Higher education funding

3.Funding in education

3.2Higher education funding

Last update: 12 March 2025

Funding

Non-university higher education

The following courses are taught in higher education institutions:

Advanced vocational training cycles;
advanced artistic education (music, dance, dramatic arts, preservation and restoration of cultural property, plastic arts and design);
advanced vocational education in sports.

The funding of these education systems shares the same characteristics as the funding of early childhood, primary and secondary education with respect to the following aspects:

the funding system;
the degree of financial autonomy and control mechanisms;
the fees in public and private schools;
the financial support to families and students.

The financing of advanced vocational training cycles in publicly-funded private schools presents some peculiarities:

The minimum amount of public funding per school unit (group of students taught jointly and simultaneously by a teacher on a regular basis) is set annually by the State in its general budgets. The amounts will vary depending on the group to which each training cycle belongs, according to the number of hours it lasts and the level of expenditure it entails. For the year 2024, the amounts for the first year of higher cycles range between 82 775.69 and 94 985.877 euro (Annex II of Law 4/2023 of the General State Budget for the year 2024). These budgets have been extended for 2025 until the new budgets are approved.
The total amount of public funds allocated to publicly-funded private schools is established in the budgets of the relevant education authorities.
The fees to be paid by pupils in publicly-funded private schools as complementary funding or funding from public funds allocated to the system of individual agreements depend on each autonomous community. As a general rule, fees cannot exceed the limits annually established in the State Budget, except in special cases recognised by legislation. In 2024 (Fifth additional provision), the amount ranges from EUR 18 to 36 per student per month, ten months per year, and is maintained in 2025.

University higher education

Its funding is set in the state general budgets, in a programme focused on university education (programa 322C, Anexo I). This programme aims for the promotion and encouragement of the development, by Spanish universities, of the public service of higher education through teaching, research and knowledge transfer at state level, and in cooperation with the autonomous communities, at regional level. This programme facilitates the execution of the roles of universities as established in article 2 of Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System (LOSU):

education and training of students through the creation, development, transmission and critical evaluation of scientific, technological, social, humanistic, artistic and cultural knowledge, as well as the capacities, competences and skills inherent to;
preparation for the exercise of professional activities that require the application and updating of scientific, technological, social, humanistic and cultural knowledge and methods, as well as for artistic creation;
generation, development, dissemination, transfer and exchange of knowledge and the applicability of research in all scientific, technological, social, humanistic, artistic and cultural;
promotion of innovation based on knowledge in the social, economic, environmental, technological and institutional;
contribution to social welfare, economic progress and the cohesion of society and the territorial environment in which they are located, as well as the promotion of their official languages, through training, research, transfer and exchange of knowledge and the culture of entrepreneurship, both individual and collective, based on conventional corporate models or social economy;
generation of spaces for the creation and dissemination of critical;
transfer and exchange of knowledge and culture within society as a whole through university activity and lifelong learning for;
training of citizens through the transmission of the democratic values and;
encouraging the participation of the university community and citizens in activities promoted by voluntary and third sector organisations that are aligned with the principles and values of the university system;
other functions legally assigned to them.

The fulfilment of these duties must be based on human and fundamental rights, democratic memory, the promotion of equity and equality, the promotion of sustainability, the fight against climate change and the values that emerge from the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Strategic Grants Plan 2024 of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCNU) includes 3 general objectives, each corresponding to an area of the Ministry's competences in the field of Universities.

The specific list of general and specific objectives is as follows:

GENERAL OBJECTIVES		SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1	Guaranteeing the fundamental right to education, as well as equity and equal opportunities in access to and permanence in the Spanish education system	1.1	Facilitating access and permanence at University
		1.2	Improving citizens' competences for their personal and professional life
		1.3	Fostering the participation of the most representative social agents and student associations to guarantee the effectiveness of the right to education
2	Promoting the re-qualification of teaching and research staff	2.1	Promoting placement and mobility initiatives
		2.2	Improving the abilities to access and exercise teaching and research activities in universities
3	Encouraging the internationalization of the Spanish university system	3.1	Promoting of the internationalization of educational institutions and centres
		3.2	Promoting international mobility for students

In addition, other benefits are also pursued in a cross-cutting manner by the set of grants included in the Plan, such as:

contributing to an equitable redistribution of resources among society, bearing in mind criteria of real needs and economic and social factors;
guaranteeing equal treatment and equal opportunities between women and men.

