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Human Resources Schools and Programs in Spain

42 schools in Spain teach Human Resources.

Strategic Management of RR. HH.: people, growth and results

The leader of the Department of People Management has passed from being a simple manager of admin to becoming a vital part of the organisation. In addition to delivering a series of services to all departments, supporting the application of the strategic lines of the company. Uncover the tools to do it successfully. Be conscious of the new role of the Department of People Management, noticeable by its direction to change, to align it with the stratagem of the organisation and give added value. Understand the latest systems in the management of people in complicated and international environments. Boosting ability within the company, managing individual issues and lessening the difficulties that limit professional careers.
Level: Professional Development  
Language of instruction: Spanish  
Location: Madrid

Human Resources

Companies are created by people who require security and incentive. Good management of human resources guarantees efficiency, quality and productivity. Bircham University’s Human Resources program mixes the latest in research and theory to resolve human resources issues efficiently and pragmatically. These days, firms look for the best in capability and productivity from their staff. This program’s goal is to provide managers with the equipment to hire and sustain the right people in the right positions. Subjects covered on this course include: Organizational Behaviour, Training Programs, Employment Reward Strategies, Organizational Communication, Human Resources, Employment Law, Labour & Management Relations, Employees Supervision, Human Resources Management, Working in Complex Systems and Employee Dispute Resolution. The Human Resources course is available at Specialist, Expert, Bachelor's, Master's & Ph.D. (Doctoral) Degree program levels.
Level: Undergraduate Bachelors  
Language of instruction: English  
Location: Villanueva de la Cañada

Human Resources Studies in Spain

Human resources (HR) is the management of people at work: recruitment and selection, training and talent development, pay, employment contracts, social security, health and safety, and relations with employees and their representatives. In Spain the subject sits between business management and labour law. The main bachelor's degree is called Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos (labour relations and human resources), and it is followed by a wide range of official master's degrees and business-school programmes.

How HR studies are organised

  • Bachelor's degree (grado). Under Royal Decree 822/2021, Spanish bachelor's degrees have 240 ECTS credits. The grado in Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos follows this model: four years at the Universidad de Sevilla, for example. Besides HR management, it covers labour and social security law, collective bargaining, conflict mediation, occupational risk prevention and employment policy.
  • Official master's degree (máster universitario). Official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 credits. Titles vary: HR management, talent development, or business administration combined with HR.
  • Business-school programmes. Many private business schools run their own HR master's programmes and short courses. These are the school's own qualifications, not official degrees.

Every official degree is listed in the ministry's Register of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT), which is the place to check a programme's status.

Where to study Human Resources in Spain

A search for "recursos humanos" in the RUCT returns 45 bachelor's degree records and 77 master's degree records, including programmes being phased out. In our directory, Madrid has the most schools for this subject, followed by Barcelona and Murcia. Examples of public and private universities with the official bachelor's degree in the RUCT:

  • Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and the online Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA)
  • Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia: Universitat de Barcelona, Universidad de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Universidad Jaume I de Castellón and Universidad de Murcia
  • Andalusia: Universidad de Almería, Universidad de Cádiz, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Jaén and Universidad de Sevilla
  • North and centre: Universidad de Oviedo, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Universidad de Vigo, Universidad de A Coruña, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Universidad de La Rioja, Universidad de Zaragoza, Universidad de Salamanca and Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
  • Canary Islands: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Online study is common in this field. UDIMA teaches its bachelor's degree online (four years, 240 credits) and its official Máster Universitario en Dirección y Desarrollo de Recursos Humanos fully online in one year of 60 credits. Official master's degrees are also offered, for example, by the Universidad de Cádiz, the Universidad de Granada (combined with business administration, in international settings) and the Universidad Camilo José Cela.

Studying HR in English

Most degrees are taught in Spanish, and in some regions partly in the co-official language. English-taught options exist mainly at master's level. The RUCT lists the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid's Master in Human Resources Management and IE Universidad's Master in Talent Development and Human Resources with English titles. ESERP's Master in Human Resources in Madrid is taught on site in English over nine months, from October 2026, for €12,200; it is ESERP's own qualification.

Admission, costs and recognition

Students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply first to UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' records and runs the tests needed to enter a Spanish bachelor's degree. They then apply to each university within its own deadlines. A master's degree requires a previous university degree.

Public universities charge per credit. At the Universidad de Sevilla the degree costs €12.62 per credit, with a 99% reduction from the second year on credits passed the previous year; it offered 225 places for 2025-26 and received 1,315 applications in total. Sevilla also requires a foreign language at CEFR level B1 before the degree is issued.

Holders of a foreign degree can ask the ministry for a declaration of equivalence (declaración de equivalencia), which certifies its academic level. Homologación is only needed for a regulated profession in Spain.

Careers

According to the Universidad de Sevilla, the degree prepares students for labour advice and for the profession of Graduado Social, whose work covers legal and labour advice, social security procedures and HR management. Other profiles include HR management, employment and local development agencies, occupational risk prevention, public administration, social and labour auditing, and teaching. Graduates also work in recruitment, training and talent development, payroll and HR consultancy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the HR degree called in Spain?

It is usually the grado en Relaciones Laborales y Recursos Humanos, a four-year degree of 240 ECTS credits that combines HR management with labour law.

Can I study Human Resources online in Spain?

Yes. UDIMA, for example, teaches both its official bachelor's degree and its official 60-credit HR master's degree online.

Can I study an HR master's in English in Spain?

Yes, mostly at master's level. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and IE Universidad register English-titled official master's degrees, and ESERP teaches its own Master in Human Resources in English in Madrid.

How much does an HR degree cost?

At public universities fees are set per credit: €12.62 at the Universidad de Sevilla. Private programmes cost more; ESERP's nine-month master's in Madrid costs €12,200 for the course starting in October 2026.