Costs · 15 min read

Studying Medicine at a private university in Spain: real costs and how to get in

For many students coming from abroad, a private university is not plan B: it is the only realistic door into Medicine in Spain. But it has a price worth facing squarely, and a calendar almost everyone discovers too late.

There is a conversation that repeats every spring. A family writes to me with the admission mark worked out, which is good but does not reach the high thirteen that public faculties ask for, and asks whether there are still options. There are. But often they have already shrunk, because private universities have been admitting students for months.

This article is not trying to persuade you to study at a private university, or not to. It is trying to put the numbers and the calendar in front of you before the decision makes itself.

When a private university makes sense

For a Spanish student a private university is usually the alternative when the mark falls short. For an international student the situation is different, and there are three cases where it makes sense to consider it from the start, not as a second choice.

• When your access mark has a low ceiling. If your UNEDasiss accreditation comes out around eight and the PCE add three, your mark stays at eleven. Public faculties ask for more than thirteen. That gap does not close with effort in a single year.
• When your documentation timeline is tight. If legalisation and homologation are going to take months, a private university's own admission, based on record and interview, may fit your deadlines better than public preregistration.
• When you need small groups or teaching in English. Some private universities teach part of the degree in English and in small groups, something that is exceptional in the public system.

If none of the three applies and your mark can compete, the public university is still the most reasonable option for one simple reason: it costs a fraction.

What it costs, university by university

These are first year prices for the Medicine degree for 2026/27, taken from the fees each university publishes. One warning before reading the table: they are not fully comparable. Some universities include the place deposit, others charge it separately, and others add administration fees or file opening charges.

The range runs from about 14,000 to about 25,000 euros a year. The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive, over six years, exceeds 60,000 euros. That is why choosing a private university is not only an academic decision: it is one of the largest financial decisions your family will make.

Prices are revised every year and almost always upwards. Take them as a guide and confirm the exact amount on each university's website before deciding.

The cost of the whole degree

Medicine takes six years. On top of annual tuition comes the cost of living, and there the city weighs as much as the university.

These are deliberately broad guideline figures, because living in Madrid or Barcelona does not cost the same as living in Murcia or Zaragoza. The detailed breakdown of living costs is in the article on the real cost of studying Medicine in Spain.

There is also a point many families overlook: if you need a student visa, the consulate will ask you to prove sufficient financial means to cover your stay. With private tuition that calculation goes up, and it has to be settled before applying for the visa, not after.

The non EU surcharge exists here too

At public universities it is well known that students from outside the European Union pay more per credit in many regions. Fewer people know that some private universities also distinguish.

The clearest case in the table is UCAM, which publishes 14,200 euros for European Union students and 18,900 for non EU students. That is a difference of 4,700 euros a year, more than 28,000 over the degree.

Not every private university makes this distinction, but none puts it on the front page. When you ask for information, ask explicitly whether the published price is the one that applies to you as a Syrian, Omani, Moroccan or Gulf student. In writing.

How you get in: tests, interview and record

Private universities do not allocate places by cutoff mark as the public system does. They run their own admission, and although each organises it differently, almost all combine three pieces.

1. An admission test. Biology, chemistry and sometimes reasoning or reading comprehension. Some use international standardised tests and others their own exam.
2. A personal interview. It carries more weight than it seems. They assess motivation, maturity and your ability to communicate in the teaching language. For international students some universities hold it online or through a representative in your country.
3. Your academic record. Your school marks, which for an international student are normally read through the UNEDasiss accreditation.

A university's own admission does not exempt you from the official procedures. To complete enrolment almost all of them ask for the UNEDasiss accreditation or homologation of your school certificate, and without that document the place is not confirmed. The difference is that many will admit you conditionally while the procedure is resolved.

Nor does it mean the level is low. The Medicine test at the most demanded private universities is tough, and the interview filters. Preparing for it seriously is the difference between getting into the university you wanted and the one that was left.

The calendar runs ahead of the public system

This is the point that costs most to ignore, which is why it gets a section of its own.

Public preregistration is resolved in summer, after the access exams. Private universities, by contrast, open admission much earlier: in many cases between the autumn and spring of the previous academic year, in successive rounds, filling places as they go.

The consequence is uncomfortable. The strategy of waiting to see whether you get into a public university and, if not, going private, works worse than it looks. By the time the public lists come out, the most demanded private universities may have their Medicine places filled or nearly so.

The place deposit: what you pay and what you risk

When a private university admits you, it asks for a deposit to hold the place. It is usually somewhere between a few hundred and a few thousand euros, and in many cases it is later deducted from tuition.

