Quick answer: How does UNED convert the IB Diploma for Spanish universities? UNEDasiss averages your six IB subject grades and adds 3, so an average of 6 becomes an access grade of 9.000 out of 10, under Orden EFD/550/2025. Specific competence tests (PCE) can add up to 4 more points in Valencia. American School of Valencia, El PlantĂo and Mas Camarena teach the Diploma.
Last reviewed: November 2026 by Catherine from ISA. Fee ranges are indicative; always confirm with the school.
Key takeaways
- IB Diploma holders can enter Spanish universities without sitting the PAU and without homologating their diploma, under article 6 of Real Decreto 534/2024.
- Since the 2025-26 admissions round, Orden EFD/550/2025 converts IB subject grades on a 2 to 7 scale with one formula: in practice, your subject average plus 3.
- In the Valencian public universities the two best weighted PCE subjects add 0.1 or 0.2 times their grade, so the admission grade tops out at 14, according to the Generalitat's 2027 weighting table.
- On the price list UNEDasiss published in February 2025 and still showed in November 2026, the access grade costs €70 and two PCE subjects €60, plus €45.45 in file and secretarial fees.
- For 2026-27, the Universitat de València let applicants with foreign or IB qualifications pre-register until 2pm on 7 July 2026, four days after the general deadline.
Every spring, families at Valencia's international schools ask the same thing: what is a 36-point IB Diploma worth at the Universitat de València? The answer runs through the UNED IB Diploma accreditation, known as UNEDasiss, which turns IB results into the Spanish scale that universities use to rank applicants.
This guide explains the conversion formula set by the Ministry of Education, how the specific competence tests (PCE) lift a grade towards 14, what UNEDasiss costs, the 2026 calendar as a reference for 2027, and how pre-registration works at the Universitat de València (UV) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).
Do IB students need the PAU to enter a Spanish university?
No. Holders of the IB Diploma issued by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva can enter Spanish undergraduate degrees without the PAU, the Spanish university entrance exam. The rule comes from the thirty-third additional provision of the Education Act (Ley Orgánica 2/2006) and article 6.1.c of Real Decreto 534/2024, which adds in article 6.2 that these students do not need to homologate their diploma.
What they do need is an accreditation from UNED, Spain's national distance-learning university, which certifies the access grade. Article 23.3 of the same decree says universities will use the grade obtained in the studies completed and may also weigh grades in specific subjects. Article 6 and article 23.3 are unchanged after the amendments of 2025 and 2026 (Real Decreto 482/2025 and Real Decreto 535/2026), which touched other provisions.
How is the UNED IB Diploma conversion calculated?
The access grade is the average of your IB subject grades, converted with the generic formula in annex III of Orden EFD/550/2025, published in the BoletĂn Oficial del Estado on 31 May 2025. Annex II sets the IB scale at 2 (lowest pass) to 7 (highest), so the formula Ce = (Cx minus 2) x 5 / (7 minus 2) + 5 simplifies to the average plus 3, expressed with three decimals.
Two details matter. The formula works on the subject grades of the 2 to 7 scale, not on the 45-point Diploma total, so on our reading the core points for Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay do not feed it; UNEDasiss confirms the figure. And article 3.4 says the resulting grade has indefinite validity.
| Six IB subject grades | Subject points | Average (2 to 7 scale) | UNED access grade (out of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 | 42 | 7.000 | 10.000 |
| 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 | 37 | 6.167 | 9.167 |
| 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5 | 35 | 5.833 | 8.833 |
| 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 | 30 | 5.000 | 8.000 |
| 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 | 24 | 4.000 | 7.000 |
Worked with the annex III formula of Orden EFD/550/2025, applicable to admissions from 2025-26 onwards; UNEDasiss issues the official figure.
How do PCE tests lift an IB grade towards 14?
The access grade stops at 10, so competitive degrees are decided by the PCE, the specific competence tests that UNEDasiss sets for students from foreign systems. In the Valencian public universities, the two best PCE grades of 5 or more in subjects that count for your degree are multiplied by 0.1 or 0.2 and added on, which is why the ceiling is 14.
The weights are already published for 2027. In the Generalitat's Ponderaciones 2027 table, Medicine at the UV, the University of Alicante, Jaume I and Miguel Hernández weighs Biology, Physics, Mathematics II and Chemistry at 0.2 each. A student with an 8.833 access grade, 8 in Mathematics II and 7.5 in Chemistry would reach 8.833 + 1.6 + 1.5 = 11.933.
UNEDasiss allows up to six PCE subjects per round and recommends that students from EU or partner systems pick two that carry weight. Papers are handed out in Spanish and English, but answers must be written in Spanish, except in the foreign-language exam. There is a second route: the 2025 list from UNEDasiss shows the Valencian public universities accept recognition of subjects examined externally in the student's own system, at €25 a subject, so ask UNEDasiss whether your IB subjects qualify before booking PCE.
