The Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) is the best located in Spain. In fact, this organization located in Bellaterra (Barcelona) has risen for three consecutive years improving its position in the aforementioned ranking, having gone from 213th position in 2021 to 149th in 2024 worldwide, the best result of the last decade.

In addition, UAB ranks among the top 100 in Europe, ranking 63rd in the ranking that ranks the best universities in Europe. The entity has particularly stood out in sustainability indicators (94.6) and international search networks (84.2).

Close behind is another Catalan university, the University of Barcelona (UB), with an overall score of 49.7, ranking 70th in Europe and 164th worldwide. UB also excels in the same indicators as its predecessor: sustainability (98.1) and international search networks (97.8).

Likewise, two other Spanish universities have managed to place themselves among the top 100 in Europe. The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) (73rd place) and the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) (84th place). Both organizations are also noted for their sustainability indicators and international search networks.

It should be noted that the Complutense University of Madrid has made great progress in the world ranking compared to the previous year, going from 226th to 171st place.

Below, we show you the 10 best-placed Spanish universities in Spain and the world according to the QS World University Ranking 2024; Remember that the prestige of a university should not be the only factor in choosing where to study your university degree. Here we tell you what other criteria should be taken into account when choosing where to study a university degree, such as its facilities, faculty, additional services offered, the number of students in the classroom, among others.

QS World University Ranking

The QS World University Ranking is released annually to help prospective students identify the top universities in the world.

This edition of the QS World University Ranking 2024 was the twentieth and counted 1,500 institutions from 104 locations to prepare the ranking. In addition, three other indicators have been added to the existing ones: sustainability, work results and the international research network.

The overall score of each university featured in the ranking is based on the following indicators: academic reputation, reputation among employers, student-teacher ratio, citations in research articles, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international network research, work outcomes and sustainability.

The results are based on an analysis of 17.5 million academic articles and expert opinions from more than 240,000 teachers and business leaders.