Automation Engineering Schools and Programs in Spain

Automation Engineering Studies in Spain

In Spain, automation (automatic control) engineering is usually studied as part of the Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica Industrial y Automática, a four-year bachelor's degree of 240 ECTS credits that combines industrial electronics with control and automation. Some universities use slightly different names, such as Ingeniería Electrónica y Automática. Under Orden CIN/351/2009, these degrees qualify graduates for the regulated profession of industrial technical engineer (ingeniero técnico industrial), speciality industrial electronics.

The specific part of the degree covers analogue, digital and power electronics, automatic control and its application to industrial automation, robotic systems, and industrial computing and communications. Specialisation in automation and robotics continues at master's level.

How the degrees are organised

• Bachelor's degree (grado, four years, 240 ECTS credits). Orden CIN/351/2009 sets 60 credits of basic training, 60 common to the industrial branch, a complete 48-credit block in one specific technology (here, industrial electronics) and a 12-credit final project.
• Master's degree. Official master's degrees in the field include Automática y Robótica at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (taught as Master in Automatic Control and Robotics) and the Universidad de Alicante; Automática e Informática Industrial at the Universitat Politècnica de València; and Ingeniería Electrónica, Robótica y Automática at the Universidad de Sevilla. Graduates can also take the Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Industrial, which qualifies for the profession of industrial engineer: under Orden CIN/311/2009, bachelor's and master's must total at least 300 credits, and that master's may not exceed 120.
• Doctorate. Open after completing 300 credits across the bachelor's and master's levels.

Below university level, vocational training (FP) offers the Técnico Superior en Automatización y Robótica Industrial, a higher-level (grado superior) course of 2,000 hours in the electricity and electronics family.

Admission and language

For a bachelor's degree, students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply for an accreditation from UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' records and runs subject tests, and then apply to each university within its deadlines. For a master's degree, a bachelor's degree from outside the European Higher Education Area does not need official recognition first: the university checks that it is equivalent to a Spanish grado.

Most degrees are taught in Spanish. The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), on its Leganés campus, offers a bilingual option with more than half of the subjects in English; students in the English groups must certify a B2 level of English during the first year.

Where to study automation engineering in Spain

The national register of official degrees (RUCT) lists this degree at a large number of public and private universities. Examples among the schools on this page:

• Madrid region: the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UC3M and the Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio.
• Northern Spain: the universities of Oviedo, León, Valladolid, La Rioja and Zaragoza, the Universidad de Deusto and the Universidad del País Vasco.
• Central and southern Spain: the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, the Universidad de Extremadura and the Universidad de Huelva.
• Canary Islands: the Universidad de La Laguna and the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Recognition of the qualification

Official degrees appear in the RUCT. Because industrial technical engineer is a regulated profession, holders of a foreign degree who want to practise it in Spain need homologación; a declaration of equivalence only certifies the academic level. Both procedures are governed by Real Decreto 889/2022. Citizens of the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland can instead apply for professional recognition under Directive 2005/36/EC.

Careers

UC3M lists career paths such as the design, installation, maintenance and operation of automated systems; instrumentation and measurement systems; control room work; robotic systems; and the automation of machines and processes. Its students do work placements at companies such as Siemens, CAF Signalling and Atlas Robots.

Frequently asked questions

What is automation engineering called in Spanish universities?

Usually Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica Industrial y Automática, a four-year degree that combines industrial electronics with automatic control. Specialised master's degrees are often called Automática y Robótica.

Is it a regulated profession in Spain?

A bachelor's degree that follows Orden CIN/351/2009 qualifies for the regulated profession of industrial technical engineer, speciality industrial electronics; UC3M states this on its degree page.

Can I study automation engineering in English in Spain?

Partly. UC3M offers more than half of the subjects of its degree in English, and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya registers its master's under an English name as well (Master in Automatic Control and Robotics); check the language with each university. Most other programmes are in Spanish.

Is there a shorter, vocational route?

Yes. The FP course Técnico Superior en Automatización y Robótica Industrial takes 2,000 hours and is a higher-level vocational qualification, not a university degree.