Skip to content

Design Schools and Programs in Madrid, Spain

About Design Schools and Programs in Madrid, Spain

Design covers graphic and visual communication, interiors, fashion and product design, and increasingly digital products and user experience. Madrid has public and private options at every level, from vocational courses to official four-year degrees and master's programmes, with schools specialising in one field or covering several.

Three routes to an official design qualification

Design can lead to an official qualification in Spain by two higher-education routes and one vocational route:

  • University degree (grado): 240 ECTS credits, listed in the RUCT register. In Madrid, for example, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid has an official Grado en Diseño de Moda.
  • Higher artistic education in design: the Grado en Enseñanzas Artísticas Superiores de Diseño, also 240 ECTS over four years, taught at design schools rather than universities, with specialisations in graphic, interior, fashion and product design.
  • Higher vocational cycles in art and design (Técnico Superior de Artes Plásticas y Diseño), shorter and more hands-on.

Many private schools also teach their own diplomas, short courses and master's programmes that are not official degrees; check the qualification before you enrol.

Where to study Design in Madrid

  • IED Madrid, Centro Superior de Diseño: the Madrid school of the Istituto Europeo di Design, teaching for more than 30 years in fashion, graphic, interior and product design. It offers the Grado en Enseñanzas Artísticas Superiores de Diseño, higher vocational cycles, its own IED diplomas, and BA (Hons) degrees awarded by the University of Westminster.
  • Centro Superior de Diseño de Moda de Madrid (CSDMM): the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's fashion design centre, now located next to the Retiro Park. It teaches the official university Grado en Diseño de Moda, a double degree in Fashion Design and Commerce with the Universidad Complutense, and a máster universitario in technology and innovation.
  • IADE: a design school specialising in fashion and interior design.
  • ESDIP: an art school focused on animation, illustration, comics, video games and graphic design.
  • Escuela Universitaria de Artes TAI: an arts school whose master's programmes include digital product design and user experience.

Outside the packet's list, the public Escuela Superior de Diseño de Madrid (ESD Madrid) teaches the official design degree in graphic, interior, fashion and product design, with public fees adjusted to students' income.

Admission

University degrees use the general university entrance route (PAU or equivalent). Higher artistic design degrees have their own access rules: at ESD Madrid, for example, students enter either through an entrance test (prueba de acceso), which requires the Bachillerato or an equivalent qualification, or through direct access with the Técnico Superior de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, for which 15% of new places are reserved. Applicants who studied abroad need a qualification declared equivalent or recognised (homologado).

Frequently asked questions

Is a design degree from a design school the same as a university degree?

The Grado en Enseñanzas Artísticas Superiores de Diseño is an official qualification of 240 ECTS credits, like a university grado, but it is taught at design schools such as ESD Madrid and IED Madrid. Private schools' own diplomas are not official degrees.

Where can I study fashion design in Madrid?

Among other options, at the CSDMM of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (official university degree), at IED Madrid and at IADE.

Is there a public design school in Madrid?

Yes. The Escuela Superior de Diseño de Madrid is a public school with official degrees in graphic, interior, fashion and product design.