Madrid's large public university teaches almost every subject, mostly in Spanish. What you can study in English, what a non-EU student pays per credit and how applicants from outside Europe get in.
The Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) is the Spanish capital's large public university, with 26 faculties[1] spread over two campuses and a few buildings in the city centre. Its roots go back to a college founded by Cardinal Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares in 1499[2]. For an international applicant, language is the first filter: most degrees are taught in Spanish, and the English-taught list is short. Money is the second. As a public university UCM charges per ECTS credit, and non-EU students without Spanish residence pay a higher rate that still keeps a year in the thousands of euros. The third is the route in: undergraduates can apply through the standard Spanish procedure or through Early Admission, a separate quota for students who live abroad.
Location
Madrid, Spain
Establishment year
1499
Students
59,788
International students
6,239
Female students
58%
Place in ratings
There's not enough data to display the dynamics of this rating.
By subject
Subject
Place in QS 2024
Arts & Humanities
72
Social Sciences & Management
100
Life Sciences & Medicine
138
Natural Sciences
191
Accounting & Finance
201-250
Engineering & Technology
256
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Scholarship options
Installment plans up to 2 years
from5,482 ₽per month
Complutense for international applicants: the essentials
Language of teaching
Spanish; fully in English: English Studies and the Bachelor in European Studies (BAES)[3], plus five master's degrees[4]
Spanish for undergraduates
B2 for nationals of non-Spanish-speaking countries[5]
Five halls of residence; 1,222 USD a month for UCM students in 2026/27[10]
Strengths and limitations of Complutense
Advantages of Complutense University
Public, credit-based fees even for non-residents
You pay the number of ECTS credits you take times the price per credit. For a non-EU student without residence, the most expensive undergraduate band is 154 USD per credit[6], or 9,251 USD for a standard 60-credit year. Humanities and social science degrees cost 7,709 USD for the same load.
Early Admission gives priority to native English speakers
The Early Admission call ranks applicants whose mother tongue is Spanish, English or Portuguese first[11]. For an applicant from an English-speaking country this is a real advantage, although Spanish B2 is still required.
Spain's top score for graduate employability in QS 2027
In the QS World University Rankings 2027, UCM placed 85th in the world and first in Spain on the employability indicator[12]. It is a ranking indicator, not a job guarantee, but it shows how employers see the university.
Joint degrees and a wide exchange network
UCM has 2936 exchange agreements with 785 institutions worldwide[13]. Its international degrees include double degrees with Sorbonne universities and HWR Berlin and the BAES, awarded jointly with partners in the Una Europa alliance[14].
Drawbacks and limitations of Complutense
Most degrees require Spanish at B2
Several undergraduate degrees, such as Economics, Business Administration and Political Science, have groups or modules in English[15], but that is not the same as a fully English degree. Plan on Spanish for daily life and administration either way.
Non-residents pay almost seven times the base rate
The Madrid regional price decree makes non-EU students over 18 without residence pay the "fourth enrolment" price[6]. Spanish credit prices rise each time a student retakes a subject, so a non-resident pays as if taking every subject for the fourth time: 128 USD instead of 19 USD per credit for humanities degrees.
The standard undergraduate route takes months of paperwork
Your school certificate needs homologation, then an accreditation from UNEDasiss, the service of Spain's National Distance Education University (UNED)[8]. Without the subject exams known as PCE, you can only compete in the extraordinary round, after everyone else[16].
University scholarships target Latin American graduates
UCM's international master's scholarships waive 50-100% of tuition but are open to graduates of Latin American universities in the AUIP association[17]. Other international students should budget for full fees.
Fully English-taught options are limited to two undergraduate degrees, English Studies and the BAES[3], and five master's degrees: Nationalism Studies (online), the Erasmus Mundus 4Cities master in urban studies, English Linguistics, North American Studies and Formal Methods in Computer Science[4]. Many other degrees, from Medicine and Psychology to Physics and Computer Engineering, offer an English group or module[15]. English-taught undergraduate study usually requires B2 English or an internal test[18].
The two campuses feel different. Moncloa, planned in 1927 as an integrated university city, hosts 20 faculties including Medicine, Law, Fine Arts and Computer Science; Somosaguas, on the green western edge of Madrid, hosts Economics and Business, Political and Social Sciences, Psychology and Social Work[19].
