The price, the homologation in Europe or the score to oppose public places are some of the keys
Official masters degree or own degree? You may never have asked yourself this question unless you have considered taking a further step in your training and opting for one of these courses to specialize. Although at first glance they seem similar qualifications, there are certain nuances that differentiate them and that could be decisive for your professional career. We present six key points to help you decide on one or the other option.
1- Regulatory procedure:
The first thing you should know is that official masters degrees are regulated by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), dependent on the Ministry of Education , and are approved in the 47 countries that make up the European Space . of Higher Education (EHEA). For their part, the university-specific degrees are approved by the universities and are subject to a more flexible regulatory procedure.
The fact that private titles do not have to undergo such complex bureaucratic processes allows them to be launched more quickly. “From the university we maintain contact with companies and they inform us of new professional profiles that the market demands. For this reason, the titles are more alive”, says José María Álvarez, vice-rector of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) and professor of Communication. A good example of this is the new drone pilot course – unmanned aircraft – in emergency given by the Huesca training company SRF Profesional and that is endorsed by King Juan Carlos. «Public institutions and private companies are demanding more and more well-trained unmanned aircraft pilots for emergency situations, from floods, fires or earthquakes,» explains Ricardo Reyes, director of the 180-hour course and a registration price of 6,000 euros.
«That a new law arises? A course is immediately created to teach how to execute it. That a new psychological treatment protocol appears? A course is launched to learn about it and apply it,» says María del Carmen García, Vice President for Training Permanent of the UNED, who considers that the speed and specialization that the market demands is achieved with the own titles.
2- Teaching staff:
Own degrees are launched at the initiative of the teachers themselves, who, subject to the internal regulations of the university, design the programs and their implementation. Unlike the official ones, which must be taught by university personnel, their own can count on the participation of professionals and experts from various fields.
3- Research (doctorate):
The official masters degrees are more oriented towards profiles that want to dedicate themselves to research, indicates the director of the Higher Management Center of the Complutense University of Madrid (UPM), Patxi Aldecoa. The Bologna Plan contemplates an official masters degree as a prerequisite for pursuing a doctorate.
However, this benefit is not given in the face of hiring by private companies. «Each company has some selection criteria and normally they do not usually take into account whether the master’s degrees are official or their own,» says José María Álvarez, from the URJC.
4- Score for oppositions:
When presenting themselves for oppositions or contests to the Public Administration, the officers score more as they are classified as postgraduate, while their own are considered continuous training and their score is lower.
5- Scholarships:
Another fundamental difference is that only official masters degree students can apply for general scholarships from the Ministry of Education, although the vast majority of own degrees have internal aid programs.
6- Price:
Regarding the price of registration, the officers are subject to the credit rates set by the Ministry of Education and the autonomous communities, while the amount of the fees themselves is determined by the universities themselves. “Their own ones tend to be more expensive because they are self-financing. If they are not useful to the market, it is easy to make them disappear. Flexibility is good both for its creation and for its dissolution”, emphasizes Patxi Aldecoa.
