The Department of Education presented its proposal on public prices for university studies for the 2022-2023 academic year to the Coordinating Council for Public University Education on 24 May. The proposal presented by Adolfo Morais, Deputy Minister of Universities and Research, was approved at a meeting of the aforementioned coordination council.

The main measures taken by the Department of Education regarding public university prices for the 2022-2023 academic year are as follows:

• Reduction of first enrollment rates: The prices of first enrollments for undergraduate studies will be reduced by 4.7% compared to those in force in the 2021-2022 academic year. In the case of master's degrees, this reduction ranges from 19.5% to 35.9%, depending on the master's degree.
• Freezing fees for second and subsequent enrollments: They will remain at the same price for this 2021-2022 academic year.

Frozen rates from the 2015-2016 school year

The Department of Education has been making great efforts in recent years to maintain university rates without increase, with the goal of helping families and ensuring equity. Thus, the Department has kept university enrollment frozen for seven consecutive years, from the 2015-2016 academic year to the 2021-2022 academic year. To these measures must now be added the fall in fees for the 2022-2023 academic year.

University scholarships

On the other hand, in the 2021-2022 academic year, which has reached its final stage, 14,398 university students have received a scholarship in the calls opened by the Department of Education for university students. Of all the grants awarded, 10,647 were general grants, amounting to 28.4 million euros. Following the Department of Education's commitment to speed up the processing of these scholarships, 70% of the applications were resolved and paid by 31 December 2021. This represents an increase of 60% compared to previous years. Looking ahead to the 2022-2023 academic year, the Department of Education aims to continue to make progress in the resolution and early payment of scholarships.

Scholarships and support programs managed by the Department of Education (general scholarship, international mobility scholarships, Ikasiker scholarships, internship and entrepreneurship scholarships, pre-doctoral and post-doctoral calls…) totaled 45.6 million euros this academic year in the field of universities and research .