Top 5 Affordable IT Universities in Spain for 2026/27: Fees, Deadlines, Requirements & Scholarships

Spain is one of the most affordable destinations in Europe for higher education, especially at public universities. If we directly talked about the annual tuition fee in our introduction, then for bachelor’s programs at public universities, it generally ranges from €720 to €1,800 for EU students and about €2,700 to €4,500 for non-EU students, depending on the region and program.

So if you are interested in IT, computer science, data science, or engineering, Spain offers you not just high-quality universities but also low tuition and access to EU research networks.

Below are the top 5 affordable universities in Spain for IT and technology degrees that you can consider for the 2026/27 academic year.

 

1. Universidad Politècnica de València (UPV)

The Universitat Politècnica de València is ranked among the 5 most affordable IT universities in Spain. It’s not just a high-ranked university but also affordable for you to consider for your master’s in Spain.

 

Key Programs (2026/27) at UPV

• Master’s in Informatics Engineering (120 ECTS)
• Master’s in Computer & Network Engineering (60 ECTS)
• Master’s in Data Science (60 ECTS)

 

Author note about the fee at UPV

The Estimated Tuition (Non-EU International) is between €4,200 – €4,500 per year, which is approx. $4,550 – $4,900 USD. If I give you the exact figure for 2026, then for a local or EU national it’s 2080 Euros, and for an international student or a non-EU student it’s 4161 Euros.

 

Author note about scholarship

You can apply for various scholarships, including the prestigious Iberdrola Master’s Scholarships and many other scholarships. Read more about scholarship options for you.

 

Admission Requirements at UPV

• Official university degree (Bachelor’s) in a related field.
• Academic transcripts that you received from your university.
• Language Proficiency: For Spanish-taught programs, a DELE or SIELE B2 certificate is mandatory. For English-taught programs (limited availability), IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90 is typically required.
• CV and letter of motivation, which every university requires from you.

 

Author note about language

As this university offers most IT programs in Spanish, it is important for you to have Spanish language skills. If you don’t have it, it’s better to learn Spanish in your early semester before starting your Master’s degree.

 

Application Deadlines for 2026/27

They have two phases for admission, e.g.

• Phase 0: it’s generally between November 17, 2025, and February 13, 2026
• Main Phase: March – July 2026

 

Author note for you

The difference between phase 0 and the main phase is that for local and international students, if you are an international student living outside of the EU, you are better off applying in phase 0. The earlier you apply, the earlier you start your visa process after getting admission.  However, you can apply later until the date of admission is valid. Check the official UPV admission portal for exact dates.

 

Author Note about Admission Difficulty

UPV is highly reputable in Spain, and many students apply here, especially from Latin America and Europe. Don’t let you be confused with the phases from 0 to 4 in some course. I suggest you apply early because spaces in the best labs and thesis advisors fill up quickly. The biggest hurdle, I think, for you as an international student isn’t your grades, but it’s the B2 Spanish requirement. If you don’t have the certificate in hand by the deadline, your application will likely be rejected, even though you have a good academic record.  So I suggest you start your language preparation earlier, before applying for admission. This will not help you get admission, but also help you once you complete your studies and find a job in Spain. In general, I can say that the admission difficulty is medium, but only if you have language skills.

 

2. University of Granada

The University of Granada is located in the city of Granada in Spain, so the university itself is named after the city. The universities offer you a variety of courses in IT that are affordable for you to consider for your Master’s in Spain. Remember that this is one of the cheapest universities in Western Europe and has a strong international student community.

 

Main IT Programs offer

• Computer engineering.
• Software Development.
• Artificial Intelligence and IT engineering
• Data Science

 

Tuition Fees (2026/27)

They have different fees for bachelor’s and master’s. E.g.

• Bachelor’s: about €758 – €1,100 per year
• Master’s: €1,500 – €3,500 per year

 

Author note about the fee

The university itself offers you a very low-fee Master’s program in Spain, so if you are an international student and want to pursue your Master’s in Spain on a low budget, then this university is the best option for you to consider.