Bodies responsible for public funding

Sources of income of public universities

fees paid by students;
public funds provided by the Autonomous Communities and the State:
1. The State establishes the funds for universities which are directly dependent on it, the National University of Distance Education (UNED) and the Menéndez Pelayo International Universitiy (UIMP). The amounts allocated to each institution are annually established in the State Budget.
2. The autonomous communities establish in their annual budgets the funds for universities located in their territories. These funds come from the following sources:
  - the taxes they collect and other revenues;
  - State transfers: the amounts established for each Autonomous Community are determined by different parameters, especially population ones.

Funding model of public universities

Chapter III lays down the economic and financial regime of public universities.

While respecting a common general basis throughout Spain, the funding model for public universities is established and developed by each autonomous community within its scope of management.

The public administrations have the legal obligation to provide the universities with the necessary economic resources to guarantee financial sufficiency to enable them to comply with the provisions of the legislation and ensure the achievement of the objectives set out therein.

Within the framework of the plan to increase public spending by 2030 provided for in article 155.2 of Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), the State, the autonomous communities and universities share the objective of allocating at least 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product to public spending on public university education in the State as a whole, thus enabling progressive equalisation with the average investment of the member states of the European Union and compliance with the objectives established in the national legislation in force. In order to achieve this multi-annual objective, the corresponding contributions must be established in the budgets of the autonomous communities, in those of the universities as a whole and in the general state budgets, in accordance with the availability of funds for each financial year.

Within the regulatory framework that they establish, the autonomous communities in whose territory the universities are located shall draw up multiannual programmes that may lead, in coordination with the universities, to the approval of programming and funding instruments that include the objectives to be achieved, the financial resources for this purpose and the mechanisms for evaluating the degree of achievement of these objectives.

The multi-annual programmes must include at least the following funding lines, which must be based on specific, agreed, measurable and verifiable evaluation indicators:

a. Baseline structural funding. This funding must be sufficient to provide a quality public service and to cover the multi-year needs of staff costs, including the costs of the multi-year staff stabilisation plans, current expenditure on goods and services and real investments, structural research and investments to guarantee the environmental sustainability of the universities.
b. Structural funding for special needs. This additional funding is established for certain universities on the basis of unique needs such as insularity, territorial dispersion and presence in rural areas of their university centres, the level of specialisation of the degrees taught, the linguistic plurality of the programmes, including the promotion of the official languages of the autonomous communities, the existence of unique infrastructures, cultural or artistic heritage or the size of the institutions. In addition, by mutual agreement between the universities and the autonomous communities, other unique functions may be established that require specific funding.
c. Funding based on objectives. This additional funding is established on the basis of the fulfilment of strategic objectives that have been set in the multi-year programmes. These objectives are linked, among others, to the improvement of teaching, research, including Open Science and Citizen Science programmes, the transfer and exchange of knowledge, innovation, lifelong learning, internationalisation, inter-university cooperation and participation in projects and networks, the employment rate, effective equality between women and men, recognition of diversity and universal accessibility.

The degree of fulfilment of these objectives is evaluated by the autonomous community and serves as a basis for the next multi-year programming. The evaluation is carried out using public, objective, transparent criteria that comply with the established regulatory framework.

Furthermore, such compliance may constitute a criterion for the annual planning of public employment in universities.

The funding model for university research, including pre-doctoral contracts, entails structural funding of universities by the competent public administrations and specific funding for time-limited projects through calls for proposals issued by the corresponding institutions.

