Studying Medicine in Spain as an International Student: Admission, Cut-off Marks, Costs, MIR and Degree Recognition

Doctors in Spain train for six years on the Grado en Medicina (360 ECTS credits). Places are capped (numerus clausus), and international applicants enter public universities through the general ranking. In 2026/27 cut-off marks for medicine ranged from 12.3 to 13.2 out of 14. Teaching is in Spanish, and in Catalonia partly in Catalan. Cost depends on the region and university: a year at UAB in Barcelona costs about $1,200 (€1,061) for everyone, UPF charges non-resident non-EU students about $7,720 (€6,800), and Madrid's public universities $9,300 (€8,186). Private universities charge from $21,120 (€18,600) to $24,790 (€21,830) for the first year.

To become a specialist after graduating, you need the MIR residency. For the 2027 intake the Ministry of Health has offered 9,676 places for doctors, with the exam on 23 January 2027. A non-EU national without Spanish residence can sit MIR only if their country has a cooperation agreement in force with Spain, and only within a 10% quota. A doctor who qualified outside the EU must first have the degree recognised (homologación) by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and prove Spanish.

Three routes into Spanish medicine

How the medical degree works

The Grado en Medicina is a single six-year programme with no bachelor's/master's split: 360 ECTS credits, clinical rotations in university hospitals and a final project. Graduates can practise as non-specialist doctors. Every specialty, from family medicine to surgery or paediatrics, requires the MIR residency (médico interno residente), which lasts several years depending on the specialty.

Places are scarce: the University of Salamanca, for example, offered 207 medicine places in 2026/27. Public universities allocate by score; private ones choose their own students.

Language. The 2026/27 cut-off lists for Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia contain no English-taught medicine. Even at the private Universidad Europea in Madrid, first-year medicine is taught in Spanish. Some private universities run bilingual tracks, but check the language of each course in the study plan, not in the marketing. On clinical rotations you will speak Spanish with patients anyway.

Admission with a non-EU school certificate

The general process applies, but medicine leaves almost no margin.

1. Recognition of your school certificate at Spain's Ministry of Education.
2. UNEDasiss accreditation, which gives an access score up to 10.
3. PCE exams in the subjects with the highest weighting for medicine, which in most tables are biology and chemistry. Two grades weighted 0.2 add up to 4 points.
4. Applications in June to early July; public universities must keep the window open until at least 7 July for applicants from non-EU systems.
5. Language. Madrid requires Spanish at B2 (DELE, SIELE or B2 on the UNEDasiss accreditation). Catalonia's June round requires the general block of the PAU or PCE, including Spanish language and literature.

What score you need in practice. Your admission score is your access score (up to 10) + 0.2 × your grade in the first weighted subject + 0.2 × your grade in the second. With an access score of 9.2 and 9 in both biology and chemistry, you get 12.8. That is not enough for UCM (13.053) but enough for UB Bellvitge (12.500) or UAB (12.354). Medicine needs both a high school average and near-perfect PCE results.

Without PCE there is realistically no way into public medicine. In Madrid, applicants with only a recognised certificate received no medicine places at UCM in 2026/27. In Catalonia they can apply only in September and are allocated last.

For the full procedure see applying to Spanish universities; for language exams see DELE and SIELE Spanish exams.

Medicine cut-off marks 2026/27

Scale up to 14, general group of applicants with PAU/PCE, main round.

Catalonia shows the first June 2026 allocation, Andalusia the result of the main round and Valencia the first allocation of 10 July 2026. Later allocations may lower marks by a few hundredths.

How much medicine costs in Spain

How to read it:

• Madrid's non-EU rate is the "fourth enrolment" price under the regional decree; a student card does not make you a resident;
• administrative fees, insurance and repeated courses come on top, and repeating a course always costs more than the first enrolment;
• prices at other public universities are in our profiles of the University of Valencia, University of Granada and University of Salamanca;
• living costs are separate: for the visa, consulates require at least 100% of IPREM, $680 (€600) per month of stay in 2026.

For a full budget see the cost of studying in Spain, and for alternatives to medicine see universities in Spain for international students.

Where to study: Madrid, Barcelona or the regions

• Madrid: four public universities with medicine in one ranking (UCM, UAM, UAH and URJC), high cut-offs and the highest non-EU fees. Profiles: Complutense, Autonomous University of Madrid; overview: universities in Madrid.
• Catalonia: slightly lower cut-offs than Madrid, some courses in Catalan. The non-EU price depends on the university: the base $20 (€17.69) per credit at UAB, about $7,720 (€6,800) for the first year at UPF. Profiles: University of Barcelona, UAB, Pompeu Fabra; overview: universities in Barcelona.
• Andalusia, Valencia, Castile and León: cut-offs similar to the capitals, lower living costs. Profiles: Granada, Valencia, Salamanca.
• Private universities: CEU San Pablo, Universidad Europea, Francisco de Vitoria, UIC Barcelona, the University of Navarra and others. They select their own students but cost far more: a first year at UIC Barcelona or CEU San Pablo costs about 17–19 times a year at UAB.

If you are comparing countries, see how selection works for medicine in Italy through IMAT and medicine in Germany, which use different exams, languages and fees.

