Spain is the preferred destination for French students wishing to spend a university year abroad or do an internship in a company. But this university project in Spain comes at a price, and you’ll need to draw up a budget if you want to leave with peace of mind.
Most students choose the Erasmus program in Spain to help finance their stay. In this article, we take a look at the budget for such a university project, with some indications of the cost of living in different Spanish cities and universities.
If you’re planning to study at a Spanish university for a year, you’ll need to plan a reasonable budget for your tuition fees, transport, accommodation and food.
To take the case of university enrolment in Spain, prices generally range from 500 to 1,300 euros, with an average per institution of 800 euros.
As far as train fares are concerned, if you wish to return to France, prices are roughly the same in Spain, and you should expect to pay around 150 euros for a return trip if you plan 3 months in advance.
Accommodation in Spain depends on the city in which you are studying, but generally rental prices are significantly lower than in France. If you’d like to share a flat, which offers the best value for money, expect to pay an average of 250 euros per month.
Food is more affordable than in France: for a single person, you’ll need an average of 150 euros a month. Monthly public transport fares are around 40 euros.
As you can probably imagine, public universities are generally the cheapest, but tuition fees can also vary depending on the course of study you choose for your stay in Spain.
For example, if you want to study medicine at a public university in Andalusia, the average cost is 750 euros per year, while in Catalonia it can be as much as 2,500 euros.
In Spain, science, medical science and engineering departments are more expensive, as universities provide students with expensive equipment and materials.
Each autonomous community categorizes its courses according to precise criteria and a “grado de experimentalidad” (degree of experimentation). Grades 1 are more expensive than grades 2, 3, 4 and 5.
In Andalusia, this system is not widely applied, while in Castilla y Léon universities can have 7 different grades.
Finally, you should know that in Spain, the cost of ETC credits is calculated every year and published publicly. If you’re looking for 60 credits to validate your university year in France, you’ll need to pay close attention and register for the right courses.
As we said in the introduction, it’s not just your enrolment fees that you’ll have to cover, but other unavoidable expenses such as transport, supplies, additional training, food and above all your accommodation.
According to a study carried out by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), 5.4% of Spanish and foreign students have turned to university accommodation, spending an average of 4,931 euros per year – a significant expense in any budget.
If you want to find less expensive accommodation, you can look into “colegios mayores” (residential colleges), student residences or shared apartments to share the costs.
To reduce your expenses, you need to prepare your application and send it to Erasmus. This organization was developed by the European Union to help students finance their studies throughout Europe.
As part of your studies, you can either obtain a scholarship to finance your academic year (between 150 and 50 euros/month), or additional funding for your internship in Spain (between 300 and 400 euros/month).
Grant amounts can vary according to the student’s socio-economic situation, and in some cases grants can be combined (studies + internship).
Funding from the Erasmus program will cover part of the tuition fees, accommodation, transport, supplies and some cultural outings.
In addition, some universities in Spain have their own scholarships, so don’t hesitate to contact the Erasmus departments of the universities you’d like to attend.
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