Additionally, public administrations have the obligation to promote competitive funding programmes to strengthen research capacity and teaching innovation.

In turn, universities must dedicate adequate resources to management and support services for research, knowledge transfer and exchange, and innovation.

Other sources of income of public universities

Public universities present other sources of income. They are the following:

prices of studies leading to the award of their own diplomas and certificates, especially postgraduate master, expert or specialist programmes, which are not official;
prices of lifelong learning studies, such as language courses;
transfers from public and private entities, as well as bequests, legacies and donations;
patrimony and any other economic activity they may develop;
credit operations;
contracts for people, or public and private universities or entities, to carry out scientific, technical or artistic work, as well as to develop specialised courses or specific training activities.

Financial autonomy and control

State regulations grant public universities economic and financial autonomy and establish accountability over the functions assigned to these institutions.

Autonomy of public universities

Public universities are entitled to:

draw up their own statutes;
prepare, approve and manage their budgets;
administer their goods.

In regards to budgets, regardless of the above, the autonomous communities establish the regulations and procedures for their development and implementation. University budgets must be public, single, balanced and comprise all income and expenditure and are approved annually by the university’s Social Council, which is the body in charge of supervising all economic activities and promoting the participation of society in university funding.

In accordance with article 57 of the LOSU, universities must comply with the obligations established in budgetary matters regarding the approval of annual expenditure limits. The budgets and their settlements must expressly refer to compliance with financial equilibrium and sustainability.

Gender and environmental impact reports must be included in the budget preparation procedure.

The universities' budgets must contain at least the following aspects in their income statement:

a. the transfers for current and capital expenditure set annually by the autonomous communities within a medium-term budgetary framework;

b. income from public prices for academic services and other legally established fees. In the case of studies leading to official university degrees, public prices and fees shall be set by the corresponding autonomous community or administration, within a general framework of containment or progressive reduction of public prices.
Likewise, the compensation corresponding to the amounts resulting from the exemptions and reductions legally provided for in terms of public prices and other fees shall also be recorded;

c. income from tuition fees, lifelong learning and other activities authorised to the universities, which shall be approved together with the annual budgets in which they are to be applied;

d. income from transfers and subsidies from international or supranational organisations, from the various public administrations and from other public sector entities;

e. income from transfers from private entities, as well as from inheritances, legacies or donations;

f. income derived from patronage activities, as provided for in Law 49/2002 on the tax regime for non-profit organisations and tax incentives for patronage, including those derived from business collaboration agreements on activities of general interest that they have signed, for the purposes provided for in the aforementioned law;

g. income from their assets and from other economic activities that they carry out in accordance with current legislation and their own statutes, including income from the contracts provided for in article 60 of Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System, as well as income from advertising sponsorship;

h. cash surpluses and any other income;

i. the proceeds of the credit operations they conclude, which must be compensated to achieve the necessary budgetary balance of the corresponding autonomous community or administration, which, in any case, is responsible for authorising any debt operation.

The structure of the universities' budgets, their accounting system and the documents comprising their annual accounts shall, in all cases, be adapted to the standards generally established for the public sector. Within this framework, for the purposes of accounting standardisation, the autonomous communities may establish an accounting plan for the universities under their jurisdiction, as well as determine the time frame for the settlement of the budget and the annual accounts.

With regard to expenditure, the statement of current expenditure must be accompanied by the list of positions for all university staff, specifying all the costs thereof and the elements set out in article 74 of the revised text of the Law on the Statute of Public Employees, and including the proposed new positions. Universities may modify the list of staff vacancies by extending existing positions or by reducing or changing the name of vacant positions, in the manner indicated in their statutes, without prejudice to the provisions of article 71 of Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System.

Los costes del personal docente e investigador, así como del personal técnico, de gestión y de administración y servicios, deben ser autorizados por la comunidad autónoma, en el marco de la normativa básica sobre Oferta de Empleo Público, salvo en el caso de los contratos previstos en la Ley 14/2011 de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación, que no precisan dicha autorización.

