Academic regulations for Masters and Postgraduate Degrees of BAU
These regulations, approved by the Governing Board of the BAU on 28th November, 2016, and updated on 17th December, 2021, will apply to the continuous training activities of masters and postgraduate degrees from the start of the 2016-2017 academic year as long as there are no legislative changes that necessitate their modification
Contents
- Preamble
- Sphere of application
- Bodies responsible for the masters and postgraduate degrees
- Entry and admission
- Registration
- Final Project for the masters degrees and postgraduate degrees
- Defence of the Final Project for the masters / PG degrees
- Evaluation and grading systems for the masters and postgraduate degrees
- Review and safekeeping of the final grades
- Appeal against the decision of the teachers responsible for the module/subject
- Despatch of the certificate
- Notification of receipt of the certificate
- Delivery of the certificate
- Continuance of the training programme
1. Preamble
Studies in the masters and postgraduate degree courses at BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona, a centre affiliated to the University of UVic-UCC, are advanced postgraduate studies whose purpose is to teach the student personal and professional skills and provide specialist or multi-disciplinary training orientated towards academic or professional specialisation. The teaching also imparts knowledge which facilitates placement and professional improvement, and which encourages enterprise and innovation.
Details about the training in the masters and postgraduate degree courses at BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona, are as follows:
BAU’s own master’s degree
The master’s degree programmes at BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona provide a minimum of 60 ECTS credits.
These study programmes provide the student with theoretical and practical training through compulsory subjects, seminars, guided study and evaluative activities, and end with the production of a Final Project and its public defence before a jury.
Postgraduate diploma
Our training programmes that lead to a Postgraduate Diploma have the same requirements and orientation as the master’s degree courses, but provide fewer credits (30 ECTS credits). They end with the production of a Final Project and its public defence before a jury.
*ECTS signifies ‘European Credit Transfer System’, which is the standard adopted by all the universities in the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) to ensure homogeneity and quality in the courses which they offer. An ECTS credit takes into account not only the classroom hours, but also all of the activities in the student’s learning process (hours of study and of preparation of practical work).
2. Sphere of application
These regulations apply to continuous training on masters and postgraduate degree courses which lead to an unofficial qualification or certificate of BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona itself (affiliated to the University of UVic-UCC).
3. Bodies responsible for the masters and postgraduate degrees
Teaching on BAU’s masters and postgraduate degree courses is the responsibility of BAU’s Governing Board, and is approved by the Governing Board of the UVic-UCC.
BAU’s Governing Board has the following functions, among others:
- Supervising the planning of the lessons.
- Organising them functionally within the framework of BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona.
- When appropriate, acting as the students’ admissions body.
- Overseeing the connection with the other training imparted in the Centre, and the connection with research.
4. Entry and admission
4.1. Entry
In order to gain access to BAU’s masters and postgraduate degree courses, applicants must possess an official Spanish university degree, or a degree from a higher education institution within the European Higher Education Area, or an equivalent qualification from an educational system outside the European Higher Education Area, attesting to a level of training that is equivalent to an official degree from a Spanish university.
However, professional people without a university qualification may also be admitted to the training programmes provided that they have proven experience related to the courses for which they wish to enrol.
All the masters and postgraduate degree courses at BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona have a limited number of places available.
4.2. Admission
To complete the admission procedure, students have to pre-enrol on line through the website of BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona (www.bau.cat), attaching the required documentation.
The body that handles admissions is the Teaching Coordination Committee.
4.2.1. Pre-admission for students who ask for financial help
Students who are in the process of requesting a grant or some kind of financial help, and who, before formalising their enrolment for the course, need a document confirming that they are capable of being admitted to a masters and postgraduate degree courses, may ask BAU for pre-admission.
Pre-enrolment on line may be carried out through the website of BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona (www.bau.cat), and once the admission has been confirmed by the programme’s coordinating committee, the sum of €300 is paid. On receipt of that payment, BAU will issue a document certifying that the student has been admitted to the course of study. In no case will that certificate serve as a proof of reservation of a place, or of admission, so formal Registration will still be necessary. When it has been completed, the €300 will be deducted from the first payment.
