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Master's Degree in Spain for African Students

Reviewed by World Study Team Updated

A master's at a Spanish public university costs a non-EU student €5,044–10,153 per year and runs 60 ECTS in one year, starting each September. A three-year African bachelor's is accepted, and homologación is not required. English teaching exists but is concentrated: UAB alone lists 52 English master's. The catch is timing — the rounds that matter for non-EU applicants open in November and close in January.

What a master’s degree in Spain looks like

The degree is a Máster Universitario (oficial): the state-recognised second cycle, not a university’s own certificate. The standard size is 60 ECTS over one year. Regulated-profession programmes, the habilitantes, are longer, so the published range is 1 to 2 years. Every programme ends with a Trabajo Fin de Máster, a supervised dissertation.

Teaching starts in September, and Autumn (September) is the only intake in the year. A missed round costs twelve months.

Only an official Máster Universitario gives access to a doctorate; a título propio, sold by the same universities under their own name, does not. The two look alike in a brochure and differ in law, so confirm a programme is oficial before you pay anything.

Spain has 96 recognised higher education institutions, and English-taught master’s sit unevenly across them: UAB lists 52, UPF 30, UAM 9, UCM 4 and Granada 3. Master’s level is where English-medium study in Spain actually sits; at bachelor’s level it is rare.

Is an African bachelor’s accepted?

Yes, and a three-year degree is enough. RD 822/2021 admits qualifications from outside the European Higher Education Area that are equivalent in level to a Spanish grado, on two conditions: the university carries out its own comprobación del nivel de formación, and the degree gives access to postgraduate study at home. A four-year or honours degree is not required, and neither is homologación — the decree says this route never implies it.

Each university runs that check its own way. UCM does its own comprobación and asks nothing of the Ministry; UPC, UPF and UAB assess level case by case. UAM wants a Ministry declaración de equivalencia a nivel académico first, and UB accepts either that or full homologación. Valencia verifies non-EHEA degrees before admission, for €155.

There is no national minimum grade. Spanish marks run zero to ten, and admission ranks your converted average against each programme’s own baremo. Convert yours through the Ministry’s free Declaración de Equivalencia de Nota Media, which is permanently open. UPV scores anyone who supplies no conversion at the bare pass, close to a refusal in a ranked field.

Legalisation is where African files fail: an apostille is valid only for South Africa and Morocco; Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe need consular legalisation instead, plus sworn translation.

How much a master’s costs in Spain

The headline public band for a non-EU student is €5,044–10,153 per year — Madrid’s tier, where non-residents pay the third or fourth matrícula rate and the top applies to habilitante programmes such as Psicología General Sanitaria. Other regions charge far less for the same legal degree: Granada €821 per year, the same as for Spaniards; UPC in Barcelona €2,700 per year; Salamanca €1,960.80–3,144 per year.

Private universities are a separate market at €30,000–50,000 per year, with IE University at €34,500–89,900 per programme.

Spain has no recurring semester fee, only a one-off charge at enrolment of €28–140 plus an application fee at some universities: €30 at UB, €59.10 at Granada, none at UC3M or UCM.

Living costs are the bigger line: €700–1,200 per month nationally, €900–1,300 per month in Madrid, €720–1,200 per month in Barcelona, €700–800 per month in Granada. Visa-compliant health insurance adds €480–840 per year.

The city decides your budget twice: once through regional tuition, once through rent. Full breakdown in the cost of studying in Spain.

English requirements for a master’s

Spain sets no national English floor for master’s entry; each university sets its own. The lowest band among the public universities here is IELTS 5.5 — UC3M’s own minimum, matched by UAM at 5.5 and UPC at 5.5. Salamanca asks 6, UAB 6 and UB 6, UPF 6.5, IE University 7.

A medium-of-instruction letter is decided case by case at UAB, UAM, UC3M and Valencia, accepted at IE University, refused at UPC and Salamanca. Ask the admissions office in writing whether your English-medium degree exempts you before paying for a test. See studying in Spain without IELTS.

Spanish matters at the consulate too: visa checklists ask for evidence of Spanish when the course is taught in Spanish. For an English-taught master’s, the university’s own English proof settles it.

Universities to look at for a master’s

The trade-off here is price against English-medium choice; the two rarely sit in the same place.

