Applying to UCM (Complutense Madrid) from abroad: route, Spanish B2, costs

Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) admits a school-leaver with a foreign diploma through the public route: you have the diploma processed by UNEDasiss (after a Ministry homologación if it comes from a non-EU country without a reciprocity agreement), then you file one online preinscripción for the public universities of Madrid. UCM's latest published calendar is for curso 2026/2027, and its window for applicants from foreign education systems ran from 5 June to 6 July 2026, so it has already closed. UCM's calendar page is still headed Calendario de Preinscripción 2026-2027.

Which route you take depends on your diploma. If you finished secondary school in an EU member state or a reciprocity country, or hold the IB Diploma or the European Baccalaureate, you ask UNEDasiss for the "Verificación" and the "Calificación de Admisión". If your diploma comes from any other system, you first ask the Spanish Ministry of Education for homologación and then ask UNEDasiss for the Acreditación de Modalidad de Bachillerato. UCM itself states that access differs between these two groups of systems.

Spanish is part of the entry file. According to UCM's page as of October 2026, a national of a non-Spanish-speaking country who comes from a school system whose language is not Spanish must show Spanish at level B2, unless the memoria of the Grado sets another level. The Spanish requirement chapter below shows what counts as proof.

Fees are charged per credit. UCM states that the annual amount is the number of ECTS credits you enrol in multiplied by the price per credit, which depends on how experimental the Grado is. UCM's English fees page, as of October 2026, says the Comunidad de Madrid approves the prices every year in July or August. Foreign Grado students over 18 who are not residents in Spain, and who are not EU nationals, pay the fourth-enrolment price. For curso 2026/2027 that price is €113.71 per ECTS in the cheapest group of Grados and €136.44 in the most expensive one, without prejudice to international agreements or treaties.

Ranking. UCM says in its own press release that it reached position 199 in the QS World University Rankings 2027. That is the university's own claim, not a table from QS.

UCM says it reached position 199 in the QS World University Rankings 2027, second among Spanish universities behind the Universidad de Barcelona. That is the university's own claim from a press release, not a table from QS. What UCM itself puts forward is a history that goes back to 1499, a wide range of Grados and prices set per credit by the Comunidad de Madrid.

What UCM reports for QS 2027

UCM published the result on 18 June 2026. It says the university is "en el top 200 mundial", the second best in Spain and the first in Madrid. Its press release adds that UCM sits among the best 13.2% of universities in the world.

The same press release names employability as UCM's best indicator. In a separate QS 5 Stars audit, UCM scored 883 out of 1,000 points and received the category "Excelente".

History, in UCM's words

UCM's history page, as of October 2026, says Cardinal Cisneros founded the university under the "Inter cetera" papal bull of Pope Alexander VI on 13 April 1499. Construction of the college finished in 1508 and students began studying there the same year. The Central University of Madrid was established by order on 3 October 1822, combining the studies of the university in Alcalá, of San Isidoro and of the Natural Sciences Museum.

As of October 2026, UCM describes itself as a university with 500 years of history. It says its prestige is backed by 7 Nobel prizes, 20 Príncipe de Asturias awards and 7 Cervantes prizes. These are the university's own counts of prizes linked to it.

For curso 2026/2027, the Complutense cut-off for Medicine was 13.053 on a scale of 14, for Dentistry 12.728 and for Psychology 10.544, all for access group 1 in the ordinary phase. These marks come from the 2026/2027 table, which belongs to the cycle that opened in June 2026; they are a guide for 2027 entry, not the 2027/2028 cut-offs.

A nota de corte is the final admission mark of the last student who got a place. UCM states that the last admitted student in each access group sets the cut-off for that university and Grado, and that cut-offs from earlier years are only a guide to the mark you need.

The table is a gate, not a promise. A mark at or above the cut-off would have won a place in 2026/2027, but cut-offs move every year with demand, and UCM gives no cut-off for a future cycle.

Which access group you compete in

The cut-off table splits applicants into access groups. For foreign education systems, UCM's page as of October 2026 puts students with a diploma equivalent to the Spanish Bachillerato from an EU or reciprocity system into group 1, and students with a homologated Bachillerato and an Acreditación de Modalidad de Bachillerato into group 1. Students with a homologated Bachillerato and no access tests fall into group 6, which has its own column in the table. The marks above are the group 1 column.

