Universities in Spain

Spain has more than eighty universities: around fifty public and over thirty private. A foreigner can apply to either — citizenship does not matter; what matters is the recognition (homologación) of your school-leaving certificate and your language skills. A year at a public university costs less than in most European countries, and some programmes are taught in English.

How many universities are there in Spain and what types are there

Higher education in Spain grew up around some of the oldest institutions in Europe. The University of Salamanca was founded in 1218 and the University of Barcelona in 1450. Today the country has more than eighty universities, divided into two groups. Spanish universities are part of the Bologna Process, so their degrees are recognised throughout Europe and the degree system is the familiar one: bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate.

Public universities in Spain

There are around fifty public universities in Spain. They are funded by the autonomous community, so tuition fees are noticeably lower. A degree from a Spanish public university is recognised throughout the European Union. Competition is stiffer, document requirements are stricter, and teaching is more often in Spanish.

Private universities in Spain

Spain has more than thirty private universities. They are more flexible: more programmes in English, less red tape at admission and more modern campuses. Tuition at a private university costs several times more. This group also includes the business schools that have given Spanish education its international reputation.

Important! The division of Spanish universities into public and private does not match a division into strong and weak. Both types represent Spanish higher education in world rankings.

Table: Spain’s largest universities

Below are the universities most often chosen by international students. The table deliberately leaves out ranking positions: they are revised every year, while a university’s city and profile do not change.

University	City	Type	Known for
Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)	Madrid	public	the country’s largest university, a wide choice of subjects
Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)	Madrid	public	strong in natural sciences and medicine
Carlos III University (Universidad Carlos III)	Madrid	public	economics, law, programmes in English
Rey Juan Carlos University (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)	Madrid	public	many programmes, flexible admission requirements
University of Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona)	Barcelona	public	the oldest and most cited university in Catalonia
Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)	Barcelona	public	research campus, international programmes
Pompeu Fabra University (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)	Barcelona	public	economics, communication, teaching in English
Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya)	Barcelona	public	engineering and architecture
University of Valencia (Universitat de València)	Valencia	public	a classic university with a large range of faculties
Polytechnic University of Valencia (Universitat Politècnica de València)	Valencia	public	design, engineering, agronomy
University of Salamanca (Universidad de Salamanca)	Salamanca	public	Spain’s oldest university, philology and languages
University of Granada (Universidad de Granada)	Granada	public	one of the leaders in the number of international students
University of Seville (Universidad de Sevilla)	Seville	public	humanities and technical subjects
University of the Basque Country (Universidad del País Vasco)	Bilbao	public	engineering, economics, Basque and Spanish
University of Alicante (Universidad de Alicante)	Alicante	public	tourism, law, Spanish language courses
University of Málaga (Universidad de Málaga)	Málaga	public	telecommunications and computer science
University of León (Universidad de León)	León	public	veterinary science, biotechnology
University of Oviedo (Universidad de Oviedo)	Oviedo	public	chemistry, mining
University of Cádiz (Universidad de Cádiz)	Cádiz	public	marine sciences
University of Vigo (Universidade de Vigo)	Vigo	public	engineering, oceanography
University of Navarra (Universidad de Navarra)	Pamplona	private	medicine, journalism, a strong research base
IE University	Madrid, Segovia	private	business, international programmes in English

The best Spanish universities in world rankings

In the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Spanish universities that consistently appear are the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University, Complutense, the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Navarra. Positions on the list of top universities change every year, so it is better to look not at the row in the table but at the faculty’s profile and the language of the programme.

World rankings are designed to reward the volume of research publications. For an undergraduate this matters less than the language of instruction, the cost and the city. That is why every applicant ends up with their own list of the best universities in Spain.

Universities in Barcelona

Barcelona is the most popular centre of higher education in Spain among foreigners. It has four large public universities: the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. There are also world-class private business schools.

A feature of the region is the Catalan language. Some courses at Catalan public universities are taught in Catalan rather than Spanish, and this is worth checking before you apply.

Universities in Madrid

The Spanish capital offers the widest choice of higher education. Complutense is the country’s largest university by student numbers. The Autonomous University of Madrid is strong in the natural sciences. Carlos III and Rey Juan Carlos offer many programmes in English and are easier to get into.

Medical universities in Spain

Medicine is the most competitive field of higher education in Spain, and admission is planned a year in advance. Public medical faculties exist at Complutense, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Granada, the University of Valencia and the University of Navarra. The entry grades there are among the highest in the country, and teaching is almost always in Spanish.

Important! A Spanish medical degree requires separate recognition to work outside the European Union. You need to plan for this before you enrol, not after you graduate.

