In order to participate in this program, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Courses Available
Exchange students can enroll in any undergraduate course offered by UC3M. Courses are available in English, Spanish, or both.
There are two options for language courses. Intensive "Pre-semester" course or "Semester" Course. Spanish language courses taken at the language center are not included in tuition costs and must be paid for separately.
COURSE RESTRICTIONS
NOTE: Some specific courses may be off-limits to exchange/study abroad students. Please see "
Course Offer Guide" for more information.
Course Equivalency and Plan of Study
The Global Education Office has a
Course Evaluation and Registration System (CERS), which you will use to complete the steps needed to evaluate your courses abroad, and see how they will count at Mason. This database is accessible whether you have already applied, or are just beginning to think about studying abroad. Look at the courses in the database. You are by no means limited to these courses. The database shows courses that have already been evaluated. You can request equivalency for any course not yet evaluated, through CERS.
You are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to look at this institution’s courses ahead of time to see how they will match up to your Mason degree requirements. Talk to your academic advisor about what courses you will need to receive credit for during your time abroad to stay on-track for your degree. When looking at courses keep in mind that course schedules can change. We recommend having twice as many courses approved as necessary.
Academic Calendar
The UC3M fall semester is from September - January. The university offers a final exam period in December for fall semester international students. Academic year students are expected to take their exams during the January final exam period.
Course Registration
Course registration takes places through an online system that opens for a couple of days before the beginning of the semester. Students then go to classes for the first week and decide if they want to stay in those courses or change some of them (they can also change the language of instruction from Spanish to English section or vice versa). After the first week of classes the online system will reopen for two more days so that students can make changes to their schedule.
Credit Conversion
Students are expected to take a full-time course load during their time at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. A full-time course load is 30 ECTS units. A typical course is worth 6 ECTS credits.
This will allow you to transfer between 12-16 credits back to Mason per semester.
Grade Conversion
When transferring courses back to Mason, the credits will transfer but the grade will not. However, you must receive the equivalent of a "C" or above in order to transfer your credit back. Refer to the table below regarding how grades are converted at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
| Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Grade |
Mason Grade |
| 9 - 10 (sobresaliente) |
A |
| 7 - 8.99 (notable) |
B+ |
| 6 - 6.99 (Bien) |
B |
| 5 - 5.99 (Aprobado) |
C |
| 0 - 4.99 (suspenso) |
F |
Spanish professors rarely award a 10; students generally receive grades between 6 and 8. Spanish universities are severe in their grading in comparison to the United States.
Global Understanding
Students participating in this study abroad program will automatically fulfill the Mason Global Understanding core requirement.