UOC scholarships for refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons

The individual amount of the scholarship is equivalent to one hundred per cent [100%]  of the cost of enrolling for the expert diploma, language course, open course and professional course that the beneficiary wishes to study during the first semester of the academic year 2025-2026.

This scholarship will not cover the amount payable in the event of second or subsequent enrolments for the same credit, nor can it be accumulated with other discounts that the UOC has agreed to apply to certain population groups. This scholarship can only be used for the academic semester to which these rules refer and, therefore, may not be postponed, deferred or split for subsequent semesters.

 

Applicants who wish to obtain one of the enrolment scholarships offered in the rules must:

Fill in the UOC's scholarship application form.

 The form includes instructions on the required documentation (call available on the e-Noticeboard)

A) Common and compulsory documentation for all courses:

1. ID document on the date of submitting the application (supply one of the indicated documents):

• A receipt confirming submission of the application for international protection (white paper or white card).
• Document certifying status as applicant for international protection (red card).
• Document that legally acknowledges the applicant's refugee, international protection, subsidiary protection or stateless person status.
• National identity card.

2. Sworn statement certifying a situation of financial hardship that renders the applicant unable to pay the course's enrolment fees. See Appendix 2 for a sample text of the sworn statement for this call.

3. Covering letter of at least 350 words in which the applicant indicates the aspects specified in Appendix 3 of this call for scholarships.

4. Information for applicants who choose an expert diploma, open course, professional course or programming course in Spanish:

• If the applicant comes from a country or geographic area where Spanish is the official language or the applicant's level of Spanish is equivalent to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): they will not have to certify their level of knowledge of the language. Only the above-mentioned documentation should be attached to the corresponding form. 

• If the applicant does NOT come from a country or geographic area where Spanish is the official language or the applicant's level of Spanish is NOT equivalent to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): they must certify it by taking the following Spanish level test: https://www.cervantes.to/es/test_inicial.html

They will have to attach a screenshot of the test result in the corresponding form. 

5.  Information for applicants who choose an expert diploma or open course taught in English (all other programmes are taught in Spanish): 

• If the applicant comes from a country or geographic area where English is the official language or the applicant's level of English is equivalent to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): they will not have to certify their level of knowledge of the language. Only the above-mentioned documentation should be attached to the corresponding form. 

• If the applicant does NOT come from a country or geographic area where English is the official language or the applicant's level of English is NOT equivalent to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): they must certify it by taking the following English level test: https://cv.uoc.edu/app/placementTest2/index.php?lang=es

They will have to attach a screenshot of the test result in the corresponding form. 

B) Specific and compulsory documentation according to the course:

In addition to the common documentation, applicants must submit the following specific documentation according to the programme they are applying for:

1. Expert diplomas: 

• A candidate can be accredited for access to an Expert Diploma if he/she fulfils one of the following access requirements:

   * Holding an official Spanish university degree or a degree issued by a higher education institution belonging to a member state of the European Higher Education Area that entitles access to official master's degree courses.

   - If you have an official Spanish university degree, submit a certified or notarised photocopy of it. This document may be substituted by the record of the Ministry's register of university degrees, or by the notarised or certified copy, or by the document in an electronic file with valid digital validation issued by a competent body. The replacement certificate of the diploma or the European Diploma Supplement shall also be valid.

    - If the degree has been issued by a higher education institution belonging to a state belonging to the European Higher Education Area, the certified or notarised photocopy of the Diploma Supplement or the certified or notarised photocopy of the degree must be submitted together with a certificate issued by the university certifying that the degree gives access to Master's studies in the country of origin of the degree. The certified or notarised copies may be replaced by the document in an electronic file with valid digital validation issued by a competent body.

   * Holding a degree issued by a higher education institution outside the European Higher Education Area and which has a declaration of equivalence or homologation with the corresponding official Spanish university degree.

   - In this case, the certified or notarised photocopy of the credential of the declaration of equivalence or homologation issued by the ministry responsible for education, or the document in an electronic file with current digital validation issued by a competent body, must be submitted.

