Universities in Spain

Spain is an interesting and UNESCO-rich country, with plenty of opportunities to learn, advance, and socialize. Its higher education sector comprises 89 Spanish universities, out of which 50 are public, and 39 are private universities (listed in this article), which includes some of the best business schools. Spain also is home to the Universidad de Salamanca, which is one of the oldest universities in the world.

Spain has its share of American universities; however, Spanish universities also provide a wide range of advantages for international students (with many offering English-taught degree programs but also Spanish courses, in the official language, and Catalan, a regional language in Spain).

The following list has some of the top Spanish universities, as ranked by Erudera, a higher education search platform. If you go to the bottom of this article, you will find a list of all Spanish universities as well as a list of universities by field of study.

Here are the top Spanish universities:

1. Universitat de Barcelona

The University of Barcelona offers training that emphasizes quality and innovation above all. Students can choose from various study fields, including health sciences, social sciences, humanities, engineering, and experimental sciences. It has 16 faculties with over 64,000 students in its student population. More than 12,000 students at the University of Barcelona are of other nationalities, contributing to a diverse and multicultural study and social environment. If you’ve always wanted to study in Spain, the University of Barcelona should be one of your top options, because the university is located in one of the largest cities and especially because of the tuition fees.

2. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

The Autonomous University of Madrid is among the top universities in Spain due to its comprehensive student training and international recognition. It offers training in various study fields, including science, philosophy, psychology, business, law, medicine, and teacher training. UAM provides a wide range of courses in English for any foreign student who doesn’t speak Spanish, which is the general language of instruction. The cultural activities and sports facilities are a great asset of the university.

3. Complutense University of Madrid

The Complutense University of Madrid has 26 faculties across different study areas, including fine arts, biological sciences, medicine, psychology, veterinary, statistical studies, teacher training, etc. The general medium of instruction is Spanish; however, there are exceptions to some programs which are offered in English and Catalan, a regional language. Over 80 nationalities are currently studying at this university located in Spain’s capital city, pursuing qualifications in all study levels, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate.

4. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

The Autonomous University of Barcelona is among the top public universities in Spain to pursue a degree. It offers study choices in different areas such as arts and humanities, sciences, biosciences, health sciences, social and legal sciences, and engineering. These study areas are available at all study levels, from bachelor to doctorate. Moreover, many master’s and postgraduate degrees are offered either in English or online. The total number of students at the Autonomous University of Barcelona is over 34,000, out of which 37.7% are international students in masters and doctoral programs.

5. Universidad de Navarra

The University of Navarra is one of the private universities located on the southeast border of Pamplona, Spain. It offers study degrees across numerous disciplines, including architecture, communication, humanities, social sciences, medicine, theology, etc. This university has a mission to contribute to its students’ education at the academic, cultural, and personal levels. The University of Navarra emphasizes the importance of academic research across different fields of knowledge to promote innovation and development within society.

6. Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Pompeu Fabra University is a well-known university and one of Spain’s top universities. This public university is located in the city of Barcelona, and it offers degrees across different faculties. Students are likely to find their preferred field of interest at Pompeu Fabra University, whether it belongs to the health and life sciences or translation and linguistics all the way to engineering. This university also offers the option of blended learning, which is a mix between online classes and traditional classroom methods.

7. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)

University Carlos III de Madrid is a public university located in the Community of Madrid. Due to high demand, this university has decided to offer English-taught groups in some of the most requested degree programs. UC3M provides most of its undergraduate studies in English or bilingual. The former includes groups of students who will learn the degree entirely in English, while in the latter groups, half of the subjects within the curriculum will be taught in English. UC3M wants to contribute to society’s betterment through its teaching and research.

8. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

As the largest engineering university in Catalonia, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia excels in its teaching and research expertise. As one of the top universities in Spain, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia has 28,208 students across its degree programs. Among its 75 master’s degree programs, 29 have English as their instruction language, while 27 are double degrees. This higher education institution specializes in architecture, engineering, science, and technology, providing world-class education and expertise.

