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Studies & Degrees in Social Education

Social education (educación social) is a university degree and a profession in Spain. Social educators do educational work outside the ordinary classroom: they accompany people and groups at risk of social exclusion and use education as a tool for change. The Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros describes them as professionals who contribute to people's overall wellbeing by supporting their development, their access to education, their entry into work, their participation in culture and their social inclusion.

Students learn to design, manage, carry out and evaluate socio-educational plans, programmes and projects, as the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela puts it. The first year is built on the social sciences. At the Universidad de Granada it includes sociology, history of social education, social psychology, developmental psychology, theory of education and social pedagogy. Later years add work with specific groups, community development and long placements in social services and organisations.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. The Grado en Educación Social is an official Spanish bachelor's degree of 240 ECTS credits, taken over four academic years. At the Universidad de Granada 60 of the 240 credits are optional. At the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela the degree includes 30 credits of compulsory external placements and offers 75 places a year.
  • Affiliated centres. Some affiliated centres (centros adscritos) teach the official degree of a university. The Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares teaches the degree of the Universidad de Alcalá, on campus and in Spanish, with 50 places. CES Don Bosco in Madrid is a centre affiliated to the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, which awards the degree.
  • Holders of the former diploma. Before the current degree, social education was taught as a diploma (diplomatura). The Universidade de Santiago de Compostela offers diploma holders a complementary course of 60 ECTS credits to obtain the bachelor's degree.
  • Master's degrees. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. One related example is the Máster en Políticas Sociales y Acción Comunitaria of the Escola de l'IGOP, an official inter-university degree of 60 ECTS credits awarded by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and taught in Spanish and Catalan.
  • Vocational training. The closest vocational qualification is the Técnico Superior en Integración Social, a higher vocational (grado superior) programme of 2,000 hours. It is a different qualification from the university degree, although its job profiles include educator in residential facilities.

Where to study social education

SpainExchange lists 32 active schools for social education. Thirty are in Spain; the other two are in Brazil and in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Almost all the listed programmes are in Spain, where social education is an established university degree with its own professional associations.

The Spanish list includes the Universidad de Granada, the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, the Universidad de Murcia, the Universidad de Oviedo, the Universidad de A Coruña, the Universidad de Vigo, the Universidad de Huelva, the Universidad de Almería, the Universitat de València, the Universidad del País Vasco, the Universitat Ramon Llull, the Universidad Católica de Valencia "San Vicente Mártir" and the Universidad de Vic.

Teaching is in Spanish, and in regions with a second official language part of it may be in that language: the Santiago degree lists Spanish and Galician as its languages. No programme in English appears on the pages consulted, so international students need a level of Spanish good enough for placements with the public.

Careers and professional registration

Social educators work in the public sector and in third-sector organisations such as associations and NGOs. The Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros lists these fields: children, adolescents and young people (reception centres, family intervention, schools); adults (labour insertion centres, prisons, shelters for women victims of gender violence, services for migrants); older people (day centres, residential centres, home help); drug dependency; disability and mental health; and sociocultural and community work.

The profession is organised in regional professional associations (colegios profesionales), coordinated by the Consejo General de Colegios de Educadoras y Educadores Sociales. Registration takes place in the association of the territory where the person mainly works or lives. The old route of professional accreditation without the degree (habilitación) is closed: according to the Consejo, it can no longer be requested in any association. Graduates from other countries should note that recognition of a foreign degree (homologación) is the responsibility of the Spanish ministry, not of the associations.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the degree in social education take?

Four academic years. The Grado en Educación Social has 240 ECTS credits, including external placements; at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela these are 30 credits.

Can I study social education in English?

The degree pages consulted list Spanish as the language of instruction, with Galician alongside Spanish in Santiago de Compostela. Plan for study and placements in Spanish.

Is there a vocational alternative to the university degree?

The Técnico Superior en Integración Social is a higher vocational programme of 2,000 hours in the same field. It is a vocational qualification, not a university degree.

Can I work as a social educator in Spain with a foreign degree?

The degree must first be recognised. According to the Consejo General de Colegios de Educadoras y Educadores Sociales, recognition (homologación) is handled by the ministry, and professional registration then takes place in the association of the territory where the person works or lives.