The appointment of interim civil servants and the hiring of temporary staff by universities shall comply with the specific regulations on the matter.
Universities must dedicate at least 5 percent of their budgets to their own research programmes.

The preparation, approval, execution and settlement of the budget shall be regulated by the state and autonomous community regulations applicable to this matter.

In the event of liquidation of the budget with a negative cash balance, the Social Council must proceed to reduce expenditure in the new budget by an amount equal to the deficit produced. The aforementioned reduction may only be revoked by agreement of this body, at the proposal of the Rector, following a report by the financial controller and authorisation by the corresponding body of the autonomous community, when budget availability and the cash situation allow it. In any case, the Governing Council must be informed of the reasons for this deficit and the possible alternatives for correcting it.

Transfers charged to the budgets of the autonomous community directly or indirectly in favour of the universities require the approval and implementation of the reduction in expenditure.

In turn, the universities must send the corresponding autonomous community or administration the economic-financial information that they must provide in application of the budgetary stability regulations or other state or autonomous community provisions. Failure to submit the budget statement, or failure to adopt measures in the event of a negative balance, entitles the autonomous community to adopt, within the scope of its powers, the necessary measures to guarantee the budgetary stability of the university.

Control in public universities

The use of the economic and financial resources of the universities is subject to the principles of transparency and accountability.

The universities are required to report to the external control body in their respective autonomous communities, without prejudice to the powers of the Court of Auditors.

In turn, universities are subject to the system of public auditing established by regional or, where appropriate, national legislation.

Universities must also develop a system of internal control, which must, in any case, include an internal audit system. The body responsible for this control must have functional autonomy in its duties and may not depend on the university's single-member governing bodies.

On the other hand, every university must have an analytical accounting system or equivalent in place.

Analytical accounting model for public universities

The Analytical Accounting Model for Public Universities (MCAU) approved by the Council of Universities and the General Conference on University Policy aims to provide a better understanding of the real costs of the different services provided by universities as well as their relationship with private and public funding. By doing so, accountability levels and efficiency in management are expected to increase. The Analytical accounting model for public universities (MCAU) aims to serve as a framework for all Spanish public universities. The model was updated in 2019 (MCAU19) to introduce improvements after analysing the results achieved since it was first implemented.

The negotiation process with the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the State Administration General Controller (IGAE - Intervención General de la Administración del Estado) was interrupted in 2020 due to the pandemic and has now been resumed with the aim of obtaining the endorsement of the document approved by the General Assembly of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE - Conferencia de Rectores de las Universidades Españolas). This latest proposal for analytical accounting has been updated to take into account all recent legal changes in the LOSU (which foresees a period of 2 years for its implementation), the Law on Science (regarding contracts for scientific-technical activities) and the Royal Decree 822/2021 on university education.

Fees within public higher education

Bachelor and Master studies

Official university studies

The fees students pay depend on the following factors:

the public prices fixed by the relevant Autonomous Community, within the limits established by the General Assembly for University Policy;
the number of credits in which they are enrolled;
whether the programme is highly experimental;
the extra charges involved in registration for second or subsequent times in one or more subjects:

Minimum, maximum and average public prices of credits for new students of official bachelor and master programmes in Spain. 2023/24	Lowest fee per credit	Highest fee per credit	Average fee
Bachelor	8.6	22.7	15.5
Official Master programme which entitles the holder to perform a professional activity that is regulated in Spain	9.9	132.0	15.8
Official Master programme which does not entitle the holder to perform a professional activity that is regulated in Spain	9.9	59.1	30.0

Source: Drawn up by Eurydice España-rediE (INEE, MEFD) on the basis of Statistics on University Public Prices (Academic year 2023-2024) published by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCNU). Average public prices of credit (first time registration) in university degrees.

Non-official university studies

Registration fees are determined by the Social Council of each university.

