Social Education Schools and Programs in Spain

Social Education Studies in Spain

Social education (Educación Social) prepares professionals to work with people and communities outside the school system: young people at risk, adults in training, older people, migrants, people with disabilities or addictions. The Universidad de Salamanca describes the social educator as a professional who responds to social needs by preventing, alleviating or correcting processes of social exclusion while promoting inclusion and participation. In Spain it is a four-year university degree, taught mainly in Spanish.

How the degree is organised

Under Royal Decree 822/2021, Spanish bachelor's degrees (grados) have 240 ECTS credits, organised as 60 credits per year, and master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 credits. The Grado en Educación Social follows this model. At the Universidad de Salamanca, the first year covers basic training in pedagogy, psychology, sociology, language and communication; the second and third years add subjects such as didactics, social pedagogy, developmental psychology, research and evaluation and labour law; and the final year is taken up by electives, a 30-credit compulsory work placement (Practicum) and a 6-credit final project.

Supervised practice is a large part of every programme. The Universidad de Granada's degree, for example, has 60 elective credits and a compulsory 24-credit external placement. Some universities offer double degrees: Salamanca combines Social Education with Information and Documentation.

Where to study social education in Spain

A search for "Educación Social" in RUCT, the Ministry's register of official degrees, returns 46 records, including older plans that are being phased out. Madrid, Murcia, Barcelona, Alcalá de Henares, Valencia and Oviedo have the most schools in our directory for this subject. Examples of universities with an official Grado en Educación Social in RUCT:

• Madrid region: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad de Alcalá
• Catalonia: Universitat de Barcelona and Universidad de Vic-Universidad Central de Catalunya
• Valencia and Murcia: Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir and Universidad de Murcia
• Northern Spain: Universidad de Oviedo, Universidad de A Coruña, Universidad de Vigo, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Universidad de Deusto and Universidad del País Vasco
• Castile and León: Universidad de Salamanca and Universidad de Valladolid
• Andalusia: Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Almería and Universidad de Huelva
• Other regions: Universidad de Extremadura, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha and Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Distance and online: UNED and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)

The Universidad de Salamanca offers 80 first-year places for 2026-27, taught in Spanish, and its last published cut-off mark (June 2025) was 7.284. In Catalonia, the Valencia region, Galicia and the Basque Country some classes may be taught in the co-official language, so check the language of each course.

Admission and recognition

Students who finished secondary school outside Spain usually apply first to UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' records and runs the tests needed to enter Spanish bachelor's degrees. The application for a place is then made at each university within its own deadlines.

Royal Decree 889/2022 sets out how foreign university degrees are recognised in Spain: equivalence (equivalencia) certifies the academic level of a degree, convalidation (convalidación) lets you continue university studies, and homologation (homologación) is needed only for regulated professions.

Careers and further study

The Universidad de Salamanca lists a wide range of jobs, in public administration and private organisations: sociocultural work in cultural centres and social organisations, prisons and rehabilitation centres; services for children and young people in conflict; prevention teams working with alcohol and drug addiction; support for people with disabilities; community development, volunteering and NGOs; education for older people, support for migrants and job-placement programmes; and environmental education. Social educators in Spain have their own professional colleges, grouped in the Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Educadoras y Educadores Sociales (CGCEES).

The degree gives access to master's and doctoral studies. Salamanca suggests official master's degrees such as International Cooperation for Development and Public Services and Social Policies. UNED notes that the degree does not give direct access to public secondary-school teaching posts.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a social education degree take in Spain?

The Grado en Educación Social has 240 ECTS credits and lasts four years, including a compulsory work placement.

Can I study social education online?

Yes. UNED and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) both offer the official degree at a distance.

What is the difference between social education and social work?

They are separate degrees. Social education focuses on educational intervention with groups and communities, for example in sociocultural work, prevention and support for young people, older people or migrants.

How do I apply with a secondary school qualification from another country?

Most students apply for accreditation through UNEDasiss, which assesses international students' records for access to Spanish bachelor's degrees, and then apply to each university within its deadlines.