Places and admit rate. UCM lists the places for each Grado for 2026/2027, such as 325 in Medicine and 350 in Pharmacy. The list gives places, not applications or an admit rate.

Complutense splits foreign applicants by education system: diplomas from EU states, reciprocity countries, the IB and the European Baccalaureate go through a UNEDasiss verification, while diplomas from other countries need Ministry homologación plus a UNEDasiss Acreditación de Modalidad de Bachillerato. UCM says plainly that access differs between these two groups, and the group decides which UCM mark column you compete in.

Equivalent diplomas and reciprocity countries

According to UCM's page as of October 2026, the equivalent-diploma route covers students who finished secondary school in an EU member state, with the IB Diploma Programme or with the European Baccalaureate. UCM also gives a list of countries with a reciprocity convention on university access, whose school-leaving studies count as the Spanish Bachillerato: Andorra, Colombia, China, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. UCM's Early Admission page gives a list of the same countries without Iceland, so check Iceland directly with UCM if it applies to you.

On that page, your first step is the UNEDasiss "Verificación" and "Calificación de Admisión". The UNEDasiss document is valid for 2 years from issue. To raise the mark you can sit the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE) at UNED, which UCM says remain valid for three academic years, or ask for recognition of subjects from your home system (not available for China, Colombia and the United Kingdom, and limited to subjects taken in the 2 years before the UNED accreditation). The two best grades among the subjects that weigh most for the Grados you apply to are the ones that count.

Other countries: homologación and the modality accreditation

If you finished secondary school in a non-EU state with no reciprocity agreement, you ask the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to homologate the diploma and then ask UNEDasiss for the Acreditación de Modalidad de Bachillerato. According to UCM's page as of October 2026, there are two ways to earn it: pass at least three PCE subjects, or reach an average of 5 points in 4 PCE subjects, with at least one PCE from each block.

The same page also covers students from EU or reciprocity systems who do not meet the university-access requirements in their country of origin.

Homologated Bachillerato without access tests

According to UCM's page as of October 2026, students with a homologated Bachillerato and no access tests can only apply in the extraordinary pre-registration and UCM considers them last when places are shared out. They fall into group 6. If the Ministry credential does not state a final grade, UCM treats the mark you compete with as 5.00.

The UNED admission mark

The UNED admission mark is at most 10 points, and the university can add up to 4 more for recognised subjects or passed PCE.

In its ordinary procedure Complutense orders applicants with the same legal priority by nota de admisión. According to UCM's pages as of October 2026, the nota de admisión is your access mark (for a UNEDasiss mark, at most 10 points) plus up to 4 extra points from the two best weighted subjects, which makes the scale run to 14. UCM publishes the weighting table for curso 2027/2028 as a PDF, the one that matches autumn 2027 entry.

For applicants from foreign education systems, the admission mark is the one UNEDasiss calculates, at most 10 points. Which subjects weigh for your Grado is set by the ponderaciones, a table of coefficients by subject and Grado.

Ponderaciones: 2026/2027 and 2027/2028

UCM publishes a weighting table for curso 2026-2027 on its page of Bachillerato subject weightings, and a separate PDF named "Cuadro de Ponderaciones de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid Curso 2027/2028". Use the 2027/2028 PDF for autumn 2027 entry.

UCM's page also states, as of October 2026, that for Bachillerato students who passed the university access test, the foreign language passed in the access phase does not weigh.

Who gets a place first

UCM allocates places in three steps. Applications that meet the requirements and are filed correctly in the ordinary call of the current year come first. The extraordinary call of the current year comes second. Remaining places go third to students with a homologated bachiller title who have not passed any access test. Applications in equal conditions under the legal priorities are ordered by nota de admisión. According to UCM's page as of October 2026, some places are reserved: 3% for high-level and high-performance athletes, with an extra 5% in three Grados (Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, Maestro en Educación Primaria and Fisioterapia).

Interviews and essays

In the ordinary procedure, applications in equal conditions under the legal priorities are ordered by nota de admisión. The separate Early Admission call is different: it asks for a motivation letter and weighs several criteria, covered in the Early Admission chapter.

