Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Aesthetic Medicine

Aesthetic medicine is the area of medical practice that deals with restoring, maintaining and promoting a person's appearance and health with non-surgical or minimally invasive treatments. The Sociedad Española de Medicina Estética (SEME) describes it as medical practice and minor interventions carried out with topical or local anaesthesia on an outpatient basis. It is not the same as cosmetic surgery: according to the SEME, aesthetic medicine never uses major surgery or techniques that require general anaesthesia. Plastic surgery, which repairs deformities and corrects functional defects, is a separate field again.

Aesthetic medicine is not an undergraduate subject. It is studied after a degree in Medicine, and the training teaches doctors to assess a patient who asks for an aesthetic treatment, to diagnose the main aesthetic alterations, to choose between non-invasive facial and body treatments and to combine techniques in a treatment plan. Programmes also cover the anatomy needed for each procedure, manual skills, and the rules that govern the activity.

Qualifications and levels

In Spain the usual qualification is a university master's programme of the continuing-education type (máster de formación permanente), a school's own qualification rather than an official master's degree. The Universidad de Alcalá, for example, offers the Máster de Formación Permanente en Medicina Estética y Longevidad. Edición Internacional. According to the university's programme page:

  • it has 60 ECTS credits and is taught in Spanish in a blended format, with online classes and in-person practical sessions
  • the next edition runs from 10 January 2027 to 30 January 2028
  • it is aimed at graduates in Medicine, and a university degree in Medicine is required for admission
  • there are 20 places
  • the price is €8,209.80, not including administrative fees and accident insurance, with a pre-registration payment of €2,050

The SEME, a scientific society founded in 1984, publishes a list of master's and postgraduate programmes that have obtained its endorsement (Aval SEME); the Universidad de Alcalá programme is on that list. The society states that it does not endorse training that is taught only online. It also notes that several regional health departments in Spain accept an endorsed university master's as a valid criterion for authorising a doctor to be responsible for an aesthetic medicine unit.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists four active schools for this subject: two in Spain, one in Russia and one in Portugal.

In Spain, the Universidad de Alcalá, a public university in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid, runs its master's together with a training partner, and the in-person subjects are taught at one or more sites depending on the group. The Institución Universitaria Mississippi in Madrid is a postgraduate centre for dentistry; its programmes, such as the Máster en Prótesis y Estética and the Máster en Endodoncia y Estética, are postgraduate programmes in dentistry that deal with dental aesthetics, not with general aesthetic medicine.

When comparing programmes, useful points to check are the number of ECTS credits, how much of the teaching is hands-on with patients, whether the university has a faculty of medicine behind the programme, and whether the qualification is accepted by the health authority of the region or country where you intend to practise. Doctors with a foreign degree should also check whether their medical degree has to be recognised before they can practise.

Careers

Aesthetic medicine is practised mainly in private clinics, because, as the SEME points out, treatments requested by people without a previous illness are not covered by the public health system. In Spain the treatments must always be carried out by a doctor, in a centre with the staff and equipment to deal with possible adverse effects; the SEME gives the injection of botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid fillers as examples. No official employment statistics are published for this field.

Frequently asked questions

Can I study aesthetic medicine without a degree in Medicine?

Not at master's level in Spain. The Universidad de Alcalá programme requires a university degree in Medicine, and according to the SEME aesthetic medicine treatments must always be performed by a doctor.

How long does a master's in aesthetic medicine take?

The master's at the Universidad de Alcalá has 60 ECTS credits and its next edition lasts just over a year, from 10 January 2027 to 30 January 2028.

What is the difference between aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery?

Aesthetic medicine uses medical and minor outpatient procedures with topical or local anaesthesia. Cosmetic surgery involves surgical operations that in most cases require a hospital stay, according to the SEME.

How much does a master's in aesthetic medicine cost?

The Universidad de Alcalá lists a price of €8,209.80 for its 60-credit programme, excluding administrative fees and accident insurance.