Technical, architecture and creative subjects at Spanish universities

Engineering and architecture are concentrated in the polytechnic universities of Catalonia and Valencia. Fashion design, industrial design and acting are taught at private schools and at some faculties of public universities. These subjects almost always involve a creative selection process.

Business schools in Spain

Spain is known for business education. IESE Business School, ESADE and IE University feature in world rankings of MBA and master’s programmes. These are private institutions, teaching is entirely in English, and programme fees run into tens of thousands of euros.

Studying in English at Spanish universities

English-taught programmes exist, but Spanish universities offer them unevenly. At private universities and business schools they are the majority. At public universities, master’s programmes and some bachelor’s courses are more often taught in English — economics, international relations, computer science.

Even on an English-taught programme you will need Spanish: for everyday life, part-time work and dealing with the administration. Language courses at Spanish universities address this alongside your studies, and a language certificate will also come in handy when renewing your residence permit.

How much it costs to study at Spanish universities

The cost of a year of higher education in Spain depends on the type of university, the autonomous community and the subject. Public universities set a price per academic credit, and it is revised every year.

Type of programme	Approximate annual cost for EU citizens and Spanish residents
Bachelor’s degree at a public university	from one to two thousand euros
Master’s degree at a public university	from two to four thousand euros
Bachelor’s degree at a private university	from eight to eighteen thousand euros
MBA programmes at business schools	from thirty thousand euros
University language courses	from one and a half thousand euros per semester

For an applicant with a Russian passport the price is different. Some autonomous communities apply a higher rate to foreigners who are not EU citizens and not resident in Spain. In Madrid, public universities charge such students the fourth-enrolment rate for a course; in Alicante, double the standard rate. The difference can be several-fold: on some programmes a credit costs €23 for a Spaniard and around €114 for a non-European without residence. A stay permit for studies does NOT count as residence, so the surcharge applies precisely to those who are just arriving. In communities without a surcharge the price is the same as for locals. What you need to check is not “how much it costs in Spain” but the specific university’s rate for extracomunitarios no residentes (non-EU non-residents).

On top of the cost of higher education come housing, insurance and study materials. For the visa you need to prove income or savings covering a year of living in the country — we have calculated how much money you need to live separately, city by city.

Is it true that you can study for free in Spain?

There is no completely free higher education in Spain, even for Spanish citizens. This is the first thing to know about Spanish universities. What there is instead: the price at a Spanish public university is comparable to a year at a fee-paying Russian university, and discounts apply to some categories of students.

There are scholarships — national, regional and university ones. International students can apply for them, but competition for the best programmes is high, and applications are made in Spanish.

How to get into a Spanish university

The procedure for an applicant with a Russian school-leaving certificate or degree.

1. Choose a university and programme, and check the language of instruction and application deadlines.
2. Apply for recognition (homologación) of your school-leaving certificate — this is the recognition of your secondary education, and it takes several months.
3. Take a language exam: DELE or SIELE for Spanish, IELTS or TOEFL for English.
4. For a bachelor’s degree, sit the entrance tests for international applicants.
5. Apply to the university within the set deadlines.
6. Receive your letter of admission and apply for a student visa.

Important! Recognition of the school-leaving certificate is the bottleneck of the whole chain. You need to start it six months before applying to university, otherwise you will lose a year. How the procedure itself works, how much the fee is and how recognition of a school certificate differs from recognition of a university degree is covered in our guide to degree recognition in Spain.

More on admission and application deadlines — including schools and colleges, not just universities.

Entrance exams and recognition of documents in Spain

For a bachelor’s degree at Spanish universities, international applicants sit an exam that tests the school curriculum. For a master’s degree there are usually no entrance tests: the university looks at your bachelor’s degree, grades and motivation letter. The higher education degree also goes through a recognition procedure.

Public universities in Spain generally require Spanish at no lower than B2. Private universities and English-taught programmes set their own rules.

University in Spain for Russians: school certificate, the EGE and language

Citizenship does not restrict admission, and there is no separate procedure “for Russians” in Spain. What differs is not the right to apply but the set of documents: the Spanish system cannot read a Russian school-leaving certificate and does not know what the EGE (Russian Unified State Exam) is. Both have to be translated into its terms.

School-leaving certificate. The certificate goes through homologación — being declared equivalent to the Spanish título de Bachiller. The application is submitted to the Spanish Ministry of Education, either through its online office or through a consulate. Documents are accepted with an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish (traducción jurada); an ordinary translation from an agency will not do.

What to do while recognition is under way. Immediately after you apply, you are issued a volante de inscripción condicional — a certificate of conditional enrolment. With it you can apply to the university and register for exams without waiting for the decision. It is not the person waiting for recognition who loses a year, but the one who started it too late.

The EGE. EGE scores are not counted in Spain and are not part of the admission grade. Instead there is UNEDasiss — accreditation from the UNED university that converts your certificate’s average grade to the Spanish ten-point scale. Without it a public university generally will not consider a foreigner’s application.

