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Commerce Schools and Programs in Spain

21 schools in Spain teach Commerce.

  • EFEM Escuela de Formación Empresarial

    Madrid, Spain

    EFEM Escuela de Formación Empresarial is a private online business school based in Madrid. It belongs to Grupo Gates Formación Empresarial y Masters, and its founders have been developing training programmes for more than 40 years, moving from classroom and distance courses…

Commerce Studies in Spain

Commerce covers how goods and services are bought, sold and moved: sales, marketing, distribution, retail, e-commerce, logistics and international trade. In Spain it can be studied at three levels: as a university degree, as a vocational training (FP) qualification, and through master's and professional courses for people who already work or have a degree. Most programmes are taught in Spanish.

University degrees

Under Royal Decree 822/2021, Spanish bachelor's degrees (grados) have 240 ECTS credits, organised as 60 credits per year, so a commerce degree lasts four years. RUCT, the Ministry's register of official degrees, lists a Grado en Comercio at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Universidad de Valladolid and the Universidad de Vigo, a Grado en Comercio y Marketing at the Universidad de Oviedo and a Grado en Comercio Internacional at the Universidad de León.

The Complutense's degree, taught at its Facultad de Comercio y Turismo, shows what the subject includes. The first year covers accounting, the basics of marketing, economics and a foreign language such as English; the second adds commercial law and statistics; the third covers e-commerce, consumer behaviour, distribution and logistics, and sales and negotiation; and the fourth includes international trade, market research, a 12-credit work placement and a 6-credit final project. Related degrees in business administration or marketing also include commerce subjects.

Vocational training (FP)

Vocational training is a practical alternative. TodoFP, the Ministry of Education's vocational training portal, groups commerce courses in the Comercio y Marketing professional family. It includes an intermediate qualification, Técnico en Actividades Comerciales, and several higher qualifications (grado superior):

  • Técnico Superior en Comercio Internacional
  • Técnico Superior en Gestión de Ventas y Espacios Comerciales
  • Técnico Superior en Marketing y Publicidad
  • Técnico Superior en Transporte y Logística

The Técnico Superior en Comercio Internacional takes 2,000 hours. Its modules include international marketing, international negotiation, the administration of foreign trade and international finance, and the course includes a training period in a company. TodoFP lists jobs such as foreign trade technician, freight forwarder and logistics operator. Graduates can go on to university and may have some modules recognised. Our directory includes vocational centres such as IES Faro de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria) and the Instituto Cuatrovientos (Pamplona).

Master's degrees and professional courses

After a degree, students can specialise with an official master's degree (máster universitario). Examples in RUCT include e-commerce and Consumo y Comercio at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, international trade at the Universidad de Vigo and the Universidad de Extremadura, foreign trade at the Universidad de Valladolid, and the Máster en Dirección y Gestión en Comercio Internacional / International Trade at the Universidad de Murcia.

Universities and private schools also offer their own qualifications. Royal Decree 822/2021 defines the Máster de Formación Permanente (60, 90 or 120 credits), the Diploma de Especialización and the Diploma de Experto. These are not official master's degrees. In Madrid, where most schools in our directory for this subject are, examples include the Instituto Séneca, whose courses include a Máster en Formación Permanente en Logística y Transporte, the IEB (Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles) and CEF - Centro de Estudios Financieros. Barcelona has the second-largest group, with schools such as EENI.

Admission and recognition

Students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply to a bachelor's degree through UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' records, and then apply to each university within its deadlines. To enter FP with a foreign vocational qualification, that qualification must first be recognised (homologación) through the Ministry of Education.

For university degrees, Royal Decree 889/2022 sets out three procedures: equivalence (equivalencia) certifies the academic level, convalidation (convalidación) lets you continue studying, and homologation (homologación) is needed only for regulated professions.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a commerce degree take in Spain?

The Grado en Comercio has 240 ECTS credits and lasts four years. An official master's degree adds 60 to 120 credits.

Is there a shorter, practical option?

Yes. Higher vocational qualifications such as Técnico Superior en Comercio Internacional take 2,000 hours and include training in a company.

Is a Máster de Formación Permanente an official master's degree?

No. It is a university's own qualification for continuing education. Official master's degrees are called máster universitario and appear in RUCT.

Where can I study commerce in Spain?

Madrid has the most schools in our directory for this subject, followed by Barcelona. Official commerce degrees are also taught in Valladolid, Vigo, Oviedo and León.