A foreign-system applicant can raise the access mark with the PCE subject exams at UNED, and some programmes add a test of their own. The Título Internacional Derecho UCM - Sorbonne has a specific test with a fee of €87.48, according to UCM's page as of October 2026. For curso 2026/2027, the UCM-Sciences Po Toulouse double degree held a written admissibility test on Saturday 21 March 2026 and an oral admission test on Monday 13 April 2026; both dates have passed.

PCE exams at UNED

The Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE) are the UNED subject exams that stand in for the Spanish optional-phase subjects when you come from a foreign education system. UCM's page, as of October 2026, says the PCE are valid for three academic years. They feed the nota de admisión through the weighting coefficients described in the previous chapter.

UCM's FAQ adds a general rule for the Spanish optional-phase subjects: a grade counts for admission for three academic years, so a subject passed in 2024-2025 is valid for the admission processes of 2025-2026, 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. That example is about the Spanish access exam, not about the PCE.

The Sorbonne law test

UCM's page on the specific access test for the Título Internacional Derecho UCM - Sorbonne, as of October 2026, gives the dates below, but it does not name a year, so do not read them as 2027 deadlines. The information sheet for the test is headed curso académico 2026-2027 (ordinary phase). Registration runs through a special pre-registration window in the Distrito Único; confirm the window and the test days for 2027 with UCM.

The 2026/2027 information sheet says the test includes an individual interview in French to assess oral expression and comprehension, and that the result is APTO or NO APTO. According to UCM's page as of October 2026, an APTO does not mean you have been admitted, and the tests are valid for three consecutive academic years. The fee is €87.48, or €43.74 for large-family general or semi-free status. Candidates attend the test with a DNI, NIE or passport, and an application for a Grado with a specific test needs the receipt for payment of the test fee.

Grados with additional requirements

A separate UCM page lists Grados with additional admission requirements: the Bachelor of Arts in European Studies, Traducción e Interpretación, Maestro en Educación Primaria, the English-taught ADE and Economía, and the double degree Derecho-ADE in English, and the list continues on the page (according to UCM's page as of October 2026).

For curso 2026-27, UCM says Traducción e Interpretación needs no specific language test. It asks for English at level B2 or an official equivalent. Exempt are students of English-speaking nationality and those who studied their access years in English. Applicants without an official English certificate from UCM's table could take an English test set by the Centro de Idiomas Complutense on 18 June 2026, which has passed.

Maestro en Educación Primaria. For this Grado, according to UCM's page as of October 2026, applicants who enter by a route other than the PAU, which includes foreign certificates, need an admission mark of 6 or higher. On the PAU route the page asks for a mark of 5 or higher in the Lengua Castellana y Literatura exercise of the general phase, or a final admission mark of 9 or higher.

UCM-Sciences Po Toulouse double degree. For curso 2026/2027, UCM asked candidates for a high level of use of Spanish and French. The oral test included a part in English, for which B2 in oral comprehension and expression was required. Candidates without a Spanish PAU or EvAU in 2025 and 2026 needed a credential that homologates their foreign secondary titles to the Spanish system.

Complutense admission runs through one online application for the six public universities of Madrid, and the latest calendar UCM has published is for curso 2026/2027: applicants from foreign education systems could apply from 5 June to 6 July 2026, and every date below has passed. Use it as the shape of the 2027/2028 process, not as its dates; UCM's calendar page is still headed Calendario de Preinscripción 2026-2027.

One conflict to know about. UCM's calendar gives the extraordinary phase as 20 to 24 July, while its preinscripción page says to apply from 20 to 24 June for the extraordinary call. The calendar's July dates fit the extraordinary-phase lists on 3 September. If you apply in a future cycle, confirm the dates with UCM.

One application, up to twelve choices

The six public universities of Madrid form a Distrito Único for pre-registration, so you file one online application instead of one per university. You can choose up to 12 studies in order of preference across all six universities.

Documents to upload

All the documents are submitted online through the pre-registration application. For applicants from EU systems and reciprocity-convention countries (the equivalent-diploma route), UCM's page, as of October 2026, lists your ID card, NIE or passport, and the accreditation issued by UNED. UCM says the UNED accreditation document is valid for 2 years from issue. UCM's 2026/2027 calendar says that applicants who did not have their documents by the deadline had their applications resolved in the claims phase.