 

Admission Requirements at the University of Granada

• Your High school diploma equivalent
• Spanish language certificate (DELE B2) for Spanish-taught programs
• English certificate (IELTS/TOEFL) for English programs, which are standard, e.g., 6.5 and 92.
• Your passport copy while applying for admission.
• All of your Academic transcripts

 

Author note about language

In this university, most programs are taught in the Spanish language, so you need to have a Spanish B2 level (DELE or SIELE). So better to focus on learning Spanish as compared to English.

 

Admission Deadline 

The Fall intake deadline is between March and June 2026. That means you have to apply between these months, but you can also consider early enrollment and registration. This is just a deadline, and the same applies to the upcoming year, 2027.

 

Scholarships at the University of Granada

They have various scholarship options for you, e.g.,

• Erasmus+ scholarships
• University of Granada mobility grants
• Spanish government scholarships

 

3. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

UPM is another reputed university that is located in Spain’s capital, which you can consider for your master’s degree in computer science. The thing that makes this university attractive for you is that it gives access to internships and job opportunities with major tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Telefónica, which have headquarters or large offices in Madrid.

 

Programs offered at UPM

UPM offers various IT programs for a Master’s degree, e.g.

• Master’s in Software and Systems
• Master’s in Artificial Intelligence
• Master’s in Cybersecurity
• Quantum technologies
• Machine learning and big data
• Software and systems, and much more

 

Author note about the Master’s program

Although I gave you some Master’s programs in the above list, this does not end here because this university offers you a large number of IT-related programs for your Master’s degree with a variety of specializations. So I suggest you check other Master’s programs as well.

 

Tuition fee in 2026/27

Tuition for you as a non-EU international is around €4,500 – €5,500 per year, which is approx. $4,900 – $6,000 USD if we convert it into US dollars.

Note: The university offers scholarships as well, e.g., mobility grants and other forms of aid.

 

Author note about the fee

If I give you the exact fee for one credit hour, then it’s 84 Euros for non-EU and for EU it’s 45 Euros, but it doesn’t mean that at all because you have to pay the insurance fee and other costs, so that’s why I give you a rough sum so that you can get an idea on your own.

 

Admission Requirements (Master’s)

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field that you have (computer science, engineering, or math).
• Transcript of Records of the course.
• Your CV (showing relevant experience is a plus).
• Language proficiency (Spanish B2 or English B2, depending on the program).

 

Author’s note about Language

If you want to have an English language Master’s program but your IELTS grade is low, you can still apply because their requirements for IELTS are 5.5. So you can get admission in Spain with low IELTS or IELTS with 5.5 bands as well. If you have a TOEFL of 72, you can also get admitted to this university.

 

Application Deadlines for 2026/27

The standard time period for admission is between January 26 and July 8, 2026. However, they have an extended period, which is in Late August – Early September 2026 (if places are available)

 

Author note about deadline

If you want to get admission in this university, you have to start your application in January because the deadline given to those who are living outside of Spain, especially international students who need documentation, e.g., a visa, etc., is extended for locals who are already in Spain.

 

Author Note about Admission Difficulty

When it’s about admission difficulty, then I have to tell you that they evaluate applications as they come in and fill the spots. If you apply in July, you might find that all the places for the best Master’s programs are already full, so I can say that the difficulty is the demand.  Another thing is that everyone wants to study in Madrid. However, I suggest that your application needs to be polished, meaning a strong CV with internships or projects is often the deciding factor between two equally qualified candidates, not just your CGPA, which you feel is the only key. If you have fewer bands in IELTS, you can still get admission to this university. So I can say that it’s not difficult but medium.

 

4. Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC)

UPC is another university on our list that you can consider for your master’s degree in Spain. It is located in Barcelona, which is one of our favorite cities too. The UPC offers various courses in English and Spanish.

 

Master IT Programs at UPC

• Master’s in Data Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.
• Informatics and Software Engineering
• Master’s in artificial intelligence.
• Master’s in machine learning and cybersecurity
• Data engineering, data science, etc. Find more master‘s programs.

 

Tuition Fees at UPC

The tuition fee for the master’s program is between €1,500 and €4,000 per year for most of the program.