What matters is the small print. At most universities the deposit is not refunded if you end up not enrolling, even if the reason is that you got into a public university. At others there are exceptions, for example if you do not obtain the visa or if the UNEDasiss procedure is not completed in time.

Before paying, ask three things in writing: whether the deposit is refundable, under what circumstances, and whether it is deducted from tuition. Those three answers tell you exactly how much money you are risking.

Public and private: what really changes

What does not change. The degree. A Medicine degree from a recognised private university is an official qualification with the same validity as a public one. You register with the medical college the same way and sit the same MIR exam, under the same conditions.

What changes in your favour. Smaller groups, more individual follow up and, at some universities, partial teaching in English. For a student still consolidating their Spanish, that can make a real difference in the first years.

What deserves close scrutiny. The hospitals where clinical placements take place. It is what varies most between universities and what weighs most in your clinical training. A private university with agreements with large, varied hospitals is worth more than one with a single reference hospital, even at the same price.

Scholarships and funding

General state scholarships for university study usually require Spanish or European Union nationality, or legal residence in Spain under certain conditions. With a study stay authorisation, the usual situation is that you cannot apply for them. It is worth confirming for your specific case, because the conditions change.

What does exist are each private university's own scholarships and grants: for academic record, financial situation, siblings enrolled or company agreements. They usually cover a percentage of tuition, not all of it, and often require maintaining an average mark to be renewed.

The third route is study loans. Some universities have agreements with banks, and some Gulf countries have government scholarship programmes for studying Medicine abroad. If you are from Oman, the Emirates or Saudi Arabia, it is worth checking whether your ministry of education has a programme that covers Spanish universities.

How to compare private universities

If you have already decided on a private university, these are the questions worth asking each one before deciding. All of them can be asked in writing and all of them have an answer.

1. In which hospitals do clinical placements take place? How many, how large and how far from campus.
2. How many students are there per group? In lectures and in practicals.
3. What language is the teaching in? And if there are groups in English, in which years.
4. What price applies to me as a non EU student? With every item: deposit, tuition, admin fees, insurance.
5. How does the price rise from one year to the next? Some freeze the entry price and others update it every year.
6. What happens to the deposit if I do not obtain the visa?

And one question you do not need to ask, because the answer is in the city: how much it costs to live there. A university two thousand euros cheaper in a much more expensive city can end up costing more.

An example with numbers: two private options, six years

To show how much the city changes the sum, I compare two real options from the table for the same non EU student. Tuition figures are first year prices kept flat to simplify, so the real figure will be somewhat higher in both cases.

The difference is around 45,000 euros, and almost two thirds of it comes not from tuition but from rent and the cost of living in Madrid. It is exactly the kind of figure that never appears when universities are compared by their headline price.

That does not mean the cheaper option is the better one. It means the decision has to be made with the full sum on the table, adding what matters academically, such as the placement hospitals, and what matters financially, such as the city.

The mistakes that cost the most money

1. Using a private university as a summer plan B. By then the calendar has left you few options.
2. Comparing tuition only. The city, the nationality surcharge and the annual increase change the real cost more than the headline figure.
3. Not asking about the non EU price. If it exists, you will not see it highlighted.
4. Paying the deposit without reading the conditions. Especially if you are still waiting for the public lists or the visa.
5. Forgetting the UNEDasiss procedure. A university's own admission does not exempt you from it, and without it the place is not confirmed.
6. Choosing by name rather than by hospitals. What trains you as a doctor is clinical practice, not the prestige of the campus.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to study Medicine at a private university in Spain?

For 2026/27 the first year ranges roughly from 14,000 to 25,000 euros depending on the university. Across the six years of the degree, tuition alone comes to between 90,000 and 150,000 euros, before accommodation and living costs.

Is a degree from a private university worth the same as one from a public university?

Yes. A Medicine degree from a recognised private university is an official qualification with the same validity as a public one, and it gives access to the same MIR exam.

Do I need to sit the PCE to get into a private university?

Not always. Private universities run their own admission with a test, an interview and an assessment of your record, although most ask for the UNEDasiss accreditation or homologation of your school certificate to complete enrolment.

Can I wait to see if I get into a public university and then go private?

It is risky. Many private universities open admission months before the public system and fill much of their places before the public lists come out. Those who wait usually find fewer options.

Is there a different price for students from outside the European Union?

At some universities, yes. UCAM, for example, publishes one price for European Union students and a higher one for non EU students. It is always worth asking explicitly.

If you are not yet sure of your access mark, start with how cutoff marks are calculated. And if you will need a visa, the financial means you will be asked for depend on what you decide here.

Published on 26 September 2026 · Salam Aiach