University of Barcelona is the highest-ranked at #165 (QS 2027), charging €4,260–6,600 per year at IELTS 6. Some master’s are English-taught, most are not, and it accepts a Ministry equivalence declaration in place of homologación.

Autonomous University of Barcelona, #211 (QS 2027), carries the widest English choice in the country — 52 master’s at €3,960–6,000 per year, priced by the programme’s cost band.

Pompeu Fabra, #263 (QS 2027), runs 30 English master’s at €5,610–5,749.80 per year, IELTS 6.5, on a compact Barcelona campus.

Polytechnic University of Catalonia is the cheapest serious engineering option: €2,700 per year at IELTS 5.5, ranked #434 (QS 2027).

In Madrid, Complutense sits at #199 (QS 2027) with fees of €5,044.20–10,152.60 per year and only 4 English master’s.

UAM, #226 (QS 2027), charges €5,460–10,152.60 per year for 9 English programmes, and wants the Ministry equivalence declaration before you apply.

Carlos III University of Madrid teaches widely in English at a flat €5,044.20 per year and the lowest published band, IELTS 5.5.

University of Granada is the price outlier at €821 per year in a city costing €700–800 per month, but lists only 3 English master’s.

IE University teaches everything in English at €34,500–89,900 per programme, IELTS 7, with rolling admission and no fixed closing date.

Scholarships for a master’s

Two national routes exist, and only one funds a whole degree.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters covers tuition in full and pays €1,400 per month for the length of the programme. All nine origin countries are eligible, you apply to the consortium rather than to Spain, and no admission letter is needed first.

MAEC-AECID is Spain’s own scheme and it is narrow: the África-Med Máster line pays €1,500–2,000 per month plus insurance, covers none of the tuition, and awards 41 places a year. You must already be a permanent public-sector employee at home and hold admission first. Egypt is fully eligible; Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Morocco are restricted; Uganda and Zambia are not listed. The 2027/28 call was unpublished as of September 2026.

No university fee waiver for non-EU master’s students is published, so budget for the full fee. See Spain scholarships for African students.

How to apply for a master’s in Spain

  1. Ask for a level check, not homologación. Ask each admissions office whether your bachelor’s passes its comprobación del nivel de formación, and whether a Ministry declaración de equivalencia is also required.
  2. Convert your grade average. Get the Ministry’s free Declaración de Equivalencia de Nota Media before the rounds open; an unconverted average scores as a bare pass.
  3. Legalise and translate first. Apostille for South Africa and Morocco, consular legalisation for the other seven origins, plus sworn translation. This is the slowest step.
  4. Work to the non-EU phase. UPV’s Fase 0, for non-Europeans without EU residence, ran 17 November to 13 February; the Distrito Único Andaluz Fase 1, foreign applicants only, 13 to 29 January.
  5. Apply to each university directly. There is no national master’s portal. UC3M ran three rounds from 1 December, UCM from 28 January; 2027/28 dates were unpublished as of September 2026.
  6. Prove the language. IELTS or TOEFL at the programme’s band, or the medium-of-instruction letter where accepted. Spanish-taught programmes need Spanish evidence for the visa file.
  7. Accept, enrol and insure. Pay the first enrolment and take a policy meeting the four Spanish visa conditions.
  8. Apply for the student visa. €90, funds of €600 per month, processing 1 to 6 weeks, then the TIE card at €16.08 within a month of arrival: Spain student visa requirements.

After the master’s

Graduating gives you 24 months on the job-search and entrepreneurship permit, at €10.94. It is non-renewable and the same length after any degree level. Since RD 316/2026, in force 16 April 2026, you can file from two months before to three months after finishing, and your study authorisation stays valid while the case is decided.

During the master’s, work is allowed Up to 30 hours/week with no separate permit, against a minimum wage of €1,221 per month.

If a doctorate is the plan, pick a two-year master: doctoral access counts credits across grado and máster together, and candidates now use the researcher permit rather than the student visa. See doing a PhD in Spain.

