Student cities in Spain

Where students study

Madrid and Barcelona host the largest concentration of universities and business schools. Valencia, Seville, Granada, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Murcia, Bilbao, Zaragoza and Málaga offer established academic centres with different costs and climates. In Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Galicia and the Basque Country some classes may be taught in the regional co-official language, so check the teaching language of each subject, not only the programme.

Where the universities are

• Madrid: the largest concentration of public and private universities and business schools.
• Barcelona and Catalonia: major public universities, business schools and design schools, with some teaching in Catalan.
• Valencian Community: Valencia, Alicante and Castellón, with some teaching in Valencian.
• Andalusia: Seville, Granada, Málaga, Córdoba and Cádiz, where the public universities share one regional pre-registration.
• Castile and León: Salamanca, home to Spain's oldest university still teaching, as well as Valladolid, León and Burgos.
• Galicia and the north: Santiago de Compostela, Vigo, A Coruña, Oviedo, Bilbao and San Sebastián, with some teaching in Galician or Basque.
• Murcia and Zaragoza: established university cities with public and private options.

Look beyond the capital

Smaller university cities may offer a different pace, housing market and campus community. Let the programme fit lead the choice.

Start with Madrid, not assumptions

Use the live catalogue's city filter to confirm the actual teaching location, then compare transport, housing, language environment and programme facilities.