UNEDasiss fees and deadlines for 2027
UNEDasiss had not published its 2027 calendar in November 2026, so the 2026 dates below are the reference. Applications open in February (4 February in 2026) and close on 1 December each year, and UNEDasiss advises applying at least six weeks before university pre-registration closes. It has up to three months to resolve, though it says most files are settled in about three weeks.
- Access grade: €70, plus €30.30 to open the file and €15.15 in secretarial fees.
- PCE exams: €35 for one subject, €60 for two, €80 for three and €100 for four.
- Subject recognition: €25 per subject, where the university accepts it.
- No reductions: large-family discounts do not apply, and fees for refused services are not refunded.
- PCE dates in 2026: registration from 16 March to 28 April, exams in Spain from 25 to 29 May, and a September round from 2 to 8 September.
An IB student asking for the access grade and two PCE subjects therefore pays €175.45 on that list, the latest UNEDasiss has published.
Pre-registration at the Universitat de València and the UPV
Both universities use the Generalitat's single online pre-registration form. For 2026-27 the UV window ran from 15 June to 3 July 2026, with an extension to 2pm on 7 July for students entering under article 6.1 of Real Decreto 534/2024, which covers IB holders. The first allocation was published on 10 July.
Apply on time even if UNEDasiss has not resolved your file: the UV reopened the form from 13 to 31 July only to upload the UNED accreditation, and the UPV's 2026-27 calendar listed a second window for students from foreign systems from 14 to 31 July, resolved on 4 September. Private universities set their own rules.
Valencia schools that teach the IB Diploma
American School of Valencia
Based in Puçol, north of the city, the school was authorised for the Diploma Programme in 2004 and graduated its first cohort in 2006. It reports a 34-point average, a 90.9% pass rate and a top score of 42 for the class of 2025. Ask how many leavers apply through UNEDasiss each year and which PCE subjects they usually sit.
El PlantĂo International School of Valencia
The IB lists El PlantĂo as authorised for the Diploma Programme on 24 February 1999, with English and Spanish as teaching languages, in the Paterna area. Because Spanish is a teaching language, it is worth asking whether students take Spanish A, which helps with PCE papers that must be answered in Spanish.
Colegio Mas Camarena
Mas Camarena has offered the Diploma since 2015 in Spanish, English or a bilingual format, and the school says it is the only one in Valencia running the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. It also prepares students for the Spanish Bachillerato and PAU, so ask how it advises families choosing between the two routes.
A timeline for a DP2 student aiming at Valencia
The dates are those of 2026; check them again when UNEDasiss and the Generalitat publish the 2027 calendar.
- September to January: check the weighting table for your degree and choose two weighted PCE subjects; our guide to the IB Diploma Programme, its subjects and scores helps match them to your Higher Level choices.
- February: open your UNEDasiss application with your last two years of transcripts.
- 16 March to 28 April: register for the May PCE round.
- Late May: sit the PCE in Spain alongside your IB exams.
- 15 June to 7 July: pre-register on the Generalitat's portal, listing degrees in order of preference.
- 13 to 31 July: upload the UNED accreditation once your IB results are in.
Students on British programmes follow a similar path with different conversions; our guide to A Levels in Spain and university entry covers it.
Compare schools across Valencia
If the university route is part of your school choice, compare curricula, languages and fees in our ranking of the best international schools in Valencia.
Sources: Real Decreto 534/2024 and Orden EFD/550/2025 (BoletĂn Oficial del Estado); UNEDasiss key dates, prices and PCE subject offer for 2026; Universitat de València pre-registration deadlines 2026-27; UPV calendar 2026-27; Generalitat Valenciana Ponderaciones 2027 and guidance on students from foreign systems; American School of Valencia; International Baccalaureate school directory; Colegio Mas Camarena.
More guides to schools in Valencia
- How to choose an international school in Valencia
- International school fees in Valencia
- International school admissions in Valencia
- Bilingual schools in Valencia
- Best international schools in Valencia
- best international schools in Valencia
Frequently asked questions
Do IB students need to take the PAU in Spain?
No. Article 6 of Real Decreto 534/2024 lets IB Diploma holders enter Spanish universities without the PAU and without homologating the diploma. They request the UNEDasiss accreditation, which converts their subject grades into an access grade out of 10, and can sit PCE subjects with UNED if they want to push their admission grade towards 14.
Can I pre-register at a Valencian university before my IB results arrive?
Yes. For 2026-27 the Universitat de València accepted pre-registration from applicants with foreign or IB qualifications until 2pm on 7 July 2026, even without a resolved accreditation, and reopened its form from 13 to 31 July only to upload the UNED document. UNEDasiss also accepts applications with the latest transcripts and lets students add final documents later.
How long is the UNED access grade valid for IB students?
Indefinitely. Article 3.4 of Orden EFD/550/2025 says the access grade calculated from a foreign or IB qualification stays valid for any undergraduate degree, unless the original qualification has limited validity in its own system. PCE results are different: the UNEDasiss accreditation shows those passed in the year of the round and the two previous academic years.