Spain at a glance — key figures

Degree Máster Universitario (oficial)
Length 1–2 years · 60 ECTS
Starts September
How to apply Directly to each university's own master's preinscripción. RD 534/2024 regulates admission to grado only, leaving master's admission to the universities under RD 822/2021 art. 18.3, so no national portal exists. The one verified regional exception is the Distrito Único Andaluz, run by the Junta de Andalucía, which treats all Andalusian public universities as a single district and operates a dedicated foreign-applicant phase. Catalonia has no equivalent central system for masters: UPC and UB both take applications directly.
Typical deadline 2027/28 dates not published as of 2026-09-10. Recurring 2026/27 pattern: several rolling plazos running from November or December of the preceding year to June, plus a September mop-up round. UC3M 1 December – 31 January, 1 February – 31 March, 1 April – 31 May; UCM 28 January – 20 February and 27 April – 22 May, extraordinary 1–4 September. The non-EU-only phases open earliest and matter most: UPV Fase 0, restricted to non-European applicants without EU residence, 17 November – 13 February; Distrito Único Andaluz Fase 1, foreign applicants only, 13–29 January.
African bachelor's accepted Three-year, 180-ECTS African bachelor's degrees are accepted; a four-year or honours degree is not required, and homologación is not required either. RD 822/2021 art. 18.2 admits holders of titles from outside the EHEA that are equivalent in level to a Spanish grado, subject only to the university's own comprobación del nivel de formación and to the degree giving access to postgraduate study in the issuing country, and states expressly that this route never implies homologación. The decree sets no credit floor; the operative floor of 180 ECTS or 1,800 teaching hours comes from the Ministry's equivalence criteria and is applied verbatim by UCM and UAM. No source demanding 240 ECTS was found at UB, UPC, UCM, US or UPV. One consequence to plan around: RD 99/2011 art. 6.1 requires 300 ECTS across grado and máster for doctoral access, so a 180-ECTS first degree pairs best with a 90 or 120 ECTS master. Universities may also impose complementary training of up to 20% of the programme's credits under art. 18.5.
Typical grade asked No national minimum exists. Spain grades 0–10 with a pass at 5, and admission is a ranking on the converted grade average plus each master's own baremo, with demand-driven cut-offs published after each adjudication by the Distrito Único Andaluz. Foreign averages are converted through the Ministry's free Declaración de Equivalencia de Nota Media, a permanently open, percentile-based self-service conversor at universidades.sede.gob.es that maps foreign marks onto the Spanish 5.00–10.00 range. UPV assigns a bare 5.00 as the access mark to any applicant who does not supply one, which in a competitive ranking is close to disqualifying.
Public tuition (non-EU) €5,044–10,153 per year — 4a matricula (habilitante, e.g. Psicologia Sanitaria) up to EUR169.21/credit=EUR10,153/yr.
Private tuition (typical) €30,000–50,000 per year
English floor (IELTS) 5.50
Stay after graduating 24 months (Autorizacion de residencia para busqueda de empleo o para emprender un proyecto empresarial (job-search / entrepreneurship permit))
Note RD 822/2021 art. 17.1 allows 60, 90 or 120 ECTS with a Trabajo Fin de Máster of 6–30 ECTS; 60 over one year is mainstream and habilitante masters are fixed higher (Psicología General Sanitaria, 90). Only a Máster Universitario in RUCT gives doctoral access; a título propio does not.

Last verified 2026-09-10 against official sources (ciencia.gob.es · uam.es · inclusion.gob.es · boe.es · unedasiss.uned.es).

  • A three-year African bachelor’s is admissible under RD 822/2021, with no homologación and no honours requirement.
  • Tuition is regional: the same official degree costs €821 per year at Granada or €2,700 per year at UPC against Madrid’s €5,044–10,153 per year.
  • English-taught master’s are real at this level: 52 at UAB and 30 at UPF, with IELTS 5.5 enough at UC3M, UAM and UPC.
  • Proof of funds is €600 per month, shown through ordinary bank statements or a sponsor’s undertaking; Spain runs no blocked-account system.
  • You may work Up to 30 hours/week without a separate permit, and keep 24 months afterwards to find a job for €10.94.
  • One intake a year, in September, and the non-EU phases close the winter before it. The 2027/28 dates were unpublished as of September 2026.
  • Nothing is centralised: a separate application, level check and often a separate fee at every university, and one refusal tells you nothing about the next.
  • Madrid’s non-EU tier reaches €5,044–10,153 per year, and private master’s run €30,000–50,000 per year.
  • Most teaching is in Spanish: UCM lists 4 English master’s and Granada 3, so the cheapest universities are often the least accessible.
  • The refusal rate is not published, and the community is small: 245 Nigerians, 66 Kenyans and 7 Zambians among 8,625 African students.
World Study