If you are already studying medicine at home

Spanish law allows you to continue your studies if the university recognises at least 30 ECTS credits from your foreign programme (Royal Decree 534/2024, Article 7). The university then decides on admission using criteria approved by its governing council. With fewer than 30 credits recognised, you apply as a school leaver through certificate recognition, UNEDasiss and PCE.

In practice each medical faculty publishes a call for admission with credit recognition (admisión por reconocimiento de créditos or cambio de estudios): number of places, spring or summer deadlines and documents (course syllabi with hours, apostille, translation). Places are usually counted in single digits, so a transfer is a secondary option rather than a reliable route. Losing a year in the process is common.

After graduation: the MIR residency

MIR is the national competition for hospital residency places. Conditions for the 2027 intake (Order SND/854/2026):

Who can apply. It depends on your nationality and immigration status when you apply:

In every case you need a Spanish medical degree or a recognised foreign one before the application window closes. A student stay is not residence, so a Spanish medical graduate from Russia, Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan on a student permit falls into the third row. The order does not list the countries with such agreements; the Ministry of Health checks eligibility when it publishes the lists of admitted candidates. Before applying, ask the Ministry of Health (Dirección General de Ordenación Profesional) or a Spanish consulate to confirm in writing that your country's agreement is treated as in force for MIR.

What it gives you. A resident gets a hospital post under a special employment contract. Under Article 58 of the Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024), a foreign doctor who wins a place needs no separate work permit, and the stay is authorised for the whole specialty programme. MIR preparation courses are also a valid basis for a student visa.

Graduates of Spanish medical schools who studied in Spanish are exempt from the MIR language test, one more reason to choose Spanish-taught medicine.

If you already hold a medical degree: recognition (homologación)

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities recognises foreign medical degrees under Royal Decree 889/2022.

• Degree requirements. The ministry and the ANECA agency compare your programme with the Spanish one: for example, at least five years of study and 1,350 hours of practical training, plus the competences set out in Order ECI/332/2008. If ANECA has published general measures for your university, processing is faster.
• Spanish at B2. Accepted proof: DELE B2 or higher, an official language school (EOI) B2 certificate, or evidence that at least 75% of your degree, or your pre-university education, was taught in Spanish. SIELE is not on the decree's list for degree recognition.
• Documents. Degree and transcript with hours per course, apostilled and officially translated, plus proof that you may practise medicine in the issuing country.
• Fee. $190 (€166.50).
• Timing. The decision is due within six months of application; with no answer by then, the application is deemed rejected.
• Conditional recognition. The ministry can grant recognition subject to extra training: placements, an aptitude test or university courses. You have up to four years to meet the conditions.

A recognised degree lets you work as a non-specialist doctor in the private sector. To work in the public health system or in a specialty you need MIR or recognition of your specialty by the Ministry of Health.

Going home with a Spanish degree

A Spanish medical degree does not automatically entitle you to practise in your home country. In Russia, for example, Article 69 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ admits graduates of foreign universities to medical practice only after recognition of their education and specialist accreditation. If you plan to return, study your country's procedure before you enrol.

Plan for 2027 entry

Mistakes that delay a medical career

• Counting on English-taught medicine at a public university. In 2026/27 there was none in Madrid, Catalonia or Valencia.
• Relying on the school average alone. Without two strong PCE results you will not reach the cut-off: a 10 in access is only the base for 12–13.
• Underestimating Madrid's non-EU rate. Six years of medicine cost about $56,000 in tuition alone.
• Confusing recognition with specialty access. Recognition lets you work as a non-specialist in the private sector; specialists come only through MIR.
• Using SIELE for degree recognition. Decree 889/2022 requires DELE, an EOI certificate or training in Spanish.
• Assuming a student visa gives you full access to MIR. A student stay is not residence: without a residence permit you compete only for the 10% quota, and only if your country's agreement with Spain is in force.
• Planning MIR without C1. Spanish C1 is checked at application in September, four months before the exam.

FAQ

Sources

• Madrid single district — cut-off marks 2026/27
• UCM — cut-off marks 2026/27 and access groups
• Generalitat de Catalunya — cut-off marks, first June 2026 allocation
• Generalitat Valenciana — cut-off marks 2026/27
• Junta de Andalucía — cut-off marks by allocation
• University of Salamanca — places and cut-off marks 2026/27
• UAM — credit prices and non-EU rates 2026/27
• Generalitat de Catalunya — tuition 2026/27
• University of Navarra — first-year prices 2026/27
• Universidad Europea — medicine degree, Madrid
• UPF — bachelor's fees 2026/27
• UAB — 2026/27 fee schedule (PDF)
• UIC Barcelona — Medicine, 2026/27 price
• CEU San Pablo — Medicine, 2026/27 prices
• Francisco de Vitoria University — Medicine, 2026/27 price
• BOE — Royal Decree 589/2022 on specialist training, Article 17
• BOE — Order SND/854/2026 on the 2027 MIR intake
• Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities — recognition of medical degrees
• Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities — Valida-TE portal, recognition fee
• BOE — Royal Decree 889/2022 on recognition of foreign degrees
• BOE — Royal Decree 534/2024 on university access
• BOE — Immigration Regulation RD 1155/2024
• Consulate General of Spain in Moscow — student visa

Dollar amounts use the ECB rate of 29 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1355) and are rounded.

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