Enrolment after admission

Once admitted you enrol online: UCM sends you to the "Automatrícula" tool in the academic management portal GEA-UCMnet, which you open with your @ucm.es account. In 2026 the enrolment windows ran from 10 to 14 July for the ordinary phase and from 4 to 8 September for the extraordinary phase.

Foreign Grado students over 18 who are not residents in Spain, and who are not EU nationals, pay the fourth-enrolment prices. In the 2026/2027 cycle, documents on the access requirements were due by 14 October 2026.

Early Admission is Complutense's separate route for students from foreign education systems whose personal and family residence is outside Spain, and the 2026/2027 call took applications from 22 January to 1 April 2026, so it has closed. UCM's Early Admission page is still headed Early Admission 2026-27.

Who it is for. UCM's Early Admission page for 2026/2027 says the procedure is aimed at students from foreign education systems whose personal and family residence is outside Spain. The 2026/2027 call lists as eligible, among others, students with a diploma equivalent to the Bachiller from a non-EU state, IB and European Baccalaureate students in EU systems and in reciprocity countries (Andorra, China, Colombia, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), and students who passed the UCM International Foundation Program or an equivalent Foundation Program, where a collaboration agreement exists. Applicants could ask for a place in up to three Grados in order of preference.

A date conflict. UCM's Spanish text of the page gives the start of the application period as 20 January 2026, while the English text and the call PDF say 22 January. The call PDF is the formal document of the call.

What the call asks for

In the 2026/2027 call, applicants whose nationality was from a non-Spanish-speaking country and whose school system was not in Spanish had to show Spanish at least at level B2, or could send a declaration that the certificate would follow before 15 September 2026. Applicants also uploaded a motivation letter explaining why they wanted a given Grado at UCM. The call set the number of places for each Grado; for curso 2026/2027 it listed, for example, 5 places in Law, 5 in ADE and 40 in Tourism.

How applications are judged

Unlike the ordinary procedure, which ranks by mark, the 2026/2027 Early Admission call weighed several criteria, among them:

• a) the final grade of your diploma or equivalent, and b) your grades in the subjects you studied
• c) how well your curriculum fits the Grado, and d) other academic or professional training
• The 2026/2027 call also said it would prioritise applications from students whose mother tongue is Spanish, English or Portuguese.

The Early Admission route sits outside the 2026/2027 preinscripción windows described in the previous chapter, so it is worth checking UCM's page early in the year you plan to apply.

According to UCM's page as of October 2026, Complutense asks for Spanish at level B2 from nationals of non-Spanish-speaking countries who also come from a school system whose language is not Spanish. A Grado can set a different level in its memoria, and the 2026/2027 Traducción e Interpretación page recommends C1 to the same group, as a recommendation rather than a condition.

Which certificates count directly. A DELE, a SIELE, a certificate from an Escuela Oficial de Idiomas or one from the language institutes of the Madrid Distrito Único universities is enough when you submit it with your application, according to UCM's page as of October 2026. Any other certificate has to be verified and accredited by UNEDasiss.

Who need not have the certificate verified

UCM's page, as of October 2026, says UNEDasiss accreditation of the certificate is not compulsory for students from the Spanish bilingual sections of countries that have signed bilateral agreements with Spain's Ministry of Education: Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and China.

Improving your Spanish at UCM

If you are a foreign student, UCM says, as of October 2026, that you can improve your Spanish at the Centro Complutense para la Enseñanza del Español. The centre also runs the DELE and SIELE exams, so you can sit a certificate that is accepted directly for your application.

Complutense teaches ADE and Economía in English, with 35 and 15 places in 2026/2027, and offers a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies awarded jointly with KU Leuven, Bologna and the Jagiellonian University. Several double degrees also set an English level, and some Grados have a group in English or a bilingual group.

The Grado list on ucm.es marks Física, Matemáticas - Física and the Economía route of Economía - Relaciones Internacionales as offering a group in English. The Maestro en Educación Primaria offers a bilingual Spanish-English group. UCM also has a "Grados con Asignaturas en Inglés" page, which starts with the Faculty of Economics and Business (ADE and Economía) and then lists more faculties.

