Spain attracts many young people with relatively low prices for education and living compared to other European countries. But everything has a downside. As it turns out, scholarships or grants to study in Spain are not so accessible to a Russian student.
The big picture
Like many European countries, Spain offers study scholarships for foreigners. However, unlike, for example, rich Sweden, there are not many such scholarships here.
All scholarships can be divided into two types depending on the source of funding: public and private. State programs offer maximum amounts for scholarships, but Spain has a special state plan for the development of international relations, which identifies 23 countries from Latin America, and Africa. Russia is not among them.
So shortly, Russian students can only rely on private scholarships, which are presented in the form of tuition discounts. They vary from university to university and each has its specific requirements. Moreover, the information about the scholarship indicated on the website of a particular university may be very general. For example, without deadlines and specific amounts, as on the University of Barcelona website. Or it may not exist at all. Therefore, it is best to write or call the university you like to clarify this point there.
Tuition fees at a Spanish university
There are state (public) and private universities, business schools, and research centers in Spain. Tuition at a public university will cost from €500 to €8,000 per year (depending on whether the university is located in a big city or on the periphery), and at a private university – €5,000-15,000. Tuition fees at a business school can reach up to €35,000 per course. The catch is that public universities mostly offer a very small amount of scholarships and only to Spaniards. Or, for example, the oldest University of Salamanca offers scholarships to foreign students only if they are residents of Spain.
As a result, the situation turns out to be the following: education at a public university is inexpensive, but the probability of receiving a scholarship tends to zero; Private universities have scholarships for foreigners, but tuition there is much more expensive. Therefore, the best option would be to either fully fund yourself by studying at a public university, or apply for a scholarship to a private university or business school only if you have decided to go there anyway.
Scholarships to study in Spain: for foreigners
There are many top universities and business schools offering scholarships to foreigners.
Pompeu Fabra University Scholarship for Talented Students
The scholarship is available to applicants for master’s programs in business, marketing, finance, human resources, journalism, communications, and law. The candidate must provide recommendations and have a minimum GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3 out of 4. Successful applicants are provided with a discount on tuition fees from 25 to 75%. The earlier you apply for a scholarship, the greater the discount you can get (the earliest deadline is in April, the latest is in January of the following year). Before applying for a scholarship, you must pay a quarter of the tuition fee to reserve your place.