Will a MA from Spain be accepted in the US?

[habibatbaba]

Hi Guys,

 

I was hoping that someone here could help me out with a rather urgent question. I have a BA in History from an American University, and I have been accepted to the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain for a MA in Political Science (starting this September). I'm not exactly sure where I want to work/live once I finish my MA; I might stay abroad (if I like it enough!) or come back home to the US.

 

Will my MA be accepted in the US? Is it accredited in the eye's of US institutions/employers? I've spent the last few days trying to find this out, and I just can't find a clear-cut, concrete answer. I really need to know ASAP so I can decided whether or not to proceed with my move to Spain.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. 

[TakeruK]

First, you should know that accreditation is not a magic thing that makes degrees into things that employers/schools must accept. That is, pretty much anyone can form an accreditation agency/body and "accredit" degree programs. The value of accreditation lies completely in the intended audience's perception of the accrediting body. A US school that is accredited by a ill-reputed accrediting body will not be very useful either.

 

In terms of recognizing your degree, I find that most US and Canadian schools will accept a foreign degree if it is recognized by the foreign country's main accreditation board(s). But it's really a case by case basis as there is no international accreditation agency/authority. However, recognition of a foreign Masters does not always mean a lot in a US school. At my program, my foreign Masters was recognized (appears on my transcript and record and everything) but basically no credits are awarded towards a PhD because of my Masters. That is, they treat it the same as a US Masters!

 

In order to answer your question, you need to decide what exactly you want to do with your MA from Spain in the US. If you want it to help you get into US PhD programs, then you are probably okay, but see what I said above. If you want it for employment purposes, then it completely depends on the employer. The employer is free to decide whether or not each applicant's education and experience meets their criteria. In practice, I would imagine that most employers would try to figure out if your school is well reputed worldwide/in Spain and maybe if the accrediting body for your school is in good standing. Finally, although it doesn't sound like it, if you are talking about professional accreditation, then you should check with the main authority for your line of work that is responsible for the area you want to work it (i.e. probably state level?) and see what their rules are on foreign accreditation.

 

That is, there really isn't a clear-cut concrete answer!