PhD programmes

In the academic year 2023-2024, public prices for the preparation of doctoral theses range from €60.3 per year in Andalusia to €401.1 per year in Catalonia, depending on the services offered to their doctoral students.

Fees only new students have to pay

The total cost of registration for a student includes registration fees (depending on the number of credits), together with the following:

school insurance (for students under 28);
student record;
ID fee.

Fees for other services

Fees are also required in a number of areas:

the issuing of the relevant certificate or the European Diploma Supplement;
the doctoral thesis examination, ranging from 117.1 euro in Galicia to 260.0 euro in Castilla-La Mancha.

Financial support for learners’ families

University students' families do not receive direct financial support; it is directly awarded to students, although their family situation (income, number of family members in the household, etc) is taken into account.

Full or partial fee waivers

Full or partial fee waivers are established in accordance with national and regional regulations.

They are both aimed at students coming from certain family situations, including the following:

members of a large family;
dependent people or people with disabilities;
victims and relatives of victims of terrorist attacks;
victims of gender-based violence;
orphans of civil servants and military personnel who have died in the line of duty;
be awarded a “matrícula de honor” distinction.

Tax deductions

Different tax deductions regarding educations costs are applied to PIT by Autonomous Communities: Financial support to families through tax deductions by education authority (Apoyo financiero a las familias mediante deducciones fiscales por administración educativa).

Financial support for learners

There are coordination mechanisms in place between the MEFD and the Autonomous Communities to ensure that the general system of study grants and aids promotes the right to access higher levels of education on the basis of skills and vocation, without any discrimination on the grounds of economic capacity, social level or place of residence of the student body.

Grants and financial support

The academic requirements applicants have to meet are the following:

Advanced training cycles

first year:
- to have obtained at least 5 points in the 2nd year of Bachillerato, or the corresponding entrance test or course. If accessing from an intermediate level training cycle, the final grade of the cycle will be taken into account;
- to enrol for the entire year. You can also get a grant, although subject to a limit, by enrolling for at least half of the modules of the course. This requirement must be fulfilled both in the current year and in the previous or last year studied;
- not be repeating the current level;
second and subsequent years:
- not be repeating the current level;
- to enrol for the entire year. You can also get a grant, although subject to a limit, by enrolling for at least half of the modules of the course. This requirement must be fulfilled both in the current year and in the previous or last year studied;
- to have passed at least a number of modules in the previous year, representing 85 per cent of the total hours of the course. If repeating a level, to have passed the whole level.

Bachelor

first year:
- to enrol for 60 credits. Students can also get a grant, with some limitations and special requirements, by enrolling for at least 30 credits;
- have obtained at least 5 points in the university entrance exam, excluding the specific part (the following formula is used: 0.6 NMB [average baccalaureate mark] + 0.4 EBAU [Evaluation of Bachillerato in order to have access to university education]), or in another exam or programme that allows access to university;
second and subsequent years:
- to enrol for 60 credits. Students can also get a grant, with some limitations and special requirements, by enrolling for at least 30 credits;
- to enrol for the same number of credits as in the previous academic year;
- have passed 100% of the credits enrolled in the previous academic year in the case of studies in the fields of Arts and Humanities, Social and Legal Sciences, Sciences and Health Sciences, and 85% in the case of Engineering and Architecture (if this percentage is not exceeded, see the alternative in the first transitional provision of Royal Decree 1721/2007, which establishes the system of grants and personalised study aids).

In order to obtain the enrolment grant as a single component, the following percentages of enrolled credits must have been passed in the last studies completed:

Knowledge Area	Percentage of credits to be completed
Arts and Humanities	90%
Social and Legal Sciences	90%
Health Sciences	80%
Science	65%
Technical Studies	65%

Master's

first year:
- to enrol for 60 credits. Students can also get a grant by enrolling for at least 30 credits;
- have obtained an average grade of 5.00 points in the previous studies that give access to the master's degree (either qualifying or non-qualifying). The average grade of the degree course leading to the master's degree must be multiplied by 1.17 if it was an engineering or architecture degree;
second year:
- to enrol for 60 credits. Students can also get a grant by enrolling for at least 30 credits;
- to pass 100% of the credits enrolled in the previous year;
- to have an average grade of 5 points in the first year of the master's degree, either qualifying or non-qualifying.

