Page 2 | Applying to Spanish universities from the UK for social sciences

user1494050295 · 2026-05-13T15:23:32+00:00

My dd is doing GCSEs and wants to study for an undergraduate degree (most likely in the social sciences) in Spain. We are UK nationals. He A levels will include Spanish as she needs to be fluent. Has anyone had to navigate this? Thank you

Original poster

user1494050295 · 22/05/2026 11:24

RockyKeen · 18/05/2026 08:06

Mine did an mfl degree and did a year in Bilbao at Deusto and loved it there . Said she would have done her entire degree in Spain if she could have . She lived the teaching and lecturers more and the vibe . A lot more contact hours about 25 -30.
Her friend did her degree in Barcelona ( both English and Spanish taught ) and loved it too.

Ty good to know about the other cities to think about

OP posts:

Original poster

user1494050295 · 22/05/2026 11:25

SoftIce · 18/05/2026 07:32

@user1494050295 I think your daughter is very brave. I would suggest that she joins TSR (thestudentroom.co.uk) - she may find people there who have actually done it.

I also second suggestions of a gap year in Spain (maybe au pair for a year?) - I think as an au pair you are encouraged (maybe even paid) to do language courses and she'd find out all about higher education in Spain through friends.

I know one British girl who did her undergraduate degree in France - originally law at the Sorbonne, but switched to politics in the second semester (apparently law essays were a step too far!). I think she went directly after A-level (not a native speaker and no French relatives) - she took some diagnostic test which placed her at C1 at the time. She probably read and watched a lot of French beyond the A-level syllabus though.

I find it rather odd that people dismiss Spanish undergraduate degrees out of hand. Personally I would find a British person doing this very impressive. However, if the views on this thread represent the general view of the British public then perhaps this is a prejudice she should prepare herself for.

There are also dual degrees at British / Spanish universities, like this one: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/english-law-and-spanish-law-llb where you spend two years at both and get a degree certificate from both. Maybe that could be an alternative.

Thanks I hadn’t considered a double degree so will look into this. I will get her to look at tsr too

OP posts:

Ritaskitchen · 22/05/2026 11:56

Will the course be in English? A level Spanish won’t be enough for a degree level course when the language of instruction is Spanish.

cinnamontreat767 · 30/05/2026 01:34

My good friend's son is studying in Spain, and he is really enjoying it from when he visited for the holidays, and we plan to check in with him in the next couple of days when he's coming back! I know that they actually hired a consultant to help with their application though, because it sounded like there was some paperwork or tests involved that makes it a little less straightforward.

PriscillaQueenoftheKitchen · 30/05/2026 07:18

I just wanted to say I think it sounds potentially like a fabulous thing to do, a real adventure. My mum spent 6 months in Madrid as part of her undergraduate degree in MFL and she absolutely loved it.

And I'm writing this without any actual helpful tips, but in the hope of balancing out the posters asking "why" and "what the point" which is just so, English.

CoverIt · 30/05/2026 11:06

cinnamontreat767 · 30/05/2026 01:34

My good friend's son is studying in Spain, and he is really enjoying it from when he visited for the holidays, and we plan to check in with him in the next couple of days when he's coming back! I know that they actually hired a consultant to help with their application though, because it sounded like there was some paperwork or tests involved that makes it a little less straightforward.

The consultant sounds like a good idea - I know from experience that Spanish bureaucracy is complex, plentiful and very specific in its demands 😊 Documents (and there will be many) will need to meet their requirements or the whole thing risks being rejected.

PriscillaQueenoftheKitchen · 30/05/2026 11:55

CoverIt · 30/05/2026 11:06

The consultant sounds like a good idea - I know from experience that Spanish bureaucracy is complex, plentiful and very specific in its demands 😊 Documents (and there will be many) will need to meet their requirements or the whole thing risks being rejected.

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Franco's shadow looms large.

Creepybookworm · 30/05/2026 12:01

Ceramiq · 17/05/2026 06:31

Social science degrees are not culture-neutral. It could be extremely challenging to move from England, GCSEs and A-levels to a Spanish university for a social science degree (even if the prospective student fulfills the admissions criteria, which is not a given) and what on earth will that degree offer in terms of labour market entry?

Edited

I was wondering about this too. My daughter has just completed a degree in social policy in Wales and a chunk of that was specific to Wales. Great for her and she loved it but she has a friend on the course who will be going back to her home in China. Seems a slightly bizarre choice for her!

Ceramiq · 30/05/2026 13:49

Creepybookworm · 30/05/2026 12:01

I was wondering about this too. My daughter has just completed a degree in social policy in Wales and a chunk of that was specific to Wales. Great for her and she loved it but she has a friend on the course who will be going back to her home in China. Seems a slightly bizarre choice for her!

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One of the big unaddressed issues in the internationalisation of HE is the cultural relevance of academic traditions in other countries. I don't think nearly enough attention is focused on this.