Public universities charge per ECTS credit – on average €11.95–19.29 in 2024/25, depending on the region, and EU citizens pay the same as Spaniards; many charge non-EU students without Spanish residence more. Spain has 91 universities, 50 of them public, and over 800 programmes taught fully or partly in English. Find out how UNEDasiss accreditation works, what a month in Madrid costs and how much you can work.
How long: at most 4 years full-time or 7 years part-time. Universities run programmes through doctoral schools (escuelas de doctorado); an "industrial doctorate" mention is possible.
Your status: you are a university student and pay an annual fee for academic supervision. With a predoctoral contract you are also an employee: pay is at least 56% of the reference salary in years 1–2, 60% in year 3 and 75% in year 4, and never below the national minimum wage (Royal Decree 1251/2024).
How to get in: a bachelor's and a master's degree totalling at least 300 ECTS. You may write and defend the thesis in a language commonly used in your field.
Where to look: doctoral positions and calls are published on the websites of universities and their doctoral schools and on EURAXESS. Programmes in Spain in our database: Spain – 1604 doctoral programmes (as of September 2026) »
Sources: Eurydice – national description of third-cycle (PhD) programmes (updated 9 December 2025). As of October 2026.
Sources: European Commission – Study in Europe (education.ec.europa.eu/study-in-europe), Eurostat, official national study and residence portals and authorities, Eurodesk, enic-naric.net, studentnews.eu. As of September 2026.
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