrees and 2,613 places, and that of the University of Seville has 113 degrees and 12,234 students.
For this academic year 2022/2023, the total number of courses reflects the four new undergraduate degrees that will be taught for the first time from September onwards, after the Governing Council approved the new public offer last July. Among these new degree programmes, the Medicine degree at the universities of Almeria and Jaen stands out. In addition to these, the Biotechnology degree at the University of Cordoba and the Physical Activity and Sports Sciences degree at the University of Malaga have also been introduced.
874 master’s degrees
On the other hand, the ten Andalusian public universities are also deploying for this academic year 2022/2023 a map of 874 degrees, involving 22,156 places. Of these, 304 are enabling and, therefore, necessary for professional performance, and have 6,359 places available.
At the UAL there are 57 Master’s degrees with 1,487 places, at the UCA there are 70 degrees with 1,699 students, at the UCO there are 91 degrees and 1,963 places, at the UGR there are 200 Master’s degrees with 5,293 places and at the UHU there are 51 Master’s degrees and 1,157 students. The International University of Andalusia completes its education with 29 Master’s degrees and 494 students and the UJA with 73 degrees for 1,652 students. The UMA has 90 degrees for 2,685 students, the Pablo de Olavide University has 55 Masters and 1,384 students and the University of Seville (US) has 158 degrees and 4,342 places.
The range of master’s degrees has also undergone a very significant transformation in recent years, due to the educational reform brought about by the implementation of the Bologna Plan. Since its implementation, which was actually completed in 2010, the offer has been increasing to meet the needs of the labour market and the demands of students.
The admission procedure for this type of education is currently open and will not be completed until the end of October. The acceptance of students is not governed by the so-called cut-off marks, but rather the cut-off points are taken into account according to various criteria determined by the universities themselves. Among these aspects, the average grade point average obtained in undergraduate studies is of great relevance, with a variable percentage depending on each university institution. The average grade point average of those participating in the procedure for the new academic year is 7.31 in a range of 5 to 10.
New master’s degrees approved by the Andalusian Regional Government
This postgraduate academic offer includes the ten new master’s degrees approved by the Andalusian Regional Government last July. With regard to the new implementations by universities, the UAL is starting to offer the Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology, a degree that is also being offered at the UCA, the UHU and the UMA, as it is an inter-university degree. The UCA, US and UNIA also offer the inter-university Master’s degree in Logistics and Operations Management. The UCO is launching the degree in Chemical Tools for Agri-food and Environmental Business.
For its part, the University of Jaen increases its offer with the Master’s Degree in Knowledge, Management and Dissemination of Spanish Artistic Heritage and the University of Malaga, with two others: the Master’s Degree in European Economic Studies in the Framework of Globalisation and the Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The UPO introduces as a novelty the degree in Methodology Applied to Public Policy, while the University of Seville also implements new degrees: in addition to those already mentioned, those in Electrochemistry, Science and Technology; Educational Research and Innovation in the Curriculum Areas; and Advertising and Content Management.
In the academic year 2022/2023, the UNIA will launch the Master’s Degree in Compulsory Education, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching, in addition to those shared with the UPO (Spanish-English Bilingual Teaching) and with the UCA and the US (Logistics and Operations Management).
The higher the academic level of the studies undertaken, the higher the insertion rate of university graduates. This is the result of the latest report on the Insertion of Graduates in Andalusian Public Universities prepared in 2022 by the Autonomous Executive, through the Institute of Statistics and Cartography of Andalusia (IECA).
This analysis shows that almost 70% of Andalusian university graduates, i.e. slightly more than two out of every three students, are working and affiliated to the Social Security four years after completing their studies. For this purpose, the graduating class of the 2016-2017 academic year has been taken as a reference and in 2021 they had already completed four years of work experience.
This same analysis also reveals that the area with the best level of employability, in the fourth year after completing university, is ICT, with a percentage of 87.4%. In these disciplines related to new technologies, Application Development and Analysis and Software Development and Analysis have an insertion rate of 83.4%.
The next field with most opportunities for finding employment is Health Sciences and Social Services, with a percentage of 85.1%, a figure that rises to 92.4% in the case of Medicine graduates or 91.6% for Nursing graduates. This is followed by engineering degrees related to mechanics, electronics, industry and construction, with a rate of 79%. This is followed by degrees related to Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Forestry and Veterinary Science, with an insertion rate of 78.8%.
At the other end of the scale, the fields offering the worst level of insertion in the fourth year after graduation are Arts, Humanities and Languages (53.2%), Social Sciences, Journalism and Documentation (63.1%) and Business, Administration and Law (65.6%). Services (68.3%) and Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (67.4%) are at intermediate levels.