English level and who has to prove it

ADE in English and Economía in English both ask for a minimum English level equivalent to B2 (ADE, Economía). For both, students from the European Baccalaureate in English, from the IB in English or from EU member-state systems must show that they studied in English (ADE, Economía), and students from non-EU states who enter by international agreement must certify B2 in English (ADE, Economía). This is according to UCM's pages as of October 2026. For UCM's taught-in-English degrees in general, the B2 in English that UCM asks for can come from an accepted official certificate or from a level test at the Centro de Idiomas Complutense. UCM's international study page says undergraduate applicants generally need B2 on the CEFR or an English level test, and tells you to check each degree.

Cut-off marks. In the ordinary call of curso 2026/2027, access group 1 had a cut-off of 10.667 for ADE in English and 9.615 for Economía in English. These marks are a guide, as the cut-off chapter explains, not the 2027/2028 marks.

Double degrees and their language requirements

The European Studies route

The Bachelor of Arts in European Studies is not admitted through the ordinary Madrid preinscripción alone: its page tells you to follow the application procedure at KU Leuven, the coordinating university, and to be accepted there. The start-university deadline on that page is April 1st, 2026, which has passed, and the page gives no later date. The page says Spanish is not required for international students applying to this programme, though it can be required for majors and internships.

How international is the student body?

UCM's page, as of October 2026, says its students come from more than 80 countries and that it has agreements with universities on every continent.

According to UCM's pages as of October 2026, the IB Diploma, the European Baccalaureate and UK school qualifications all use Complutense's equivalent-diploma route with a UNEDasiss verification, while a US high school diploma, which is not on UCM's reciprocity list, or any other non-EU diploma without a reciprocity agreement goes through homologación.

IB and European Baccalaureate

UCM lists the IB Diploma Programme and the European Baccalaureate among the qualifications that start with the UNEDasiss verification. In ADE in English and Economía in English the IB gets a special mention: students from the IB in English or the European Baccalaureate in English must show that they studied in English, according to UCM's page as of October 2026 (same rule for Economía). UCM's Early Admission call for 2026/2027 also lists IB and European Baccalaureate students from EU systems and reciprocity countries as eligible (see the Early Admission chapter).

UK qualifications and A-levels

UCM's page, as of October 2026, names the United Kingdom as a reciprocity country. Subject recognition from your home system is not available for China, Colombia and the United Kingdom, which leaves PCE exams as the way to raise your access mark on this route. UCM's 2026/2027 Early Admission call also let applicants attach their Final Predicted Grades if they had them.

US high school diplomas and other non-EU diplomas

As of October 2026, UCM's homologación route is for students who finished secondary school in states outside the EU that have no reciprocity agreement on access to university. UCM's page on this route does not name the US diploma, so ask UCM or UNEDasiss how a US transcript is treated before you plan around it. The Bachelor of Arts in European Studies does name the USA: for curso 2026/2027 it waives the English test for applicants with a secondary or higher degree from Australia, English-speaking Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the USA, provided they can prove that the entire study was completed in English.

As of October 2026, Complutense lists more than 80 Grado and double Grado titles and more than 140 Master programmes. Its faculties sit on the Moncloa campus, on the Somosaguas campus on the western outskirts and in a few premises in the centre of Madrid. What follows is what UCM itself says about structure, places and joint degrees.

The Moncloa campus hosts the health-science faculties; Somosaguas, on the western outskirts, hosts the social-science and business faculties. The page UCM titles "Estudios" groups the Grados by branch of knowledge, with a separate heading for international titles and for double Grados. Medicine appears twice: an older plan marked "a extinguir" (being phased out) and Medicina Plan 2025.

International and joint degrees

UCM lists its international titles at the top of the Grado page: the Bachelor of European Studies, a joint degree awarded by UCM, KU Leuven, Bologna and Jagiellonian (the Una Europa alliance), and the Joint Bachelor in Sustainability (BASUS), also within Una Europa. It also lists international double degrees with partner universities: Derecho with the Sorbonne, Economía with Université París 1 Pantheón Sorbonne, Administración y Dirección de Empresas with HWR Berlín and Ciencias Políticas with the Instituto de Estudios Políticos de Toulouse. Turismo has an integrated Grado and Máster programme with the Sorbonne. Several of these require extra admission steps, covered in the admissions-tests chapter.

Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy

For curso 2026/2027, UCM lists 325 places in Medicina, 100 in Odontología and 350 in Farmacia. Their group 1 cut-offs in that cycle were 13.053, 12.728 and 11.778 on a scale of 14, the three highest among the Grados in the chapter 3 table. These Grados, with Veterinaria, sit in experimentality level 1, the price band with the highest fees per credit. The general Spanish B2 rule for foreign-system applicants applies unless the Grado's memoria sets another level.

Law, economics and the social sciences

Derecho includes the international Sorbonne title, whose specific test, according to the 2026/2027 information sheet, includes an individual interview in French. UCM also lists a double degree Derecho-ADE in English that, according to its page as of October 2026, asks for English at a minimum level equivalent to B2. The Economics and Business faculty is on the Somosaguas campus, and it publishes the pages for the two English-taught Grados described in the previous chapter.

Research and what UCM says about itself

UCM describes itself as a Campus de Excelencia Internacional with more than 300 funded research groups and projects covering all areas of knowledge. This is the university's own statement.

On graduate outcomes, UCM cites its own QS 2027 result: it says it ranks 85th in the world for employability, first in Spain, with a score of 93.7 out of 100.

Treat these as signals about how employers and QS view the university, not as outcomes for a given degree. They say nothing about how long it takes a graduate of a particular Grado to find work, or what they earn.

The Oficina de Prácticas y Empleo (OPE)

UCM points students to the Oficina de Prácticas y Empleo for work experience and jobs. UCM says, as of October 2026, that it has the largest number of external internship agreements managed through the OPE; that is the university's own claim.

For graduates the OPE runs the Portal de Empleo UCM, a free service that matches qualified job offers from organisations with UCM graduates. UCM also has an entrepreneurship office, the Oficina Complutense del Emprendedor, which advises people who want to start a company and runs workshops on business skills.

Alumni and prizes

UCM says, as of October 2026, that its prestige is backed by 7 Nobel prizes, 20 Príncipe de Asturias awards and 7 Cervantes prizes. These are the university's own counts of prizes linked to it.

In curso 2026/2027 a Complutense Grado costs 16.92 to 20.68 euros per ECTS credit at first enrolment, depending on the Grado, but a non-EU foreign student over 18 who is not a resident in Spain pays the fourth-enrolment price of 113.71 to 136.44 euros per credit, without prejudice to international agreements and treaties. According to UCM's English fees page as of October 2026, the Comunidad de Madrid sets the prices every year in July or August, and UCM's price page is headed CURSO 2026/2027.

UCM states that the annual amount is the number of ECTS credits you enrol in multiplied by the price of each credit for your Grado's level. A full-time student enrols in at least 48 credits a year and a part-time student in at least 24; UCM's English page, as of October 2026, says it is usually 60 ECTS per academic year.

What international students without residence pay

Public universities in Madrid charge the fourth-enrolment price to foreign Grado students over 18 who are not residents, with an exception for EU nationals. UCM adds that these prices apply without prejudice to international agreements and treaties. For undergraduate programmes, the English page, as of October 2026, puts it as: international students without permanent residence, or from countries without an exchange agreement with Spain, pay the fees of fourth registration. UCM also states that a study or research authorisation is not equivalent to a residence permit. The fourth-enrolment column in the table above is the price these students pay for every credit.

For official master programmes, UCM's English fees page, as of October 2026, gives 45.02 euros per ECTS at first registration, and says international students without permanent residence, or from countries with no exchange agreement with Spain, pay the third-registration rate of 84.07 euros. The page ties both prices to the fee order of July 2022 and names no curso.

Fixed fees and payment

• Secretariat costs: 6.11 euros.
• Opening of the academic file, only if you are starting studies: 27.54 euros.

If the amount is over 350 euros, you can pay in instalments. For enrolment in June or July there are 8 instalments, and the first one is 30%. UCM names the Flywire platform for payments from countries outside the EU that use a currency other than the euro.

