The Government wants to reorganize university degrees

BarcelonaFour out of ten university students do not get into the degree program and institution they chose as their first choice. This proportion, which would be alarming in educational stages such as vocational training (VT), is a trend repeated in the Catalan university system. In 2025, in the July pre-registration period, only 58% (27,927) of the students assigned a place obtained a seat at the degree program and university they had chosen as their first preference. In the July pre-registration period of last year, 62% of university students were able to study where they wanted, the same percentage as those who did so in 2023.

This imbalance between supply and demand for university studies in Catalonia is just one of the consequences of a fact that has been hindering the evolution of the Catalan university system. Studies and universities are almost 30 years old. Specifically, both decrees date from 1996 and 1997. For this reason, the Department of Research and Universities has already begun work to approve a new decree that should allow for a rethinking of the system for degree programs.

"The decree predates the creation of the European Higher Education Area and is a somewhat obsolete system in terms of the administrative procedures that must be taken into account when designing university programming," admitted the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, this Monday in an interview on Spanish National Television (TVE). For now, Montserrat explained that at the end of May, the Ministry informed the Catalan government of a public consultation on university degrees in Catalonia. This process has already been completed, and its conclusions will be published in October. All of this should serve to map all degrees to, "with rigor and analysis," determine which degrees are available and which places are full or unfilled. "This should be used to make decisions from there," Montserrat argued.

The regional minister also emphasized the need for this in-depth analysis, since the fact that 40% of students don't get into their first choice in July doesn't mean they're not studying what they want. "We must keep in mind that students select the same degree at different universities in Catalonia," Montserrat recalled. In other words, a student may not have gotten into the university they wanted, but may have managed to study the same degree at another university. "That's what we need to study very well," the Minister of Research and Universities insisted.

Eliminate degrees?

The new decree could address issues such as the fact that only one student enrolled this year in the Romance Philology degree at the University of Barcelona (UB), or the fact that every year there are students striving to become doctors who cannot enter medicine due to a lack of places, despite having obtained very high marks in the university entrance exams. In fact, Montserrat has been emphatic in this regard: "The analysis will allow us to organize and establish which degrees are needed."

Sources from the Department of Universities explain that the objective of creating a new decree is "to update and unify the planning and management procedures, guaranteeing legal certainty, efficiency, and consistency with Catalan, national, and European regulations."

As outlined in the public consultation prior to launching the draft decree on the programming and management of the Catalan university system, the future regulation should redefine the regulation in three areas: university programming, the number of places available, and university management. Therefore, the new decree could change the criteria for deciding how many places are offered each year for each bachelor's and master's degree at all public universities, as well as at private universities that request them.

The document outlining the reasons for drafting a new decree also establishes that the section on university organization must include the procedures for establishing and eliminating official university courses; for creating, modifying, or eliminating university teaching centers; and also for making "substantial modifications to courses."

400 places for medicine

Furthermore, among other procedures, the new decree will also regulate the recognition of university hospitals and hospitals associated with universities, a key aspect for expanding the number of places for highly sought-after studies in medicine and nursing. In this regard, Montserrat noted that the government intends to expand medical studies in Catalonia by 400 new places by 2028 (including those at both public and private universities). Furthermore, the timeframe for a hospital to obtain university accreditation and, therefore, be able to offer internships for medical students has been shortened. The minister cited the example of Tortosa Hospital, which was granted university accreditation in just four months, while until now, completing this procedure and receiving the green light could take up to 13 months.