9. Universitat Politècnica de València

The Polytechnic University of Valencia specializes in the field of science and technology. It offers degree programs across different schools, including architecture, engineering (civil, design, industrial, telecommunications, etc.), business administration, and fine arts. The University of Valencia ranks among the top Spanish technological universities. It has study groups in three different languages, including Spanish, English, and Valencian, with more than 400 subjects being offered in English. The cutting-edge computer equipment is a great asset to the university of Valencia.

10. IE University

IE University is a private higher education institution and one of the most international universities with degrees available across numerous fields of study, from applied mathematics, computer science, and AI, to the study of law. 75% of the student population at IE University represents around 130 countries, meaning students get an international experience and learn from some of the world leaders in the academic and business world. With campuses in Madrid and Segovia, this university is among the top international universities in Spain.

11. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

The Polytechnic University of Madrid, also known as the Technical University of Madrid, is located in Madrid and was founded in 1971. However, although this is a relatively young university, most of its schools have more than a century teaching tradition. These schools merged into what became the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The oldest school in this university is The School of Architecture, founded in 1752. Students at this university receive a great deal of excellence and career opportunities.

12. Universidad de Alcalá

This public university also belongs to the top universities in Spain due to its teaching excellence and tradition. The University of Alcalá is located 35 km northeast of Madrid, in Alcalá de Henares. This university boasts more than 29,000 students across its degree programs and over 1,600 professors and researchers. Students can find study programs in different study areas, including humanities, social science studies, engineering, etc. International relations, state-of-the-art facilities, and excellence give the University of Alcalá its extra edge.

13. Universidad de Granada

The University of Granada is among the largest universities in Spain, with over 80,000 students across its programs. It is also among the top universities in Spain for its quality. Founded in 1531, this public university in Granada is committed to transferring knowledge and skills, so students graduate with the necessary expertise to enter the job market and succeed in their careers. The University of Granada emphasizes the importance of research, internationalization, and equal opportunities for all.

14. Universidad de Zaragoza

The University of Zaragoza was founded centuries ago, in 1542, and is one of Spain’s oldest universities. Degrees and double degrees at all levels of study are available at the University of Zaragoza in business administration, fine arts, biotechnology, architecture, English, philosophy, engineering, mathematics, journalism, medicine, etc. This university has over 30,000 students enrolled in its programs, and it attracts thousands of international students every year due to its teaching tradition and historic location.

15. Universidad de Sevilla

As the name suggests, this university is located in Seville, Spain, and it is one of the best universities in Spain. This university has around 87 undergraduate degrees, about 93 master’s degrees, and 32 doctoral programs to choose from. It also offers more than 50 international undergraduate and graduate degrees. The University of Seville has over five hundred years of teaching experience since it was founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505. It now has a student population of over 50,000 in its degree programs.

List of All Universities in Spain

Here’s a list of all 89 universities in Spain, divided by type, location, and autonomous community:

