Nuclear Physics Schools and Programs in Spain

Nuclear Physics Studies in Spain

Nuclear physics studies the atomic nucleus: what it is made of, what holds it together and what happens in nuclear reactions and decays. Students who specialise in it learn nuclear structure, nuclear reactions, experimental techniques with detectors and accelerators, radiation physics and radiation protection. The field is a basis for research, and also for medical physics, nuclear energy and the analysis of materials.

In Spain nuclear physics is not a bachelor's degree of its own. Students reach it through a bachelor's degree in Physics (or a related field such as Chemistry or Engineering), then specialise with an officially recognised master's degree and, later, a doctorate.

How the studies are organised

Under Royal Decree 822/2021, Spanish university degrees follow three cycles: bachelor's degrees (grados) of 240 ECTS credits, normally four years; master's degrees of 60, 90 or 120 credits; and a doctorate, which is open to students who have completed 300 credits across the two earlier cycles. The doctorate ends with the defence of a doctoral thesis and leads to the official title of Doctor. All official degrees appear in the Ministry's Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos (RUCT), where it is worth checking that a programme is still running before applying.

The interuniversity Master's in Nuclear Physics

The most specific option is the Máster Universitario en Física Nuclear, an official master's degree offered jointly by six Spanish universities, among them the Universidad de Sevilla, the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Universitat de Barcelona and the Universidad de Salamanca. The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) takes part through the Institute of Structure of Matter (IEM, Madrid) and the Institute for Corpuscular Physics (IFIC, Valencia), together with CIEMAT. The programme continues the former interuniversity PhD programme in Nuclear Physics and the courses organised since 1998 by the Nuclear Physics Division of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.

• Length: 60 ECTS credits, the equivalent of a full academic year
• Master's thesis: 24 credits, about three months of full-time work
• Languages of instruction: Spanish and English
• Format: each course concentrates its classroom time in one week, followed by supervised work from the student's home university
• Subjects: nuclear structure, nuclear reactions, experimental and applied nuclear physics, weak interactions, hadronic physics, nuclear astrophysics and radiation protection

For experimental work, the master's lists facilities such as the National Accelerator Centre in Seville, CIEMAT in Madrid and the accelerator of the Community of Madrid (CMAM).

There is also a two-year joint European master's, NucPhys, worth 120 ECTS credits and taught by a consortium of six universities in Spain, France and Italy, including the Universidad de Sevilla and the Universitat de Barcelona. It is registered in the RUCT as an Erasmus Mundus master's in Nuclear Physics, and its website states that applications for the 2027-2029 intake open in autumn 2026.

Doctorate and research

Students who want to do research continue with a doctorate. The Universidade de Santiago de Compostela runs a doctoral programme in Nuclear and Particle Physics (Programa de Doctorado en Física Nuclear y de Partículas) that is registered in the RUCT. At other universities nuclear physics is usually part of broader physics doctoral programmes, so applicants should first identify a research group and a possible thesis supervisor.

Admission and language

For the interuniversity master's, the entry degree must suit the programme. Degrees in Physics and Chemistry have high preference; several engineering degrees, Environmental Sciences and Mathematics have medium preference, and applicants with these degrees must show adequate knowledge of quantum mechanics. Selection weighs the average academic grade (80%), languages (10%) and professional experience (10%). International students whose first language is not Spanish must certify Spanish or English at level B2. At the Andalusian universities, master's applications go through the regional government's (Junta de Andalucía) admission system.

NucPhys asks for a bachelor's degree in Physics (or, with lower preference, Chemistry, Engineering or Applied Mathematics) and B2 English, for example a TOEFL score of at least 78 or an academic IELTS score of 6.0.

Students who have not yet taken a bachelor's degree and finished secondary school outside Spain usually start with UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' academic records for admission to Spanish bachelor's degrees.

Recognition of the qualification

Master's degrees and doctorates registered in the RUCT are official qualifications in Spain. To use a foreign university degree in Spain, Royal Decree 889/2022 sets out three routes: homologation (homologación), which gives access to a regulated profession; a declaration of equivalence, which certifies the academic level (bachelor's or master's); and the recognition of individual subjects to continue studying.

Careers

According to the master's itself, training in nuclear physics is useful for future researchers and for work in medical physics, radiology, environmental radioactivity, nuclear techniques for multi-elemental analysis, nuclear dating techniques and nuclear power plants. The programme also mentions projects such as ITER, in which Spain is heavily involved, that need people trained in nuclear physics. There are no official employment statistics for this specialisation.

Frequently asked questions

Can you take a bachelor's degree in Nuclear Physics in Spain?

No. Nuclear physics is a specialisation: students first take a bachelor's degree in Physics or another science, then an official master's degree such as the interuniversity Máster Universitario en Física Nuclear and, for a research career, a doctorate.

What language is the Master's in Nuclear Physics taught in?

The interuniversity master's is taught in Spanish and English. International students who do not speak Spanish must certify level B2 in Spanish or English.

How long does the master's take?

The interuniversity master's has 60 ECTS credits, one full-time academic year, including a 24-credit master's thesis. The European NucPhys master's lasts two years and has 120 credits.

What can you do with nuclear physics?

Besides research, the specialisation is useful in medical physics, radiology, environmental radioactivity, nuclear analysis and dating techniques and nuclear power plants, according to the interuniversity master's.