Sums paid will only be returned if the programme is cancelled. If the grant which the student has applied for is refused, 50% of the amount paid will be returned. When a request is made for such a refund, the document by which the grant is refused will have to be presented. The other 50% of the amount paid will not be returned, because of administrative expenses.
4.3. Admission criteria
The committee coordinating the master and postgraduate degree course will evaluate the merits of each candidate by means of the supporting documentation submitted together with the request for pre-enrolment. In this connection, if it deems it necessary, the committee may fix special conditions for admission, and will finally accept or deny admission to the programme.
4.4. Decision and notification about admission
BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona will communicate the decision about admission to the course in a personalised manner, using the e-mail address shown by the candidate in the pre-enrolment.
- Request Granted: when the candidate has been admitted to the master or postgraduate degree course.
- Request Denied: when the candidate has not been admitted to the master or postgraduate degree course.
- Request for more work: when the committee coordinating the master or postgraduate degree course requires the candidate to submit more work for the application to be considered.
5. Registration
Once admission has been confirmed, Registration can be formalised.
Registration will be dependent upon compliance with the requirements of the current regulations, and on payment of the fees in the manner and at the times laid down.
Registration is the responsibility of each student, who must therefore know and comply with the current regulations of BAU.
5.1. Cancellation of Registration for the academic year
Should a student cancel the registration, the cost of university fees, administrative expenses and the compulsory insurances will not be refunded under no circumstances.
Cancellation of registration for the academic year may be requested by means of a form provided by BAU’s secretariat. Such a request must be made before the 25th day of the month preceding the next date for payment of fees, otherwise that payment will be due.
Cancellation of registration will under no circumstances entail the return of amounts already paid, except in the following situations:
In the case of foreign students from countries outside the European Union, and whose ‘study visa’ has been refused. These students may request the return of fees paid provided that they had submitted their request for the visa to the competent body at least 30 days before the course for which they were matriculated was due to begin, and provided that they present documentary proof of the denial of the visa. In these cases, the fees will be returned, after a deduction of €200 concerning university fees, administrative expenses and the compulsory insurances.
Those students enroled to online courses cannot request the refund in case of denied visa.
5.2. Cancellation of the course
The organising body reserves the right to cancel the course:
- When the regulation minimum number of students is not reached.
- Due to external circumstances.
If the course is cancelled, the student will be offered the chance to transfer their registration to another master or postgraduate course that may be of their interest (as long as the coordination commission of the course validates the transfer and provided its availability). Otherwise, the paid fees will be returned to the student, including the cost of university fees.
. Final Project for the master’s degrees and postgraduate diplomas
The masters and postgraduate degree courses will conclude with a Final Project which will have to be defended in public, before an evaluating jury.
The Final Project is intended to be a compendium of the training received during the course, and to enable the student to demonstrate the degree to which he/she has acquired the skills of the qualification and the knowledge of the principles on which his/her future professional work will depend.
The project may be carried out individually or in a group, at the discretion of the coordinators of the teaching. As a general rule it is recommended that groups have a maximum of three students.
In the master’s degree courses, the Final Project may contribute a maximum of 15 ECTS credits. In the postgraduate degree courses, the Final Project may contribute a maximum of 10 ECTS credits.
The coordinators of each master and postgraduate degree courses will lay down and publish specific rules for the preparation and presentation of Final Projects, taking account of the characteristics of each course.
For the presentation of the Final Project before the jury, different forms of communication may be used: oral, written or audio-visual. They must all be of professional standard. In addition, pictures of the Final Project must be supplied, in high definition 300 DPI in TIFF or JPEG format.
7. Defence of the Final Project for the masters / PG degree
The Final Project will be defended in an exposition of maximum length 20 minutes, face-to-face with the evaluating jury.
The composition of the evaluating jury is the responsibility of the coordinators of the course. The jury will be composed of a maximum of three members, one of whom will act as its chairperson.
The Centre will fix the periods for the defences of the Final Projects, assigning day, time and place, and the coordinator of the master or postgraduate degree course will publish the dates in the digital lecture hall of the virtual campus.
