LSTM graduates should check the awarding body before preparing a Spanish homologation or equivalence application. The School\’s move to awarding its own degrees means that alumni with similar course titles may hold certificates from different institutions. A coherent file connects the right certificate with the final academic record and explains the qualification actually completed.
Homologation or equivalence: choose the relevant Spanish route
Homologación seeks recognition against the Spanish qualification required for a regulated profession covered by the procedure. Declaración de equivalencia recognises academic level at Grado or Máster, with academic and administrative effects; it does not authorise practice of those professions. The appropriate application depends on your completed qualification and intended use. Neither university reputation nor an apostille guarantees recognition. Doctoral equivalence follows a separate procedure through a Spanish university.
The Ministry\’s equivalence guidance requires study equivalent to at least three full-time years (180 ECTS or equivalent) for Grado and at least one full-time year (60 ECTS or equivalent) for Máster. The official qualification must also give access to master\’s or doctoral study respectively. Meeting these minimum conditions does not guarantee approval; the actual award and evidence must be assessed.
Use the study dates to investigate the issuer
LSTM received degree-awarding powers in 2017 and announced that students beginning their studies from September that year would receive LSTM degree certificates. The same announcement identifies the University of Liverpool as the previous awarding body for LSTM degrees.
Begin with the institution named on your certificate and record when you started the programme. Graduation year alone may not explain which arrangements applied. If the issuer or wording is unclear, ask LSTM to confirm the awarding body for your course and cohort and to identify who can verify the award. Keep any explanation with the certificate and academic record. This is especially useful where your documents prominently name LSTM as the teaching institution but identify another university as the body that conferred the degree.
Build the file around the final award
LSTM\’s graduation guidance states that degree certificates and final transcripts are dispatched after the award is conferred, whether or not the graduate attends the ceremony.
Check that the documents relate to a formally conferred qualification and that the transcript covers the relevant completed programme. An invitation to graduate or evidence of ceremony attendance does not provide the same academic information. Where your studies concern a health discipline, specify whether your request concerns academic recognition of that degree or homologation linked to a regulated profession. The subject title alone does not settle that question. Obtain any additional official explanation of content, duration or practical work only in relation to the qualification being assessed.
Institution sources for the document arrangements above:
Prepare the degree certificate and academic record
Check the official document requirements and assemble:
- Your degree certificate or an official certificate confirming its issuance.
- An official academic record showing programme duration, subjects passed and workload in the required form, with the institution\’s authentication. For equivalencia, a suitable Diploma Supplement may provide this information.
- Identity evidence, payment evidence where required, and any additional documents requested for your application.
Ask the university to clarify missing information. Do not invent study hours or convert credits yourself. Check that names, qualification titles and award dates agree across the records. Plan the required legalisation and official translation for both the qualification evidence and the academic record; confirm the document format before proceeding.
For equivalencia, the Ministry’s document checklist also requires a certificate from the originating institution when transferred or recognised credits exceed 15% of the total. Identify earlier study before preparing a file based only on the final award.
University verification before solicitor certification and apostille
The Spanish Ministry’s UK-specific instructions require the solicitor or notary to state explicitly that authenticity has been verified with the issuing institution. A statement that a copy matches an original is insufficient. Arrange the necessary consent and institutional verification before the certification and FCDO apostille stages. The apostille authenticates the relevant signature; the Spanish authority separately assesses the qualification.
Separate documents, bundles and electronic apostilles
Do not assume that one apostille covering both the degree certificate and transcript will meet the application requirements. FCDO guidance advises checking whether the recipient needs separate apostilles or accepts a group of documents.
Spanish guidance recognises electronic apostilles with operational verification. For the UK electronic route, the PDF must be electronically signed by a UK solicitor or notary. Preserve the original signed PDF and follow the submission instructions. The UK apostille verification service uses the apostille number and issue date. Keep these verification details legible.
Official Spanish translation
The Ministry’s translation guidance requires a complete official translation into Castilian Spanish where applicable, including the legalisations. A Spanish Ministry-appointed sworn translator (traductor jurado) is one recognised route. Arrange translation of the final prepared documents and retain the source documents alongside it.
Questions about LSTM degree recognition in Spain
Should I request a Liverpool certificate just because my LSTM studies predate graduation in 2018?
Do not decide from graduation year alone. Check the original certificate, programme start date and any cohort information supplied by LSTM. The relevant issuing institution should confirm its own award. A historical relationship between the institutions does not justify replacing the named awarding body with a different one.
Can equivalencia provide permission to practise a regulated profession?
Equivalencia has academic and administrative effects and does not itself authorise practice of the regulated professions covered by the homologation procedure. Establish the exact intended outcome before selecting the application. Assessment of academic level and assessment against a professional qualification can involve different evidence and procedures.
Official equivalence guidance.
Prepare your LSTM documents with Ginkgo Advisory
Provide your LSTM programme, start date and certificate issuer so we can organise the evidence for the appropriate Spanish recognition route.
Ginkgo Advisory can review your documents, arrange institutional verification, prepare solicitor certification and assist with paper or electronic apostilles, subject to review and confirmed scope. These services prepare the evidence for your application; the competent Spanish authority decides homologation or equivalence.
Contact Ginkgo Advisory or email info@ginkgoadvisory.com with your documents and intended Spanish procedure. We can confirm the verification route, service scope and quotation after reviewing the records.
Related guidance: UK degree homologation and equivalence in Spain; UK degree certificate and transcript apostille; UK e-apostille service.