Living in Madrid

Budget separately for rent, food and transport in Madrid, and check current prices before you commit; the housing chapter lists UCM's own colegios mayores.

For curso 2026/2027, UCM lists fee exemptions and reductions for large families and for students with a disability. A cause counts if it is in force between 29 May and 31 December 2026.

Fee exemptions and reductions

Ask UCM whether a large-family or disability certificate issued outside Spain is accepted before you assume that an exemption applies to you.

According to UCM's housing page as of October 2026, Complutense has more than 700 places in 5 colegios mayores of its own and more than 6,000 (six thousand) in 33 affiliated colegios and residences, on the campus and in central Madrid.

A colegio mayor is a university hall of residence with an academic, cultural and sports life of its own. UCM says life in a colegio helps your scientific, academic, cultural, sporting and social development. The five halls above are the ones UCM runs itself; the other 33 colegios and residences are affiliated and are listed on UCM's housing page next to collaborating accommodation platforms.

How to apply

The Colegios Mayores page is headed with curso 2026/2027 and sends you to a "Solicita plaza" application and to email addresses by topic. Application forms on the halls page are in Spanish, for individuals or for groups. If you wish to write in English, UCM gives the address ccmm@ucm.es. The page names no application deadline for the 2027/2028 intake, so check each hall directly.

Summer stays

The halls also take guests during the summer break, which UCM's halls page, as of October 2026, defines as running from 15 June to 15 September. This is a separate offer from a place for the academic year.

Is housing guaranteed?

Plan as if housing is not guaranteed: apply to the halls early and keep a private option open.

According to UCM's pages as of October 2026, Complutense's campuses are Moncloa and the Somosaguas campus on the western outskirts, and UCM describes Madrid as a city with 73 museums and some of Europe's greenest parks.

The campuses. The Ciudad Universitaria at Moncloa was conceived in 1927 as an integrated campus where education, science and culture would merge. Somosaguas lies in a residential area on the western outskirts of Madrid, with teaching and administrative buildings surrounded by green open spaces. The Somosaguas campus also has a sports centre, an Institute for International Studies and a School of Government. UCM says there are easy connections to its campuses from Madrid Barajas Airport and that Madrid's public transport system is convenient.

Madrid as a student city

UCM's own page on the city says Madrid has 73 museums covering every field of knowledge, and that the Retiro Park, the Casa de Campo and the Juan Carlos I Park, among others, make it one of Europe's greenest capitals.

Services, sport and culture

UCM says, as of October 2026, that students have access to the best Spanish university library, more than 30 foreign languages at the CSIM, all kinds of sports, theatre groups and competitions, student associations, cultural activities and literary prizes. The library claim is UCM's own.

The residence rule UCM states is that a study stay authorisation does not equal resident status, which matters because non-EU foreign students over 18 who are not residents pay the fourth-enrolment tuition price.

Visa and residence: what UCM says

On its enrolment documentation page UCM states that the study stay authorisation granted to foreigners does not equal resident status. The Grado prices page says the same of the study or research authorisation: it does not equal a residence permit. In practice, a foreign student over 18 who is not a resident and not an EU national pays the fourth-enrolment prices, as the cost chapter explains.

For how to apply for a student visa, how long it takes and what documents a consulate needs, the Spanish government and your nearest Spanish consulate are the authority.

Working while you study

Check the work rules that apply to your permit with the Spanish authorities before you plan to fund part of your studies through a job.

Arrival and enrolment practicalities

• Before you enrol online you need your @ucm.es account.
• UCM reminds you to request your UCM student card when you enrol.
• For enrolment documents UCM accepts a passport provisionally as an identity document.
• UCM's foreign students page links to undergraduate access, studies begun abroad, Spanish for foreigners and the Complutense International Foundation Diploma.

Complutense suits an applicant who can show Spanish at level B2 (UCM's rule as of October 2026 for nationals of non-Spanish-speaking countries who come from a non-Spanish-language system), a diploma that fits one of UCM's two routes, and a mark that can clear the Grado's cut-off, such as 13.053 for Medicine in 2026/2027 (access group 1). It also suits applicants who accept the fourth-enrolment price of 113.71 euros per ECTS or more as non-EU students over 18 who are not residents in Spain, without prejudice to international agreements and treaties.