Our core guidance is free, because universities pay us commission when a student we advise enrols. At master's level that means putting the level-check question to each university in writing, converting your grade average, and shortlisting around the non-EU phase rather than the general deadline. We vet every document before submission — legalisation, translations, funds evidence, insurance — where most Spanish files fail. Premium Placement is an optional paid service. We never sell guaranteed admission or visas.

Talk to an advisor

How to apply for a master's degree in Spain as an African student

  1. Ask for a level check

    Send transcripts to each admissions office and ask whether your bachelor's passes its comprobacion del nivel de formacion, and whether a Ministry declaration of equivalence is also required.

  2. Convert your grade average

    Obtain the Ministry's free Declaracion de Equivalencia de Nota Media before the rounds open. An unconverted average is scored at the bare pass mark in a ranked field.

  3. Legalise and translate documents

    Apostille the diploma and transcript for South Africa and Morocco, or obtain consular legalisation for the other seven origins, with sworn translation. Start this step first.

  4. Work to the non-EU phase

    Target the phases restricted to foreign applicants, which open earliest: UPV Fase 0 from 17 November and the Distrito Unico Andaluz Fase 1 in January.

  5. Apply to each university directly

    Spain has no national master's portal. Submit a separate preinscripcion to every university on your shortlist and pay each application fee where one is charged.

  6. Prove the language

    Submit IELTS or TOEFL at the programme's band, or the medium-of-instruction letter where accepted. Spanish-taught programmes need Spanish evidence in the visa file as well.

  7. Accept, enrol and insure

    Pay the first enrolment, take health insurance meeting the four Spanish visa conditions, and secure accommodation before the September start.

  8. Apply for the student visa

    File the Type D student application with funds of 600 euro per month, allowing one to six weeks, then apply for the TIE card within one month of arrival in Spain.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. A public master's is 60 ECTS over one year, starting in September, and non-EU students pay €5,044–10,153 per year in Madrid but far less elsewhere, from €821 per year at Granada. Living costs run €700–1,200 per month. Your three-year bachelor's is accepted without homologación.

Yes. RD 822/2021 admits degrees from outside the European Higher Education Area that are equivalent in level to a Spanish grado, provided the degree gives access to postgraduate study at home and the university's own level check passes. No four-year or honours degree is required, and no Spanish source in this dataset demands a longer first degree.

No, and this is the most common myth. The decree says the level-check route never implies homologación, and UCM assesses your degree itself. Two exceptions to plan for: UAM asks for a Ministry declaración de equivalencia a nivel académico, and UB accepts either that declaration or full homologación.

There is no national minimum. Spanish marks run zero to ten, and admission is a ranking on your converted average plus the programme's own scoring. Convert your average through the Ministry's free Declaración de Equivalencia de Nota Media. Supply no conversion and universities such as UPV score you at the bare pass, which usually loses the place.

Yes, at some universities. IELTS 5.5 is enough at UC3M, UAM and UPC; UAB and UB ask 6, UPF 6.5 and IE University 7. Choice is uneven: UAB lists 52 English master's and UCM 4, so language usually decides the shortlist before subject does.

Each university sets its own rounds, and the 2027/28 dates were not published as of September 2026. The recurring pattern runs from November or December to June, with a September mop-up. The phases that matter open earliest: UPV's non-EU Fase 0 ran 17 November to 13 February, the Distrito Único Andaluz foreign-applicant phase 13 to 29 January.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters is the one that funds a full degree: tuition covered and €1,400 per month, open to all nine countries, applied for through the consortium. MAEC-AECID pays €1,500–2,000 per month but covers no tuition, awards 41 places, and requires permanent public-sector employment at home.

Two things. RD 316/2026, in force since 16 April 2026, lets you apply for the 24-month job-search permit from two months before to three months after finishing, with your study authorisation extended meanwhile. And the proof-of-funds baseline stayed frozen at €600 per month through 2026, with no 2027 figure published as of September 2026.

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