Fees and living costs
Academic calendar
Semesters
Scholarships
Yes
Bachelor
Local1,147USD/year
Foreign1,489USD/year
Master
Local3,052USD/year
Foreign983USD/year
Doctorate
Foreign479USD/year
EU citizens, foreigners with Spanish residence and nationals of countries with bilateral agreements pay the base price; other non-EU students pay the higher rate[20]. Prices for 2026/27:
Level and field
Non-resident price per credit
60-credit year
Bachelor's: Medicine, Biology, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine
154 USD
9,251 USD
Bachelor's: Physics, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Statistics
145 USD
8,717 USD
Bachelor's: Law, Economics, Psychology, Journalism, Languages
128 USD
7,709 USD
Master's (most programmes)
95 USD
5,700 USD
Master's leading to a regulated profession (law practice, secondary teaching, health psychology)
126-191 USD
Varies by programme
Credit prices come from the official undergraduate[6] and master's[7] price lists; the yearly totals are our own multiplication. Full-time undergraduates must take at least 48 credits a year, and new students also pay 7 USD in secretariat fees and 31 USD to open their record[6]. Online self-enrolment treats every new student as a non-resident until residence documents are provided[20].
The simplest housing option to budget for is one of the university's five halls of residence. The 2026/27 year runs from 1 September to 31 May or from 15 September to 15 June, at 1,222 USD a month for UCM students plus a 508 USD reservation deposit[10]. Applications for 2026/27 ran from 22 May to 17 June 2026.
Applicants from countries outside the EU and without a reciprocity agreement with Spain need their school certificate homologated, that is, officially declared equivalent to the Spanish Bachillerato[8]. From there, three routes exist:
Route
What you need
How you compete
Homologation plus UNEDasiss accreditation with PCE exams
Pass at least three PCE subjects linked to the degree, or average 5 across four subjects[8]
Group 1 for cut-off marks
Homologation without PCE
Homologation credential showing the final grade; without it you compete with a 5[16]
Extraordinary round only, for remaining places
Early Admission
Family resident outside Spain; homologation or proof of application, motivation letter, Spanish B2 by 15 September[11]
Separate quota, up to three degrees per application
In Early Admission the final school grade carries at least 60% of the result; the committee also looks at grades in subjects related to the degree and may, exceptionally, hold a written test and an interview[11]. Quotas are small: for 2026/27 they ranged from 2 places in Mathematical Engineering to 40 in Tourism, Modern Languages and the BAES, with 5 each in Psychology, Law and Business Administration.
Spanish B2 can be proved directly with a DELE or SIELE certificate; other certificates must first be verified by UNEDasiss[5].
Dates for the 2027/28 intake appear on the same pages; use them to time homologation and the PCE exams, which take months. Our guide to the admission process in Spain covers the national system in more detail.
Master's and PhD with a non-European degree
You do not need to homologate a bachelor's degree to apply for a master's. If your degree comes from a country outside the European Higher Education Area, only admitted students go through a "level of training check", whose resolution must be uploaded at enrolment[23]. It requires the degree certificate and transcript legalised through a Spanish embassy or consulate or with a Hague apostille, sworn translations into Spanish, and a letter confirming that the degree gives access to postgraduate study in the issuing country. The apostille goes on the original, not on the translation, and missing the upload deadline cancels the place[23].
Doctoral candidates follow a different track since August 2026: for visa purposes they are treated as researchers and apply for a national research residence visa (code RIN), based on an authorisation that either the candidate or the university can request[24]. The change does not affect bachelor's and master's students.
Yes. Early Admission accepts proof that you have applied for homologation and gives a conditional offer until the documents arrive[11]. In the extraordinary round, the same proof lets you compete with a grade of 5[16].
Does a student visa make me a resident for fee purposes?
No. The university states that a stay for study purposes (estancia) is not the same as residence[20], so students on a study visa pay the non-resident rate.
How do I choose which PCE exams to take?
Check the subject weightings (ponderaciones) for your degree: the university advises looking at which subjects count most for the field you want[8]. Previous cut-off marks are published on the admissions page[25]. An accreditation is valid for two years and PCE results for three academic years, so you can sit them early.
Which other Spanish universities should I compare?
UCM suits applicants who are ready to study in Spanish and want a large public university in a capital city at public prices. If English is your only working language, the choice narrows to a handful of programmes, and it is worth comparing them with English-taught degrees elsewhere in Europe. Before applying, check:
that you have Spanish B2, or time to reach it, unless you target an English-taught programme;
that homologation is under way and the right PCE subjects are booked;
which price band your degree falls into, and whether your budget covers 60 credits plus housing;
for a master's, legalised or apostilled documents and sworn translations;
a back-up option in case your grade is not enough in the ordinary round.
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