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Health Occupations Schools and Programs in Spain

38 schools in Spain teach Health Occupations.

Health Occupations Studies in Spain

Health sciences (Ciencias de la Salud) is one of the five branches into which Spanish universities group their degrees, next to Arts and Humanities, Sciences, Social and Legal Sciences, and Engineering and Architecture. It covers the degrees that train doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, dietitians and other health professionals, as well as postgraduate and continuing education for people who already work in health care.

Most health careers in Spain are regulated professions. Ley 44/2003 on the health professions lists the qualifications that give access to them: at the higher level Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Veterinary Science; at the second level Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Optics and Optometry, Speech Therapy, and Human Nutrition and Dietetics. To practise any of these you need an official degree, not a private certificate.

How health studies are organised

Spanish bachelor's degrees (grados) normally have 240 ECTS credits over four years. Royal Decree 822/2021 allows exceptions for degrees that European rules set at 300 or 360 credits, and Medicine is one of them: at Blanquerna (Universitat Ramon Llull) in Barcelona and at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, the Grado en Medicina has 360 credits over six years. Physiotherapy, Nursing and most other health degrees follow the four-year, 240-credit pattern.

Clinical placements are a large part of every health degree. Blanquerna's Physiotherapy plan, for example, includes 40 credits of external placements, and its Medicine plan 51 credits of practicum.

After the degree there are three main routes:

  • Official master's degrees (máster universitario)
  • Specialist training through the residency system (residencia) in accredited teaching units, for doctors, nurses and other graduates who want an official specialist title
  • Postgraduate programmes and courses that are the school's own qualifications (títulos propios), often online and aimed at working professionals

Royal Decree 183/2008 sets out the specialties in health sciences and how residency works: residents provide professional services while they train, take on responsibility step by step and are supervised less as they progress.

Vocational training (FP) is a shorter, practical route. The Health (Sanidad) professional family includes intermediate qualifications such as Técnico en Cuidados Auxiliares de Enfermería and Técnico en Emergencias Sanitarias, and higher qualifications such as Técnico Superior en Laboratorio Clínico y Biomédico, Técnico Superior en Higiene Bucodental and Técnico Superior en Imagen para el Diagnóstico y Medicina Nuclear.

Where to study health sciences in Spain

Health programmes are taught all over Spain. In our directory, Barcelona has the most schools, followed by Granada and the Madrid area (Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid and Villaviciosa de Odón), León and Málaga. The schools range from public and private universities to specialised training centres. Some examples:

  • Blanquerna School of Health Sciences (Universitat Ramon Llull), Barcelona: Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, and Human Nutrition and Dietetics, taught since 1992 and in Catalan and Spanish; its first Medicine students started in September 2026
  • Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona: Medicine taught in Spanish and English, with 200 places
  • Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, Villanueva de la Cañada: online master's programmes in health, such as public health and health management
  • IUSC, Barcelona: a centre founded in 1994 that offers master's programmes and specialist courses in clinical trials
  • Centro de Psicología Aaron Beck, Granada: master's and expert programmes in clinical psychology, classroom-based in Granada or at a distance
  • Formación Alcalá: distance courses, expert programmes and master's programmes for health professionals such as nurses and nursing care assistants

Teaching is mostly in Spanish, and in Catalonia often in Catalan as well. Some programmes use English, but placements with patients require a good level of Spanish.

Admission for international students

Places on health degrees are limited and usually go by admission grade. Students who finished secondary school outside Spain normally start with UNEDasiss, which issues the accreditation needed to apply to the universities that use this system. The application itself goes to each university, within the deadlines that university sets.

Non-EU students who will stay more than 90 days need a study visa. The Spanish consulate in London, for example, asks for proof of financial means of at least 100% of the IPREM, Spain's public income indicator, among other documents.

Recognition and careers

A foreign health degree does not give the right to practise in Spain on its own. For a regulated profession you need homologación: under the ministry's rules, homologation qualifies the holder for a regulated profession, while a declaration of equivalence only certifies the academic level (bachelor's or master's). Graduates work in hospitals, primary care, pharmacies, rehabilitation, nutrition, laboratories, research and the pharmaceutical industry, for example in clinical trials.

Frequently asked questions

Which health professions are regulated in Spain?

Ley 44/2003 lists Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Optics and Optometry, Speech Therapy, and Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Each requires an official degree.

How long does it take to study Medicine in Spain?

Six years. The Grado en Medicina has 360 ECTS credits, while most other health degrees have 240 credits over four years.

Can I work in Spain with a health degree from another country?

Only after homologación of the degree, because health professions are regulated. A declaration of equivalence certifies the academic level but does not qualify you to practise.

Is there a shorter route into health care than a university degree?

Yes. Vocational training (FP) in the Health family offers intermediate and higher qualifications, for example as a nursing care assistant, emergency medical technician or clinical laboratory technician.