Master's in Spain: Official vs Own Degrees, Access and Fees

Checked against official sources on 10 October 2026

Masters in Spain come in two kinds. An official master's degree (máster universitario) has 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits, is entered in the state register of degrees (RUCT) and can lead on to a doctorate. A university's own master's (título propio) is not an official degree. This guide explains the difference, how a graduate with a foreign bachelor's degree gets in, how long a master's takes and what a credit costs at public universities.

Official master's and own degrees: the difference

Royal Decree 822/2021 organises official university studies in three cycles: bachelor's degree (grado), master's and doctorate. The máster universitario is the second cycle. It sits at level 3 of the Spanish higher education framework (MECES) and must be entered in the Register of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT).

Own degrees are regulated and issued by each university. The decree says that neither their name nor their format may cause confusion with official degrees. For people who already hold a university degree it names three. They are the Máster de Formación Permanente (60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits), the Diploma de Especialización (30 to 59 credits) and the Diploma de Experto (fewer than 30 credits). A university's own master's must always carry the name Máster de Formación Permanente.

How long a master's takes

Length follows from the credits. The European credit system assigns 60 credits to each academic year. Studied full time, a 60-credit master's therefore takes one academic year, a 90-credit one a year and a half, and a 120-credit one two years.

Every official master's includes a final project (trabajo de fin de máster) of 6 to 30 ECTS credits, defended in a public session. Work placements, where a programme has them, may not exceed one third of the credits. Teaching may be on campus, hybrid or online, and the study plan must state which.

Masters in Spain with a foreign bachelor's degree

Article 18 of Royal Decree 822/2021 sets out two situations for graduates from outside Spain:

• Degrees from a country in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA): they give access if they allow entry to master's studies in that country.
• Degrees from education systems outside the EHEA: they give access without homologation (homologación) of the degree. The university checks the level of the degree instead. It must be equivalent to a Spanish bachelor's degree and must allow entry to postgraduate study in the country that issued it.

The second route has a limit. Admission this way does not homologate the earlier degree and does not recognise it for any purpose other than taking the master's.

Each university or centre regulates admission. It may set specific requirements and, where needed, bridging courses (complementos formativos) of up to 20 per cent of the credits of the degree. Universities must publish their admission procedures in a transparent and accessible way, so the first step is the admissions page of the programme.

Homologation is a separate procedure handled by the ministry. Royal Decree 889/2022 defines it as recognition of a foreign degree against a Spanish degree that is required to practise a regulated profession. A declaration of equivalence recognises only the academic level, bachelor's or master's, without professional effects.

Master's degrees for regulated professions

Some official master's degrees qualify the holder to practise a regulated profession (máster habilitante). For these the government sets the degree required for entry and part of the content and placements. Two examples:

• Secondary school, vocational training and language teaching: practising requires an official master's degree, regulated by Order ECI/3858/2007.
• General health psychologist (Psicólogo General Sanitario): Law 33/2011 requires a degree in Psychology and, in addition, the official Máster en Psicología General Sanitaria.

Anyone who plans to practise one of these professions in Spain should ask the university whether a foreign degree meets the entry requirement and whether it must be homologated first.

Fees: the price per credit

For official degrees at public universities, the price of a credit is a public price set by each autonomous community. It therefore varies widely between regions. The latest figures in the ministry's statistics on public university prices are for the 2024-25 academic year. The table shows the average price of a master's credit at first enrolment, in euros.

These are averages of the degrees taught at public universities, rounded to two decimals. Galicia has the lowest average and the Community of Madrid the highest. Repeating a subject costs more: for master's degrees linked to regulated professions, the national average at second enrolment was 34.20 per credit.

These prices do not apply to own degrees or to private universities, which publish their own fees. The ministry's search tool Qué estudiar y dónde en la universidad (in Spanish) shows the number of credits and the price per credit of each degree. To lower the cost, see the scholarships for studying in Spain.

From a master's to a doctorate

As a general rule, entry to an official doctoral programme requires an official bachelor's degree and an official master's degree that together add up to at least 300 ECTS credits. A 240-credit bachelor's and a 60-credit master's reach that figure.

Royal Decree 99/2011 also admits holders of a degree from an education system outside the EHEA, without homologation. The university first checks that the degree is equivalent to a Spanish official master's and gives access to doctoral studies in the country that issued it. A doctorate lasts at most four years full time.

What to check before you enrol

• The degree appears in the RUCT as a Máster Universitario. If it is called Máster de Formación Permanente, it is an own degree.
• The documents the university asks for to check a foreign degree, and its application deadlines.
• The number of credits: it decides the length, the cost and access to a doctorate.
• The price per credit in that region, and whether the master's is one for a regulated profession.
• If the aim is to practise a regulated profession, whether the earlier degree needs homologation.

Programmes can be found through the directory of universities in Spain and the list of higher education centres in Spain.

Frequently asked questions

How long is a master's degree in Spain?

An official master's has 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. At 60 credits per academic year, that is one, one and a half or two years of full-time study.

Can international students do a master in Spain without homologating their degree?

Yes. A degree from outside the EHEA gives access without homologation, once the university has checked its level. Homologation is the separate procedure for practising a regulated profession.

Is a university's own master's the same as an official one?

No. An own master's is called Máster de Formación Permanente and is not an official degree. Universities must keep it clearly apart from their official degrees in their information.

Who sets master's fees in Spain?

At public universities, the autonomous community sets the public price per credit for official degrees. Own degrees and private universities have their own fees.