Amounts and types of aid

The MEFD establishes income and family wealth thresholds above which the right to receive grants or financial support disappears, the current thresholds being grouped into three categories for general study grants and one for students with specific educational support needs (SESN):

	THRESHOLD 1	THRESHOLD 2	THRESHOLD 3	THRESHOLD 1 SESN STUDENTS
Single member families	Between €8 843 and €9 315	€13 898	Between €14 818 and €15 567	12 534
Families with 2 members	Between €13 264 and €13 971	€23 724	Between €25 293 and €26 573	20 416
Families with 3 members	Between €17 685 and €18 629	€32 201	Between €34 332 and €36 070	26 811
Families with 4 members	Between €22 107 and €23 286	€38 242	Between €40 773 and €42 836	31 801
Families with 5 members	Between €25 644 and €27 012	€42 743	Between €45 572 and €47 878	36 089
Families with 6 members	Between €29 181 and €30 738	€46 142	Between €49 196 and €51 685	40 229
Families with 7 members	Between €32 718 and €34 463	€49 503	Between €52 780 and €55 451	44 143
Families with 8 members	Between €36 255 and €38 190	€52 850	Between €56 348 and €59 199	48 031

From the eighth member onwards, between €3 536 and €3 725 for threshold 1, €3 340 for threshold 2 and between €3 561 and €3 740 for threshold 3 will be added for each new eligible family member. In the case of SESN students, €3 856 will be added for threshold 1.

All students with a family income within threshold 3 are entitled to a grant, at least to the exemption of tuition fees or the basic grant.

There are also a number of deductions to be applied for calculating a family’s income, which are the following:

income from other family members;
large family status;
disability affecting the applicant or one of his/her relatives (sibling or child);
residence away from the family home for the purpose of university studies: the applicant or one of their siblings;
orphan status being under 25 years of age;
single-parent families.

The amounts that can be received are the following:

fixed amounts:
- tuition grant;
- fixed amount linked to the student's income;
- fixed amount linked to the student's residence during the school year;
- fixed amount linked to excellence in academic performance;
- basic grant;
variable amount: it is established for each call and beneficiary through a formula that takes into account family income and academic performance:
other financial support:
- for residents of the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla;
- subsidies and aids for students with specific academic support needs resulting from disabilities, severe behavioural disorders or autism spectrum disorders or associated with high intellectual capacities;
- support for students with high capacities: a single aid only for non-university levels;
- victims of gender-based violence and/or their children under twenty-three years of age: same support but some of the requirements to be eligible don’t apply.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, a total of 553 619 bachelor's and master's degree students at public universities received some kind of grant or aid, namely 521 029 bachelor's degree students and 32 590 official master's degree students (Source: Number of grant holders, number of grants and amount of grants according to level of financing educational administration, university, grant holders, grants and amount and studies. MEFD Subdirectorate General for Statistics and Studies).

Percentage of students with grants in bachelor's and master's degree courses. Classroom-based public universities. Academic Year 2022-2023

	Percentage of grant holders
Bachelor	27.3%
Master's	17.7%

Source: Drawn up by Eurydice España-rediE (INEE, MEFD) based on the indicators of beneficiaries of general grants from the National Government and the Basque Country for bachelor's and master's degree studies in public universities. Integrated University Information System (SIIU). General Secretariat for Universities.

