Applying for Bachelor's Degree in Spain 2025

You’ve just finished or are about to graduate from high school and have received your diploma — and now you’re looking to enter a university in Barcelona, Valencia, or another city in Spain for a Bachelor’s degree. What are the next steps? And what exactly do you need to apply? ¡No te preocupes! We’ll explain it as simply and clearly as possible.

Each university in Spain sets its own admission requirements depending on the faculty. That’s why the first step is to decide on your intended field of study.

First, take time to reflect on the field you want to pursue. Maybe you’ve already studied or are interested in subjects like economics or mathematics — in that case, it makes sense to continue in that direction. But you can also explore something completely new — and Spain gives you every opportunity to do so.

Start by researching the top universities in major Spanish cities. Begin with public universities in Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid. Tuition fees at public institutions are relatively affordable, starting at around €800 per year. If you’re considering private universities, we’ll touch on those shortly as well.

Admission to universities in Spain is based on a points system, with a maximum of 14 points available. Here’s how the final score is calculated:

Diploma (5 to 6 points) + Exams (up to 8 points) = Final Score

To get an idea of the required scores for different programs, you can visit the notasdecorte website, which lists the average cut-off marks for Bachelor’s degrees at various Spanish universities. For example, here you can check the entry scores for the University of Valencia for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Let’s say your chosen program requires a minimum of 12 points. If your high school diploma contributes between 5 and 6 points, you’ll need to earn the remaining points by taking entrance exams. Students applying to universities in the Valencia region can sit up to 4 subject exams, while in other autonomous regions, it’s possible to take up to 6.

The first part of your admission score is based on the average grade from your high school diploma or secondary school certificate. If you’re coming from a country that uses a 5-point grading system, it’s not always easy to determine how your grades will convert, since Spain uses a 10-point scale. The final score is officially calculated by the Spanish Ministry of Education.

To have your certificate recognized and accepted by a Spanish university, you’ll need to follow these steps:

The selection of subjects for the university entrance exams depends on the degree program you’re applying for. For example, if you’re pursuing a humanities-related field, you’ll likely take subjects like:

• Economics
• Math
• Art history
• History of Spain
• Litrature

If you’re applying for a technical or science-based program, subjects such as physics may be required. The number and type of exams also vary by autonomous region. In Valencia, for instance, students are currently required to take only 4 exams. Overall, the structure looks like this:

Let’s say you’ve chosen a humanities major. In that case, you’ll likely need to take subjects such as Mathematics (which may be divided into Math I and Math II), Economics, and Art History. Math I and Math II are considered general core subjects (asignaturas troncales generales), and each can contribute up to 1 point to your overall admission score.

For example: Math I: 0.7 points + Math II: 0.8 points
Total from these two subjects: 1.5 points

These points are then added to the other components of your application to calculate your final score.

There are also subjects that can contribute double points to your final admission score. These are called asignaturas troncales de opción — elective core subjects. In most cases, you can choose up to two of these subjects to boost your score.

How are double points calculated? You take your exam score (from 0 to 1) and multiply it by 2.

For example:
Economics: 0.8 × 2 = 1.6 points
Art History: 0.6 × 2 = 1.2 points

These doubled scores are then added to your overall total, helping you reach the points required for your desired degree program.

To find out which subjects you need to take for university admission, check the official websites of the universities you’re interested in (above). And here you can find the main ones:

• Valencian Community (Valencia, Alicante, Castellon)
• Cataluña (Barcelona, Gerona, Tarragona)
• Madrid Community

But if you’re unsure or having trouble figuring it out, don’t worry. University Pathway courses at language schools are specifically designed to help international students not only improve their Spanish but also choose the right subjects and prepare effectively for university entrance exams.

Don’t forget that if you plan to study at a public university in Spain, your main language of instruction will almost certainly be Spanish. (It’s worth writing a separate article on why studying in English in Spain is often ineffective.) This means that all entrance exams will also be conducted in Spanish — so you’ll need to have at least a B1 level of proficiency.

To support international students, several language schools in Spain offer special preparatory programs for graduates of foreign high schools who wish to apply to Spanish public universities. These programs combine intensive Spanish language training with subject-specific preparation, allowing you to study both the language and the entrance exam subjects in one place.

What is included: Spanish language course (Sept-Jan) + preparation for subject exams (Jan-May)
Number of subjects: from 3 to 6
Intensity: 20 hours per week (4 hours per day)
Period: September-May (January-May)

For more information about university preparation courses, see the link below

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