 

Author note about the fee

The fee for every program is different, so I have come up with a basic fee that you can consider for 2026.

• If I want to have the exact fee, then for AI it’s 1743 for local, but for non-EU it’s around 2700 Euros, and for cybersecurity it’s also the same for non-EU, but for local and EU it’s 1126 Euros.

• For data engineering, it’s €1,592 but €4,050 for non-EU residents.

• For data science its generally €2,324 but €5,400 for non-EU residents

 

Admission Requirements at UPC

• High school certificate or bachelor’s degree, and for a master’s, you have to have a relevant bachelor’s degree.
• English proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL) for English programs
• Spanish proficiency for Spanish programs (which we already discussed earlier)
• An entrance exam may be required for some specific programs.

 

Admission Deadline at UPC

Fall intake is between April and June 2026, and the same applies for next year in 2027, but some courses are in May ’26, and some are on 15 June 2026. So that’s why I give you a date in approx. The mean is between April and June. But you can apply before April too, because their enrollment started earlier.

 

Scholarships at UPC

They have different scholarships for local and international students, e.g.,

• Catalonia regional scholarships
• Erasmus plus
• UPC merit scholarships

 

Author Note about Admission Difficulty

Some programs do assessments based on your degrees and experience, and then make your selections, so I can say that it’s not that high, but medium. Secondly, they have limited seats, mostly between 35 and 40, so when the seats are limited, the competition is high.

 

5. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)

USC is another university that we chose for you, and it’s fifth on our list. Although USC is Spain’s top university and offers strong computer science programs through its Escola Técnica Superior d’Enxeñaría.

 

Programs at USC

USC offers both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in computer engineering, but our key focus is the master’s program; then we can say that we offer various master’s programs, e.g.

• Master’s in quantum computing
• Master’s in high-performance computers.
• Master’s in massive data analysis and big data
• Master’s in artificial intelligence.

 

Tuition fee at USC

• For undergraduate degrees, fees typically range from €800 to €2,500 per year.
• Master’s degrees’ fees are around €1,500 to €3,500.

 

Author note about the fee

If I give you the exact amount for the course per credit hour, then it’s 39 euros per credit, but you have to keep in mind other fees apart from the credit hour fee, so that’s why I give you the rough sum above. Read more about the fees and costs.

 

Admission Requirements at USC

• You must have their secondary education credentials homologated (officially recognized) by the Spanish Ministry of Education if you are already doing a bachelor’s in Spain.
• You also pass a specific university entrance exam (Pruebas de Competencias Específicas—PCE) unless you are from a country with an international agreement.

 

Admission Deadlines at USC

The application period for the 2026/27 academic year will likely open in early June 2026 and run through mid-July, with a second opportunity in September if places remain. This is their standard deadline that you can consider for 2027 as well.

 

Scholarships at USC

Beyond national and regional government scholarships that I discussed with you earlier, USC has its own program of collaboration scholarships, which allow you to work in university departments while studying, gaining experience, and earning a small income. Iberdrola scholarships are also open to you if you are a student at a Galician university.

 

Author’s note about Admission Difficulty

Admission is usually not very competitive if you meet the requirements. For example. If the number of applicants is fewer than the available seats, all qualified students are admitted. If there are more applicants than seats, the university selects students based on their academic records and submitted documents, and sometimes it may allow up to 10% extra places. So I can say that it’s medium.

 

Other scholarships for a master’s in Spain

These are the three key scholarships or funding that you can consider to fulfill your expenses in Spain while studying, e.g.

• Iberdrola Master’s Scholarships, especially for IT-related fields.
• Banco Santander Scholarships is another option for you to consider, as it offers thousands of small-to-medium-sized grants for tuition, mobility, research, etc.
• The Spanish Ministry of Education offers need-based and merit-based grants.
• University-specific grants, which we already discussed above with every university that you can find above.

 

Other related blogs to read

Top 5 IT Universities in the Netherlands

Top 5 IT Universities in France

Top 5 IT Universities in Germany

Top 10 IT Universities in Poland

Top 5 IT Universities in Belgium

Top 5 IT Universities in Italy

Top 5 IT Universities in Finland

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