Marrakech – Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education has announced an important policy change regarding foreign degree equivalence. Degrees issued by public universities in Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France will now receive automatic equivalence with their Moroccan counterparts.
The new ministerial decisions, dated July 1, were published in the Official Bulletin No. 7422 on July 17. These measures affect bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, as well as engineering qualifications obtained from public institutions in these five European countries.
The recent regulatory overhaul will significantly impact thousands of Moroccan students studying abroad.
Notably, Moroccan students form the largest foreign nationality in French higher education institutions, with 45,162 enrolled during the 2022/2023 academic year, representing 11% of all international students in France.
For university degrees to qualify for automatic equivalence, two key conditions must be met. First, the qualification must be a state-issued diploma from a public institution.
Second, students must have completed their education through regular attendance in the country where the degree was issued, providing official proof of residence during their studies.
For engineering qualifications, an additional criterion applies. To be considered equivalent to a Moroccan “State Engineer” diploma, the foreign engineering program must span at least five years of study after completing a scientific or technical baccalaureate or comparable certificate.
The ministry aims to simplify and speed up the equivalence procedure for foreign degrees through this initiative. Officials seek to cut processing times and improve acceptance of qualifications that Moroccan students earn in established educational systems abroad.
The ministry has previously implemented similar decisions for degrees from other countries and continues to expand this equivalence framework to include qualifications from more destinations.
Students and graduates affected by these new regulations can consult the Official Bulletin or visit the ministry’s website to verify whether their qualifications meet the required conditions.
This policy change streamlines administrative procedures for Moroccan graduates returning from European universities. By accepting these qualifications automatically, the government aims to facilitate the integration of internationally trained professionals into the national workforce.
