Inside Spain’s growing appeal for international students
- Spain is the top Erasmus+ destination for European students and is also a growing alternative destination for degree students from non-EU countries
- Master’s programmes are especially popular, and 40% are offered in English
- The government is courting top international researchers in science – especially from the US
- In 2025, it also launched a strategy to encourage international students in the US to transfer to Spain
Along with Italy, France, and Germany, Spain is positioning itself as an increasingly attractive study abroad destination. Unlike many other governments enacting cautious immigration policies, the Spanish government is actively encouraging foreign students to come to study, work, and immigrate.
In 2023/24 almost 10,000 more foreign students were enrolled than in 2022/23, a +6.5% increase. The proportion of international students in Spanish universities is now 11.5%, rising to 27% and 29% in master’s and doctoral programmes, respectively.
In total, there were 149,280 international enrolments in Spanish universities in 2023/24, 59% in degree programmes and 41% participating in exchanges (with those students coming mostly from Europe).
A public-private tension
There are almost 100 universities in Spain. The 2026 QS World University Rankings place Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Complutense University of Madrid in the top 200. In total, 15 Spanish universities are ranked in the top 500 institutions globally.
Just over half of Spanish universities are public, but significant expansion is happening in the private sector. In the span of a decade, public enrolments have risen by only +2%, in contrast to a +117% increase in private universities. This is a subject of considerable concern for many Spaniards worried that higher education provision in their country is increasingly a business rather than a public good.
Public universities are underfunded and over capacity. In 2024/25, there were nearly twice as many applications for programmes as places available in public universities, which helps to explain why the private sector has expanded.
Spain’s private universities now host half of all master’s students, are often more expensive, and tend to offer more niche specialisations than public institutions.
While 71% of master’s degrees were delivered by public universities and 29% by private universities in 2024/25, this represents a -6.5% decrease for public universities and a +66% increase for private institutions over the span of a decade.
Number of degree-seeking international students rising fast
Spain has for years been the preference for students participating in the Erasmus+ mobility programme, but the number of degree-seeking international students choosing Spain is growing fast. In 2023/24, there were +8.7% more foreign students in degree programmes than the previous year. Growth of international degree students is especially pronounced at private universities.
In the 10 years leading up to 2023/24, the number of international undergraduate students in Spanish universities has doubled, and the number of master’s students has tripled. Most foreign undergraduate students come from Europe, while most graduate students travel from Latin America and the Caribbean.
The supply of master’s programmes is growing, and 40% of these are now offered in English, a major draw for students from priority markets such as India and China.
Countries of origin
Italy and Colombia are the top source markets, with each sending over 23,000 students annually. France is close behind, contributing close to 20,000 students. After that, China and the US round out the top five. Spain’s international student population is also very diversified, with thousands of students coming from other Latin American countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile; from Europe (e.g., Germany, Romania, UK); and Morocco.
Major growth markets are Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and the United States. Notably, Spain-US exchange links have become much more common.
Building the EduBridge to Spain
A clear signal of the Spanish government’s ambition to attract more global talent is the “EduBridge to Spain” initiative.
Launched in September 2025, with another intake in January 2026, it allows students at all academic levels a fast and smooth transfer from studies in the US to studies in Spain. EduBridge to Spain is especially aimed at students impacted by US visa issues.
Jobbatical.com summarises the benefits of the programme:
- Faster validation of existing qualifications
- Simplified academic record transfers
- Accelerated visa processing at Spanish consulates in the US
- Expedited Foreigner Identity Cards (TIE) upon arrival
- Part-time work rights for eligible students (up to 30 hours per week)
Like all international students in Spain, EduBridge students also receive a residence permit that covers the entire length of an academic programme and can obtain a work permit after graduation more easily than in the past (thanks to reforms launched in 2025).
EduBridge stands to help Spain gain market share in Latin America, where it competes for students with the US.
A rising research power
The Spanish government is investing heavily in scientific research and international research collaborations, and it is working to retain top researchers from other countries. A recent example of this is the 2025 call for the ATRAE scholarship programme.
Almost €40 million has been allocated to hiring leading researchers from other countries in their niche areas of specialisation, and more than half of those researchers are from the US.
Again, there is an aspect of seizing the geopolitical moment. Announcing the ATRAE funding, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, said: “This program allows us to have excellent scientists who will contribute to continuing to build a better country for science … Spain is a refuge of democratic values in the face of science cuts by other countries."
An official release explaining the 2025 ATRAE call notes:
“For the first time in its three editions, the ATRAE Program has attracted more foreign than national talent, with foreigners now representing 83% of the beneficiaries. It is worth remembering that this latest call included a new feature: additional funding for the incorporation of researchers working in the United States, with an additional 200,000 euros for each project.”
There is an important built-in strategy of retention in the ATREA programme:
“R&D centres and universities commit to offering job security when the three- or four-year period funded by the ATRAE Program ends. The selected researchers will be able to train predoctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, which will lead to an increase in the critical mass at the various centers where they join. They will, therefore, be drivers of talent and attract national and international funding.”
The UK government considers that Spain has “real strengths in energy, biomedical sciences and biotechnology, agriculture and food, materials, ICT, energy and the environment …. Spain is generating advanced applied solutions for the aerospace, renewables, water treatment, rail, biotechnology, industrial machinery, and civil engineering sectors.
Affordability is a draw
A 2025 update from Study in Spain summarises annual study costs for EU international students:
- Bachelor’s degree at a public university: €2,100 to €4,629
- Master’s degree at a public university : €604 to €2,565
- Bachelor’s degree at a private university: €2,400 to €30,000
- Master’s degree at a private university: €1,388 to €105,000
Non-EU/EEA students usually pay higher tuition fees, though not always. MastersPortal.com advises non-EU students to check with individual universities, and it provides helpful links for this purpose.
Study in Spain also says that: “In 2025, a single person living in Spain spends around €712 per month on living expenses (about US$850).” This estimate includes food, accommodation, and transportation.
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