The Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, UAM), founded in 1968, has its main campus at Cantoblanco in the north of Madrid. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, it was 226th in the world, the fourth-highest-ranked university in Spain and the second-highest in Madrid. It’s known for the sciences, medicine, law, economics, psychology and the humanities.
UAM’s degrees are mainly taught in Spanish, and admission depends on your mark and the cut-off for your chosen degree, so international students need to plan their accreditation early. Here are 10 things you can do to give yourself the best chance, based on UAM’s own guidance and official Spanish government information.
1. Prove your Spanish at B2 level
Spanish at B2 level is required for most degrees at the universities in the Madrid region’s single admissions system (Distrito Único de Madrid), including UAM, and some degrees have extra requirements of their own. Only a limited number of courses are taught in English, so most international students will need to study in Spanish.
2. Get your school qualification accredited
Spanish public universities admit students by an admission mark. If your school qualification is from an EU country, the International Baccalaureate, the European Baccalaureate or a country with a reciprocity agreement (such as the UK, China, Switzerland or Norway), you apply to UNEDasiss, run by Spain’s national distance university, for an accreditation that converts your grades to a mark of 5 to 10. If your qualification is from another country, such as the US or India, you usually need to have it officially recognised (homologated) by Spain’s Ministry of Education or go through UNEDasiss. You then apply through the Madrid region’s single admissions system (Distrito Único de Madrid). UNEDasiss.
3. Raise your admission mark with the PCE
Popular degrees have high cut-off marks (notas de corte), and the maximum admission mark is 14. You can add up to 4 points by taking UNEDasiss’s subject exams, the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE), or the optional phase of Spain’s university entrance exam, in subjects that count extra for your chosen degree. PCE results stay valid for three academic years, so you can take them a year early.
4. Know which group you’re in
Applicants with an UNEDasiss accreditation from an EU or reciprocity-agreement system compete for places in Group 1, alongside Spanish students, and can reach an admission mark of up to 14. If you have only a provisional UNEDasiss accreditation, your admission is conditional: you must send the final accreditation on time, and your final mark must be at least as high as the last student admitted to that degree. UAM: admission from foreign education systems.
5. Apply in the Madrid pre-enrolment
You apply for your degree through the Madrid region’s pre-enrolment. For 2026-27, results of the ordinary round were published on 10 July 2026 and results of the extraordinary round on 3 September 2026. Students who only have their school qualification recognised, without meeting the subject requirements, can apply for places left unfilled after both rounds.
6. Use the weighting tables to choose your PCE subjects
UAM’s weighting table shows which subjects count most (with a weighting of 0.2) for each degree. Choose your PCE subjects to match, because the two best weighted results count towards your admission mark. Check the previous year’s cut-off marks to see how high you need to aim.
7. Understand the fees
UAM’s prices are set by the Madrid region. A first-enrolment credit costs €16.92 to €20.68 for residents and EU students, depending on the subject, or about €1,000 to €1,250 for a 60-credit year. Non-EU students who aren’t residents pay the fourth-enrolment rate, €113.71 to €136.44 per credit, or about €6,800 to €8,200 a year, and a student stay authorisation doesn’t count as residence.
8. Budget for life in Madrid
Living near the Cantoblanco campus or along the commuter train line can be cheaper than central Madrid, but rents are high across the city. Start looking for accommodation as soon as you have a place, and budget for rent, food and transport.
9. Get your student visa
EU citizens don’t need a visa to study in Spain, but they must register as residents if they stay more than three months. If you’re from outside the EU, you apply for a student visa (a long-term stay for studies) at the Spanish consulate in your country once the UAM has admitted you. You’ll need to show that you can support yourself, normally 100% of Spain’s IPREM indicator for each month of your stay (€600 a month in 2025), or half that if your accommodation is already paid, plus health insurance. If your course lasts more than six months, you must apply for a foreigner identity card (TIE) within a month of arriving. Spanish consulate: student visa.
10. Plan for work during and after your studies
Since Spain’s new immigration regulation came into force in May 2025, a long-term study authorisation for higher education automatically lets you work up to 30 hours a week, as long as the job is compatible with your studies, with no separate work permit. After you graduate with a bachelor’s degree or higher, you can apply for a residence permit to look for a job or start a business. The Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet says this permit lasts up to 24 months, but you can’t work while you hold it, so you’ll need to switch to a work permit once you find a job. Rules change, so check the latest guidance with the UAM’s international office.
Applying for a master’s or PhD at UAM?
UAM runs an early admission route for international students applying to its official master’s programmes, with applications open from 1 October 2026 to 8 January 2027. Each master’s sets its own requirements, and non-EU students who aren’t residents pay a higher price per credit. For a PhD, apply through UAM’s doctoral school. See our 50 sample SOPs and free GRE practice tests.
Be ambitious, but apply to a balanced list
Popular degrees have high cut-off marks, so apply to other options too. Read our guides to the University of Barcelona, Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. Our guide to studying in Spain explains how the Spanish system works, and our free study abroad assessment can help you build a shortlist.
Information was taken from the Autonomous University of Madrid’s official admissions and fee documents, UNEDasiss, Spanish government sources and the QS World University Rankings 2027, and checked in October 2026. Admissions rules, deadlines, fees and immigration rules can change, so always confirm the details on UAM’s admissions website before you apply. StudyAbroadMarket is not affiliated with the Autonomous University of Madrid.