Rankings: The 50 best universities in Spain for 2024/2025

Spain has a lot of things going for it: Great climate and nature, beautiful cities, tasty cuisine, friendly people. And: Many Spanish universities are among the best in Europe and the world.

Across the leading international rankings, you will usually find around a dozen Spanish universities in the world’s top 500, and dozens more in the world’s top 1,000. Many of the best-known institutions are concentrated in Spain’s two largest cities: Madrid (the capital) and Barcelona (the economic powerhouse). Beyond the traditional rankings, there are also many highly-ranked business schools in Spain.

You will have a hard time finding a student who didn’t enjoy their time in Spain. And with a degree from one of the country’s leading universities, many doors will open for you.

Top ranked universities in Spain

University	QS Ranking 2022	THE Ranking 2022	ARWU Ranking 2021
University of Barcelona	168	193	151
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid	207	301	301
Autonomous University of Barcelona	209	170	201
Complutense University of Madrid	223	501	201
Pompeu Fabra University	248	156	401
University of Navarra	266	251	501
IE University	317	–	–
Polytechnic University of Catalonia	319	601	701
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid	351	801	901
Technical University of Valencia	371	801	301
Technical University of Madrid	459	801	501
University of Granada	492	601	201
University of Alcalá	511	601	801
University of Zaragoza	531	1001	501
University of Seville	551	1001	401
University of Valencia	571	401	301
Comillas Pontifical University	601	1201	–
Ramon Llull University	601	401	–
University of Salamanca	651	801	401
Rovira i Virgili University	701	601	501
University of Santiago de Compostela	701	801	401
University of the Basque Country	701	801	301
University of A Coruña	801	1001	–
University of Alicante	801	1201	601
University of Murcia	801	1001	701
University of Oviedo	801	801	701
King Juan Carlos University	1001	1001	901
University of Castilla–La Mancha	1001	1001	701
University of Vigo	1001	1001	501
European University of Madrid	–	801	–
Jaume I University	–	801	601
Miguel Hernández University of Elche	–	801	–
Open University of Catalonia	–	601	–
Pablo de Olavide University	–	–	801
Public University of Navarre	–	1001	–
UIC Barcelona	–	801	–
Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM)	–	1001	–
Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena	–	1001	–
University of Almería	–	1001	901
University of Burgos	–	1201	–
University of Cantabria	–	–	901
University of Cádiz	–	1001	–
University of Córdoba	–	801	801
University of Deusto	–	601	–
University of Extremadura	–	–	601
University of Girona	–	601	801
University of Jaén	–	801	701
University of La Laguna	–	601	701
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	–	1001	801
University of León	–	1001	–
University of Lleida	–	801	701
University of Málaga	–	1001	701
University of the Balearic Islands	–	601	601
University of Valladolid	–	1201	901
University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia	–	401	–

Explained: How do the university rankings work?

The QS World University Rankings are among the most important, most-referenced rankings. The QS ranking relies heavily on its academic survey, asking thousands of academics worldwide about the reputation of universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or the THE Rankings for short) compile a wide range of statistics. Equal weight is put on teaching quality, research excellence, and research impact through citations (meaning how often a university’s research is referenced elsewhere).

The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (often just Shanghai Ranking, or ARWU) focuses on research output and quality, for example measured by the number of published and cited scientific papers and the number of staff or alumni winning the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal.

Study in Spain

It’s not just the great weather and the beautiful beaches: Spain attracts students with world-class universities and offers high-quality education at modest tuition fees.