STUDY
REVALIDATION OF STUDIES

In this section we present you the step-by-step process for the revalidation of studies to enter university or to complete university studies. If you are interested in knowing about the process of admission to primary or secondary education, please click here.

ADMISSION OF FOREIGN STUDENTS TO UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

The following are the main requirements of universities for admission to undergraduate programs (information on the different universities can be found here).

There are two possible situations:

Admission to the first year: students who completed their high school studies abroad.
Admission by revalidation of university studies abroad: students who studied at a university abroad can enter by requesting the revalidation of these courses and thus continue their education at one of the universities.

If you are a foreigner, in order to start an undergraduate program in any of the universities, you must first complete the revalidation process before the Uruguayan Secondary Education Council. To do so, you will need:

A legalized certificate of studies or with the corresponding apostille, for countries where the Hague Convention is in force. If the apostille is not in force in that country, the certificate of studies must be validated by the Uruguayan Consulate.
For non-Spanish speaking countries, except Brazil, the certificates must be translated by a certified translator qualified in Uruguay.
As part of the revalidation process, the student must take an online “Integration Course”, with components of National History, National Geography and Social and Civic Education.

The revalidation process begins with the submission of the original documents required and copies of the same. After 10 working days, a certificate is issued to be submitted to the chosen University, along with other documents that differ from one institution to another:

Universidad de la República: secondary education revalidation procedure; proof of residence in Uruguay for at least three years; having moved to Uruguay as a necessary consequence of the applicant’s direct family settling in the country. However, the Central Board of Directors of the University may, by an absolute majority vote of its members, admit foreign students on an exceptional basis.
UTEC: secondary education revalidation procedure; be a resident in Uruguay for at least three years; having moved to Uruguay as a necessary consequence of the applicant’s direct family settling in the country; or under special admission agreements entered into by UTEC within the framework of cooperation relations with foreign entities.
Private universities: the requirements are mainly of an administrative and documentary nature, so there are no limitations for the admission of foreign students, who must in all cases have the secondary education revalidation procedure completed.

In the case of postgraduate courses offered by different universities, you should check directly with the faculty or school that offers the course you wish to take, since the admission requirements are different, but it is advisable to have your undergraduate degree revalidated in order to access academic credits.

REVALIDATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES TAKEN ABROAD

It is possible to revalidate subjects from another university course taken abroad in order to continue studies in any of the Uruguayan universities.

The first thing to do is to contact the university and faculty where you want to continue your studies to find out about the specific procedure requested (see information on the Universities here).

The documents required to process the revalidation of studies in the public university system are:

To authenticate the documentation before the Competent Authority in the country of origin (where the agreement is in force) and to request an Apostille. This certificate is automatically recognized in Uruguay.
In countries where the Apostille does not apply, the current legalization procedures will continue to be applied, i.e., presenting the original valid document issued by the corresponding body, without alterations or tearing and with the intervention of the Uruguayan Consul or Foreign Ministry official in the country of origin of the document. With the legalization carried out by the corresponding Uruguayan Consulate, the interested party must go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue with the legalization process.
Once in Uruguay, with all the certified documents, the student must go directly to the chosen university with the originals and a letter to the Dean/Director requesting the revalidation of the degree.

If the documents are not issued in Spanish, it will be necessary to have them translated by a certified translator in Uruguay.

In private universities, it is possible to revalidate subjects for admission, as long as their number does not exceed two thirds of the total number of subjects that make up the selected degree program, in order to continue the studies.

In the case of UTEC, the other public university, there is a “knowledge accreditation” mechanism, which is aimed at recognizing the knowledge and skills that people may have developed during their lives, in different ways, outside of formal education and which can be associated with prerequisites for UTEC’s degree programs. This procedure is not meant to grant a degree to those whose knowledge has been evaluated, but rather to enable access to continue studies at a certain academic level.

REVALIDATION OF UNIVERSITY DEGREES

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) is responsible for the revalidation of foreign degrees. The revalidation is done on the basis that there is a reasonably equivalent degree at the Universidad de la República and that the person has completed his/her degree program at the university of origin. In exceptional cases, an unfinished degree program may be considered equivalent to a completed degree program in the country.

In the case of degrees that do not exist in the Universidad de la República, and therefore a reasonable equivalence is not applicable, the university grants what it calls “recognition” and when there is a reasonable equivalence, a revalidation is granted.

The procedures to be carried out involve the authentication of the documents in the country of origin or legalization in the corresponding Uruguayan Consulate with subsequent legalization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay and the relevant translations, if required, being a procedure similar to the one specified to continue university studies in the country. Private universities may revalidate studies carried out abroad only for educational purposes and for continuing studies, but not for professional practice.

The procedure is carried out through this link and has an initial cost of 25 UI (twenty-five indexed units) as established by the Ministry of Education and Culture in indexed units, according to Law No. 19996-2021/197, which is updated once a year. Access the Instructions to complete the online procedure here.

For inquiries: reconocimientosyrevalidas@mec.gub.uy