University Name	Type	Location	Autonomus Community
Abat Oliba CEU	Private	BARCELONA	Cataluña
A Coruña	Public	A CORUÑA	Galicia
A Distancia de Madrid	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Alcalá	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Alfonso X El Sabio	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Alicante	Public	ALICANTE/ALACANT	Comunitat Valenciana
Almería	Public	ALMERÍA	Andalucía
Antonio de Nebrija	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Atlántico Medio	Private	LAS PALMAS	Canarias
Autónoma de Barcelona	Public	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Autónoma de Madrid	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Barcelona	Public	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Burgos	Public	BURGOS	Castilla y León
Cádiz	Public	CÁDIZ	Andalucía
Camilo José Cela	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Cantabria	Public	CANTABRIA	Cantabria
Cardenal Herrera-CEU	Private	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Carlos III de Madrid	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Castilla-La Mancha	Public	CIUDAD REAL	Castilla – La Mancha
Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir	Private	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Católica San Antonio	Private	MURCIA	Murcia (Región de)
Católica Santa Teresa de Jesús de Ávila	Private	ÁVILA	Castilla y León
Complutense de Madrid	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Córdoba	Public	CÓRDOBA	Andalucía
CUNEF Universidad	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Deusto	Private	BIZKAIA	País Vasco
ESIC Universidad	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Euneiz	Private	ARABA/ÁLAVA	País Vasco
Europea de Canarias	Private	SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE	Canarias
Europea del Atlántico	Private	CANTABRIA	Cantabria
Europea de Madrid	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Europea de Valencia	Private	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Europea Miguel de Cervantes	Private	VALLADOLID	Castilla y León
Extremadura	Public	BADAJOZ	Extremadura
Fernando Pessoa-Canarias (UFP-C)	Private	LAS PALMAS	Canarias
Francisco de Vitoria	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Girona	Public	GIRONA	Cataluña
Granada	Public	GRANADA	Andalucía
Huelva	Public	HUELVA	Andalucía
IE Universidad	Private	SEGOVIA	Castilla y León
Illes Balears (Les)	Public	ILLES BALEARS	Balears (Illes)
Intercontinental de la Empresa	Private	A CORUÑA	Galicia
Internacional de Andalucía	Public	SEVILLA	Andalucía
Internacional de Catalunya	Private	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Internacional de la Empresa	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Internacional de La Rioja	Private	LA RIOJA	Rioja (La)
Internacional Isabel I de Castilla	Private	BURGOS	Castilla y León
Internacional Menéndez Pelayo	Public	MADRID	Estado
Internacional Valenciana	Private	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Internacional Villanueva	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Jaén	Public	JAÉN	Andalucía
Jaume I de Castellón	Public	CASTELLÓN/CASTELLÓ	Comunitat Valenciana
La Laguna	Public	SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE	Canarias
La Rioja	Public	LA RIOJA	Rioja (La)
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	Public	LAS PALMAS	Canarias
León	Public	LEÓN	Castilla y León
Lleida	Public	LLEIDA	Cataluña
Loyola Andalucía	Private	SEVILLA	Andalucía
Málaga	Public	MÁLAGA	Andalucía
Miguel Hernández de Elche	Public	ALICANTE/ALACANT	Comunitat Valenciana
Mondragón Unibertsitatea	Private	GIPUZKOA	País Vasco
Murcia	Public	MURCIA	Murcia (Región de)
Nacional de Educación a Distancia	Public	MADRID	Estado
Navarra	Private	NAVARRA	Navarra (Comunidad Foral de)
Oberta de Catalunya	Private	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Oviedo	Public	ASTURIAS	Asturias (Principado de)
Pablo de Olavide	Public	SEVILLA	Andalucía
País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea	Public	BIZKAIA	País Vasco
Politécnica de Cartagena	Public	MURCIA	Murcia (Región de)
Politécnica de Catalunya	Public	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Politécnica de Madrid	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Politècnica de València	Public	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Pompeu Fabra	Public	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Pontificia Comillas	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Pontificia de Salamanca	Private	SALAMANCA	Castilla y León
Pública de Navarra	Public	NAVARRA	Navarra (Comunidad Foral de)
Ramón Llull	Private	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Rey Juan Carlos	Public	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Rovira i Virgili	Public	TARRAGONA	Cataluña
Salamanca	Public	SALAMANCA	Castilla y León
San Jorge	Private	ZARAGOZA	Aragón
San Pablo-CEU	Private	MADRID	Madrid (Comunidad de)
Santiago de Compostela	Public	A CORUÑA	Galicia
Sevilla	Public	SEVILLA	Andalucía
València (Estudi General)	Public	VALENCIA/VALÈNCIA	Comunitat Valenciana
Valladolid	Public	VALLADOLID	Castilla y León
Vic-Central de Catalunya	Private	BARCELONA	Cataluña
Vigo	Public	PONTEVEDRA	Galicia
Zaragoza	Public	ZARAGOZA	Aragón

Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities

If you are interested to find out best universities in Spain for specific field of studies then see below: