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Preparation for the
Access Tests

Specific Access Tests to HAE and Maturity Tests

ESADA prepares the specific entrance exams for Higher Artistic Education from the month of February. All students who have booked a place will be able to take the course for free*.

  • 250 € / course (*free if you book a place at ESADA).
  • Exam fees included for future students.


ESADA, being a private centre, is not in charge of the entrance exams; this is the responsibility of the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Andalucía.

For each call, June and September, ESADA will provide a preparation course for access to these studies.

Specific Access Tests

Teaching of the contents of each subject in accordance with the guidelines of each exercise of the entrance exam. In addition, students will work both in the classroom and at home on the assignments and exercises, which will be corrected and tutored by the teachers.

This test is held by the Junta de Andalucía in June. The date in other autonomous communities may vary. In addition, ESADA may examine this test in mid-September.

Structure of the entrance tests

Exercise 1: Written and of a theoretical nature

Written and theoretical in nature. It will consist of the analysis and critique of a text and an image or graphic material related to the different manifestations of design, provided by the examining board.

  • Analysis of a text; for this process of analysis and critique, the candidate will have to respond in writing to several questions related to aspects of historical, cultural, symbolic knowledge, etc.
  • Analysis of an image to be chosen by the candidate from among the four proposed by the selection board, related to each of the specialities of Design. The candidate may choose the one he/she wishes. For this process of analysis and critique, the candidate will have to respond in writing to several questions related to formal, functional, compositional, constructive aspects, etc.

In this exercise, the following will be assessed: the degree of maturity in terms of the understanding of concepts, the appropriate use of language and written expression, as well as the ability to analyse, synthesise and relate.

Exercise 2: Freehand representation systems

Analytical-descriptive in nature. This will consist of a representation exercise based on the model chosen by the candidate from among two proposed by the selection board. In order to carry out this exercise, the candidate may choose the representation systems that he/she considers appropriate, both technical and artistic, executing it freehand.

In this exercise, the handling of drawing as a skill and resource for analysing, synthesising and representing will be assessed, as well as the use of drawing as an instrument for communicating the significant information to be conveyed.

Exercise 3: Creative project

A creative exercise based on the suggestion of a given text, to be chosen from among two provided by the selection board. The aim of this exercise is to detect the capacity to generate a proposal, the capacity to use expressive resources to resolve the idea of the proposal and the capacity of the candidate to argue an ideation process.

From the selected text, a plastic proposal will be developed that conceptually suggests the proposed theme. The applicant will have to make sketches explaining the work process, the choice of the final result, and the written justification of the exercise, arguing the ideation of the formal representation, the materials, the colour, the composition, etc.

In this exercise, the following will be assessed: the justification of the process followed and the final result, the ability to express and communicate the proposed idea and the degree of originality of the proposal.

Maturity Tests

In the event of not meeting any of the entry requirements, applicants over the age of 18 or who will be 18 this year, may take a maturity test to certify that they have the maturity in relation to the objectives of the baccalaureate. This maturity test is held annually by the body responsible for the organisation of higher artistic education, and its passing will be valid throughout the national territory.

Passing this test, in any part of the national territory, will allow access to higher artistic studies through the specific test.

The Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Government) announces the Pruebas de Madurez (Maturity Exams) in June.

The test consists of three exercises:

Structure of the maturity test

Exercise 1: Spanish Language and Literature

The exercise will consist of a text commentary, with a series of questions on the text.

Exercise 2: History of Spain

The exercise will consist of general questions related to this subject, based, in particular, on social, artistic and cultural aspects of the history of Spain from the 19th century onwards.

Exercise 3: Foreign language, English

It will consist of comprehension of written texts and production of texts.

The duration of each of the exercises will be one and a half hours.

In the event that applicants have passed any of these subjects in the 2nd year of the Baccalaureate, they will be exempt from this exercise, which will be marked with the mark obtained in the aforementioned subject. Likewise, applicants who can prove that they hold a certificate of Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as a Foreign Language will also be exempt.

El presente proyecto está cofinanciado por el programa Erasmus+ de la Unión Europea. El contenido de esta publicación es responsabilidad exclusiva de ESADA y ni la Comisión Europea, ni el Servicio Español para la Internacionalización de la Educación (SEPIE) son responsables del uso que pueda hacerse de la información aquí difundida.

This project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of ESADA, and neither the European Commission nor the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE) is liable for the use that may be made of the information disseminated here.