   * Holding a degree issued by a higher education institution outside the European Higher Education Area and, without the need for official recognition of the degree, accrediting to the University a level of education equivalent to the corresponding official Spanish degrees, and which entitles the holder to access postgraduate studies in the country issuing the degree. 

    - In this case, a certified or notarised photocopy of the higher education degree and the academic certification or official document accrediting that the higher education degree allows access to postgraduate studies in the country where the degree was issued must be submitted.

    - If the documentation has been issued by a state that is not a member of the European Union, it must be properly legalised through diplomatic channels or, if applicable, by means of the apostille of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.

    -  If the original documentation is not in Catalan, Spanish or English, it must be submitted officially translated by a sworn translator, by a diplomatic or consular representation of the Spanish State abroad or by the diplomatic or consular representation in Spain of the country of origin of the document or of the country of which the student is a citizen.

In the case of not having an official university degree, access may be gained through accreditation of work or professional experience with a level of competence equivalent to the academic training of the bachelor's degree. This accreditation will be carried out by means of the self-reporting document available in annex IV and any other document that may complement it: employment report, CV, reference letters, etc.

2. Language courses: 

• If the applicant opts for initial levels A1 or A1.1, it will not be necessary to provide documentation accrediting the level of knowledge of the language. 

• In the case of opting for the levels after A1 or A1.1, it will be necessary to send the screenshot of the level test corresponding to the language for which the candidate is opting in order to identify the level at which he/she will enrol in the event of obtaining the grant:

• Catalan level test: https://cv.uoc.edu/app/placementTest_ca/index.php

• English level test: https://cv.uoc.edu/app/placementTest2/index.php?lang=es

• French level test: http://materials.cv.uoc.edu/continguts/testNiveau_es/index.html

• German level test: http://materials.cv.uoc.edu/continguts/testNivelAleman_es/index.html

The above-mentioned documentation must be attached to the corresponding form.

3. Professionalising courses: no specific documentation is required.

4. open courses: no specific documentation is required.

5. Programming courses: no specific documentation is required.

C) Non-mandatory additional documentation (optional):

In addition and not compulsory, if the applicant considers that he/she can provide other additional documentation of interest and linked to his/her application (non-linked documents will not be accepted), he/she may attach it to the rest of the required documentation.

If the applicant submits additional non-compulsory documentation, he/she must explain why it is linked to his/her application in the letter of motivation. Documentation without justification will not be validated. Furthermore, this documentation must be submitted together with the above-mentioned documentation.

Examples of such additional documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Diplomas or course certificates.

• Certificates of volunteering.

• Letter of recommendation from an NGO providing support to refugees (dated after the publication of this call for applications. An indicative script is attached in Annex V).

• Curriculum Vitae (CV).

Those who have submitted motivation letters plagiarised from other candidates will be excluded from these and future editions of the grants.

The deadline for applications is 13 May 2025 inclusive. Mandatory interviews will be held, which may be by video call or telephone, depending on the candidate's choice. These interviews will only be conducted with those who are likely to be provisionally awarded the contract in order to ensure that they meet the requirements. If inconsistencies are detected, a maximum of four [4] points will be deducted from the letter of motivation.

In the event that the shortlisted person cannot be contacted after three (3) attempts to contact him/her, his/her application will be discarded. Interviews will take place between 30 May and 18 June 2025 (inclusive).

• 21 May 2025: deadline for submitting applications.
• From 30 May to 18 June 2025: Telephone interviews to pre-selected persons.
• 19 June 2025: publication of the provisional list of selected candidates on the e-Noticeboard. 
• From 20 to 22 June 2025: period for appeals. 
• 01 July 2025: publication of the definitive list of selected candidates on the e-Noticeboard. 
• From 03 July to 15 July 2025: enrolment period.

 

• You can consult the legal conditions of the call for applications on the UOC's e-Noticeboard on the UOC's website, in the section Grants, financial aid and prizes.
• In the event of any discrepancy, the valid information will be that contained in the terms and conditions of the call published on the UOC's e-Noticeboard.