Next Steps

UCM has already published the Curso 2027/2028 weighting table, while its preinscripción calendar is still the one headed Calendario de Preinscripción 2026-2027. In that 2026/2027 cycle, foreign education systems could apply from 5 June to 6 July 2026. Treat that as the shape of the process, not as a 2027 deadline.

• Work out your route: equivalent diploma and UNEDasiss, or homologación and the Acreditación de Modalidad.
• Get a Spanish certificate that UCM accepts, or check whether your Grado sets another level.
• Read the 2027/2028 weighting table to see which subjects count for the Grados you want.
• Plan any PCE exams early: UCM's page, as of October 2026, says PCE results on the equivalent-diploma route are valid for three academic years.
• Watch for the 2027/2028 calendar and for the new prices, which, according to UCM's page as of October 2026, Madrid approves in July or August.
• Check whether UCM opens a new Early Admission call, which in 2026/2027 closed on 1 April 2026.

Alternatives. The six public universities of Madrid share one application, with up to 12 choices in order of preference, so you can name more than one in the same form.

Official pages of Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM), UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

Complutense University of Madrid · ¿Por qué estudiar en la UCM? | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Calendario de Preinscripción 2026-2027 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Convocatoria de admisión temprana a las enseñanzas oficiales de grado de la · Notas de Corte de las Universidades Públicas de Madrid | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Precios de Grado | Oficina de Información · Requisito de Español B2 para Estudiantes Sistemas Educativos Extranjeros | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Tuition fees - Precios públicos | Oficina de Información · La Complutense, en el top 200 mundial, y se afianza como la segunda mejor universidad de España y primera en la Comunida · Cuadro de Ponderaciones · Universidad Complutense de Madrid · La Complutense, primera universidad pública de Madrid y segunda española en obtener la categoría 5 estrellas en la evalu · FAQs | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Oferta de plazas 2026-27 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · https://www.ucm.es/estudios-equivalentes-al-bachillerato-espanol-de-sistemas-educativos-de-la-ue · https://www.ucm.es/bachillerato-homologado-con-acreditacion-de-modalidad-de-bachillerato- · https://www.ucm.es/bachillerato-homologado-sin-pruebas-de-acceso-1 · Estudiantes Internacionales: Early Admission 2026-27 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Criterios de adjudicación de plazas | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Nota de Admisión | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Cuadro de ponderaciones de materias de bachillerato para el curso 2026-2027 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Ponderación de la lengua extranjera | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Plazas reservadas | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Título Internacional Derecho UCM - Sorbonne. Prueba específica de acceso | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · https://www.ucm.es/dobletitulacioninternacionalpoliticas · PRUEBA DE ACCESO AL TÍTULO INTERNACIONAL DERECHO UCM – UNIVERSIDAD SORBONA · Requisitos adicionales para acceso a grado | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Grado en Traducción e Interpretación | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · https://www.ucm.es/grado-de-maestro-en-educacion-primaria · Plazos generales de matrícula de grado | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Preinscripción 2026-2027 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Matrícula de Grados | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Documentación para la matrícula de grados | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/grado-en-ade-en-ingles · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/grado-en-economia-en-ingles · Admission | Bachelor of Arts in European Studies · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/doble-titulacion-internacional-ade-ucm-hwr-berlin · Centro Complutense para la Enseñanza del Español · Universidad Complutense de Madrid · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/requisitos-derecho-ade-ingles · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/requisitos-economia-rrii-en-ingles · https://www.ucm.es/pid/titulaciones-en-ingles · English Programmes | UCM Plan for Curricular Internationalization · https://economicasyempresariales.ucm.es/doble-titulacion-internacional-en-economia-ucm-madrid-y-pantheon-sorbonne-paris- · Complutense Campuses | Complutense University of Madrid · Pago fraccionado | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Exenciones y deducciones de matrícula (curso 2026-27) | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Alojamiento | Ven a la Complutense · Halls of Residence | Complutense University of Madrid · Colegios Mayores | Universidad Complutense de Madrid · Welcome to Madrid | Complutense University of Madrid · Foreign students | Oficina de Información

Photos: Edificio Multiusos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid: photo Henni091104, CC0, Wikimedia Commons