Grants and financial support for PhD students under the State Sub-programme for Training, Attraction and Retention of Talent

The State Sub-programme for Training, Attraction and Retention of Talent is part of the State Human Resources Programme which is integrated within the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (PEICTI) 2024-2027, an instrument of the General State Administration for the development and achievement of the objectives of the Spanish Strategy for Science and Technology and Innovation (EECTI).
This programme is aimed at strengthening the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System (SECTI) as an engine for the transformation of Spain, enhancing its capacity to attract and retain talent, increasing the quality of R&D, consolidating the transfer of knowledge and increasing the innovative activity of all public and private agents.

The specific objectives of this programme are:

SO 1. Strengthen the SECTI's capacity to train, attract and retain talent, giving priority to stable employment and appropriate working conditions.
SO 2. Encourage and recognise the development of scientific, technical and technological careers.

Three sub-programmes are structured around these objectives, the first two in response to SO 1 and the third in response to SO 2:

1. Sub-programme for Training, Attraction and Retention of Talent in Research and Innovation

This includes actions aimed at the development of an attractive scientific, technological and/or innovative career, with instruments ranging from training in the initial phases (pre-doctoral and post-doctoral) to the stabilisation of research and innovation staff. It also includes measures to support mobility in different areas, supporting the participation of research and innovation professionals in different programmes.
The lines of action in each of the research career categories are:

R1: First research stage, in which doctoral training is funded.
R2: Recognised researchers, in which doctors with doctoral degrees or equivalent who are not yet independent are recruited to complete their post-doctoral research training.

These actions will be further supported by incentive programmes for the recruitment of research professionals by means of reductions in social security contributions.

Among the actions included in this sub-programme, there are grants for pre-doctoral training:

Grants for the training of pre-doctoral research professionals within the framework of the AEI's (Spanish Research Agency) activities;
Grants for the training of doctors in companies - industrial phD programmes;
“Río Hortega” contracts;
PFIS contracts: pre-doctoral health research training contracts;
I-PFIS contracts for IIS-EMPRESA doctoral studies in health sciences and technologies;
Pre-doctoral contracts for the training of university teaching staff;
Contracts for pre-doctoral research staff trainees;
CSIC JAE Programme;
Grants for the training of pre-doctoral research professionals within the framework of the AEE's (Spanish Space Agency) activities;
Grants for student collaboration in university departments;
Training grants from the Research and Quality Control Centre (CICC).

There are also grants for geographical and inter-institutional mobility for researchers:

Pre-doctoral Salvador de Madariaga grants at I.U. European University Institute in Florence;
Pre-doctoral mobility. Complementary aid to FPU;
ICEX-VIVES Project: training grants for internationalisation, innovation and competitiveness.

2. Sub-programme for Training and Incorporation of R&D&i Technical and Management Staff.

Aimed at developing the skills and competences of R&D&i technical and management professionals, as well as promoting their incorporation for the implementation of R&D&i activities.

3. Incentive and Recognition Sub-programme

It integrates actions aimed at fostering scientific and innovative concerns as well as interest in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) disciplines at early stages, prizes and other forms of talent recognition for research and innovation professionals in different sectors and scientific and technological disciplines.
It includes the National Research and Innovation Awards in several different categories.

Private education

Private universities draw up and pass their own organisational and operational rules:

internal regulations concerning administrative and financial principles;
preparation, approval and management of their budgets;
administration of their goods.

The funding of private universities comes mainly from students’ contributions.

The cost of fees for the provision of training services is established by each university and represents about 80% of the funding. In some private universities, students make considerably lower contributions, since these institutions receive subsidies from public regional and local bodies which make up for users’ contributions.

Official grants and financial support for students enrolled in private universities is the same as the one offered to public university students.

In the case of registration fee waivers, the amount awarded must not exceed the official price established for the same degree and study programme in public institutions within the same autonomous community.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, a total of 39 713 bachelor's and master's degree students at private universities received some kind of grant or aid funded by education authorities, namely 30 129 bachelor's degree students and 9 584 official master's degree students (Source: Number of grant holders, number of grants and amount of grants according to level of financing educational administration, university, grant holders, grants and amount and studies. MEFD Subdirectorate General for Statistics and Studies).