8. Evaluation and grading systems for the masters and postgraduate degrees
BAU’s masters and postgraduate degree courses will have only one official announcement per Registration. In those courses, the system of continuous evaluation will be used, and will take account of the acquisition of skills and the achievement of the aims of the programme’s training. There could be an evaluation of presentations of projects or of other work to appraise modules or ‘blocks’ of skills, and also tests, examinations, interviews, etc. In this connection, the defence in public of the Final Project will be programmed as the minimum.
The regulations governing each specific evaluation which can be established in each qualification will be determined by the coordinators, and will be published in the virtual lecture hall for the students’ information. In any case, a weighting will have to be assigned to the evaluation of each Final Project. The evaluation will always be individual, even though the activities will have been performed collectively.
Regardless of the system used for evaluation, the final grade for the completed course will be recorded in each student’s file.
Each student’s results will be graded on a scale from 0 to 10, measured to one decimal place.
The officially published certificate will be accompanied by a qualitative grade in one of the following ranges:
0-4.9 Fail
5.0-6.9 Pass
7.0-8.9 Merit
9.0-10 Outstanding
‘Absent’, which shows that the work was not evaluated, is recorded when the student did not participate in any of the evaluation procedures envisaged for each subject or module, and also when, in the teacher’s opinion, the student did so on an insignificant number of occasions. The final grade of ‘Absent’ entails a failure.
9. Review and safekeeping of the final grades
Students are entitled to have the results of the different evaluative activities reviewed.
The teaching staff must keep the records of the evaluations (work, tests, exercises…) for the three months following the date of signature of the final certificates.
If there is an appeal, the evaluation documents must be kept until the final outcome.
Students may make a written request in the Centre’s secretariat for a review of the final grade, within two working days of the issue of the certificates.
Reviews will be individualised, and will take into consideration both the application of the evaluation criteria and the grade awarded.
The certificate of final grade must be signed by the coordinator. Only grades signed by the coordinator will be valid. El acta quedará depositada en el área de Gestión Académica de BAU.
The certificate will be deposited in BAU’s Academic Management Department. If there is any error in the grade shown on the certificate, the coordinator’s signature will be required to rectify it. The student will be informed of the modification within 10 days of the change.
10. Appeal against the decision of the teachers responsible for the module/subject
A student may, within the 10 calendar days following the date when the grade was reviewed, present a reasoned appeal for a second review, addressed to the appropriate coordinator of studies, and may ask for a committee to be formed, to carry out a new review.
If the coordinator deems it appropriate, he/she will appoint three teachers who will constitute the committee, which will not include the teacher responsible for the grade which was the subject of the appeal. The only way in which the committee may modify the student’s initial grade is by increasing it. In this case, the relevant certificate will be signed by the committee and by the coordinator.
A student may, within the 10 calendar days following, present to the Director an appeal against the previous decision. The Director, after taking advice from BAU’s Governing Board, will give a final ruling.
11. Despatch of the certificate
Students who proved, within the period laid down by BAU, that they held a previous university degree and have proved that they have at least the number of ECTS credits required by their master programme curriculum will receive the master’s degree certificate awarded by UVic-UCC, corresponding to the course completed.
Students who proved, within the period laid down by BAU, that they held a previous university degree and have proved that they have at least the number of ECTS credits required by their postgraduate programme curriculum will receive the postgraduate degree certificate awarded by UVic-UCC, corresponding to the course completed.
Students who have not proved that they hold a previous university degree will receive a certificate of specialization awarded by UVic-UCC, corresponding to the course completed.
To obtain any certificate of studies, it is necessary that students complete the payment of the programme’s fees.
12. Notification of receipt of the certificate
Once the certificate has been despatched, BAU will inform the student, in writing, that it is at his or her disposal in the Centre’s secretariat. That notification will be sent to the e-mail address that appears in the student’s file.
13. Delivery of the certificate
The certificates will be delivered to students personally. They must identify themselves using the appropriate current and official document, and, after checking the accuracy of the details shown on their certificate, will sign it. They will also have to sign the register of despatch of certificates, confirming the collection.
In special cases students may, by means of a duly authenticated written authorisation, give permission for another person to collect the certificate.
Students who do not live in the province of Barcelona may make a written request for their certificate to be sent to them.
14. Continuance of the training programme
The offer of masters and postgraduate degree courses will be published every year, before the period for Registration.
BAU, Arts & Design College of Barcelona reserves the right to offer new versions of every qualification.