If ten points are not enough. For highly competitive subjects applicants take the PCE — subject-specific exams run by UNED. They add points on top of the certificate grade, and the final admission grade is calculated on a scale of up to fourteen. For medicine and other subjects with limited places the PCE is practically compulsory.

Language. Spanish public universities usually require Spanish at no lower than B2, certified by DELE or SIELE. SIELE is quicker to take and has an online format, while DELE is held on fixed dates several times a year — with a tight admission schedule, this makes all the difference.

A degree instead of a school certificate. For admission to a master’s programme, recognition of your degree is generally not required: the university itself checks that your level of education is equivalent. Recognition is compulsory for regulated professions — medicine, law, architecture and the like. These are different procedures and are often confused: an unnecessary recognition costs months of waiting for nothing.

Important! Recognition, UNEDasiss accreditation and the language exam run in parallel, not one after another, and each has its own application deadline. Done in sequence, they will not fit into one academic year.

Application deadlines for Spanish universities

The main intake at Spanish universities is in spring, admission in summer, and the academic year starts in September. Some master’s programmes also admit students in January. Since recognition takes months, you need to start preparing to apply a year in advance.

Student visa for Spain and student residence

To study in Spain for longer than three months you need a student visa for Spain, and after arrival a residence card. This status gives you the right to stay in the country for the whole period of study.

You can work, but not automatically: a work permit must be requested separately — the application is filed by the employer or by the student. The overall limit is thirty hours a week, and exceeding it is grounds for revoking the permit.

You can also bring your family, and there are two conditions. First, the permit must have been issued for higher education, not for any kind of study. Second, there must be at least ninety days left before it expires. The law defines family members as a spouse, a registered partner or a proven stable partner, minor children, and adult children and relatives who need support for health reasons. One restriction is worth knowing in advance: family members themselves do not get the right to work — their permit is for residence, not for employment.

Refusals do happen, most often because of insufficient proof of funds or an incomplete set of documents. A letter of admission from a Spanish university is a mandatory part of the set, as is health insurance for residence.

How we help

We handle the whole student route to Spain: choosing a university and higher education programme to suit your subject and budget, recognition of your school certificate or degree, preparing the documents, applying for the student visa and getting your residence card after arrival.

The legal side is handled by an immigration lawyer — a member of the Barcelona Bar Association. We start by reviewing your situation: we look at your education documents, language level and timeframe, and tell you frankly whether admission this academic year is realistic or you need to prepare for the next one.

Frequently asked questions

How many universities are there in Spain?

More than eighty: around fifty public Spanish universities and over thirty private ones.

Can a Russian student get into a Spanish university?

Yes. Citizenship does not restrict admission. You need recognition of your school-leaving certificate, language skills and, for a bachelor’s degree, entrance tests.

Which Spanish universities teach in English?

English-taught programmes are offered at Spanish private universities and business schools, and at public universities more often at master’s level: Carlos III, Pompeu Fabra, the Autonomous University of Madrid. IE University teaches bachelor’s degrees in English too, and this school ranks highly in the QS World University Rankings.

How much does a year of study cost?

At a public university roughly one to two thousand euros a year, at a private one from eight thousand a year. But these are prices for EU citizens and residents: for a foreigner without residence some autonomous communities charge a higher rate, and in Madrid it works out several times more expensive.

What is homologación and why do you need it?

It is the recognition of your school-leaving certificate or degree in Spain. Without it the university will not accept your documents. The procedure takes several months.

Can you work while studying?

Yes, but not automatically: a work permit must be requested separately, and the application is filed by the employer or by the student. The overall limit is thirty hours a week, and exceeding it is grounds for revoking the permit.

Which Spanish university is the best?

There is no single answer. Universities in Barcelona and Madrid rank highest on lists of the best universities in Spain, but for a particular subject a university in a smaller city may be stronger.

Sources

Data on Spanish universities come from the universities’ official websites and the open registers of the Spanish Ministry of Education. Tuition costs are given as an order of magnitude: the specific price is set by the autonomous community and revised each academic year, and some communities apply a higher rate to foreigners without residence.

The rules for student residence — working while studying, the thirty-hour limit and the conditions for family members — follow the Regulation implementing Organic Law 4/2000, approved by Real Decreto 1155/2024 (in force since 20 May 2025), article 57 and the section on family members. Checked on 7 September 2026.

This article is for information only. Admission requirements for Spanish higher education institutions vary by university and subject, so they must be checked against the rules of the specific university for the current year. The homologación procedure and UNEDasiss rules are described according to the current regulations of the Spanish Ministry of Education and UNED — both are revised, and they should be checked for the current academic year before applying.