How to find a Ranking of universities in Spain?

Spanish students and international students alike are eagerly awaiting the publication of this article and are consulting the rankings of the best courses and universities in Spain.

This gives them the hope of choosing the best university(ies) to which they will later apply, whether for the current year or for the following year.

However, before relying on this sole criterion of Ranking to decide on your choice of a university in Spain, do you really know what generally weights a ranking in a university Ranking?

The main weight is often given to the total volume of research carried out by the university, all courses combined, and its publication in specialized journals, without always taking into account the quality of this research.

In this case, there is therefore almost no connection, for example, with the quality of teaching or with other factors that have a real impact on student learning (tutoring, teaching methods, individual student follow-up, quality of the infrastructure and materials used, etc.).

While not all experts agree on what it is, or, what it would be important to value in a Ranking for it to be useful and reliable, they all pretty much agree that, as they are generally calculated they are often not representative of the quality of the undergraduate degree, but rather give an idea of the level of the master's degree and are useful when choosing a doctorate (the doctorate in Spain is a level of research and obtaining it allows one to become a teacher).

Another important point, if you want to take into account the ranking like the one published by El Mundo on a University Ranking as a criterion for selecting your university in Spain: Don't look for the ranking of the university itself but rather look for the ranking of the course you want to study there.

For example, an academic institution may be highly ranked because it does a lot of research in economics and may be neglecting thearchitectureof dentistry, of physiotherapist or a veterinarian you are interested in and vice versa.

In this regard, we congratulate our partner universities, such asUniversidad Europea (European University),UAX (Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio), CEU San Pablo,ESIC andUCJC...who are in the TOP 5 in several courses.

We know that these places have been acquired thanks to the seriousness and involvement of a few people, whom we know well, with whom we work hand in hand on a daily basis and who are rightly rewarded for their efforts in the service of their students.

Here is a list of some of the positions obtained by universities that we have selected to study in the health field in Spain(physiotherapy studies, veterinary medicine studies, dental studies, biotechnology studies, nursing studies...), but also the ranking of several of our partner universities in the TOP 5 in non-health fields (such as the ESIC Business School, which is in 1st position)

• Physical Activity and Sport: Universidad Europea^4th
• Dental: Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio^4th
• Physiotherapy: Universidad Europea^2nd
• Nutrition and Dietetics: Universidad CEU San Pablo^4th
• Veterinarian: Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio ^5th
• Biotechnology: Universidad Francisco de Vitoria^4th
• Infirmary: Universidad CEU San Pablo ^5th

• Teaching and primary education: UCJ ^5th
• Advertising and public relations: ESIC^1st
• Journalism: Universidad CEU San Pablo^2nd
• Architecture: Universidad Europea ^5th

Be careful with this criterion of choice because, if it is not to be totally discarded, it cannot be your only criterion.

To choose the universities that will be represented in the annual "El Mundo" Ranking, the newspaper uses several selection criteria:

• First, a questionnaire must be completed by the professors. This is a voluntary, anonymous and random survey in which professors evaluate which are the best universities for a given course of study, the strengths and weaknesses of the university and highlight the different research areas of the universities. This criterion represents 40% of the total evaluation.
• Another selection criterion is the data provided by the universities. They must provide a series of figures and day-to-day elements to the newspaper. This data will then be analyzed in a general way and compared with the universities' public data and documents. This criterion represents 50% of the total evaluation, here is a part of the list of points that are taken into account:
• Another criterion that will be evaluated, in the case of public universities only, is the " nota de corte ", as well as the number of places provided for a Bachelor's degree, also known as Grado in Spain, per program.

For more information on what the "nota de corte" is, and how the calculation of the "nota de corte" is carried out, we invite you to consult the following link: CLICK HERE

• Another theme taken into account by the daily newspaper "El Mundo" each year for its ranking is theevaluation of the evolution of human resources.

A calculation and analysis is made of the ratio of students to faculty and research staff, the student-teacher ratio. The fees spent by each student enrolled at the university, the budget and resources invested for each student on the university campus are also important elements.

• Finally, another key indicator is taken into account, namely the university's equipment: the number of seats in classrooms in relation to the number of students, the occupation of classrooms and availability, the seats in laboratories in relation to the number of students. An assessment of the equipment and number of spaces for practical teaching is also taken into account. The number of stations and books in the libraries, the number of stations in the computer rooms are also evaluated in relation to the number of students. The importance of new technologies in the faculties as well as the type of internet connection are also evaluated.
• To elaborate this Ranking of the best private and public universities in Spain, the study plans of the different courses are also analyzed:
• The number of credits and the study plan will reveal the composition, structure and duration of each study plan.
• The number of practical and theoretical credits is what will highlight the importance of practical teaching in each study plan.
• The offer of optional subjects of the curricula in order to know the curricular flexibility of the curriculum and the university is taken into account.
• The ECTS dedicated to internships are valued since the compulsory practical training is a key element for the student's learning.
• Teaching (methodology, adaptation to the new parameters of the European Higher Education Area, possibility for students to evaluate professors, etc.) are also part of the evaluation of teaching quality
• Finally, what could be called the general context is taken into account in this ranking of the newspaper "El Mundo":
• Number of research projects underway, revealing the excellence of the university.
• Number of languages offered, as learning and mastering languages is very important for graduate students.
• The number of study abroad programs with international agreements that allow for student mobility and learning.
• The price per ECTS which allows to evaluate that the training is in agreement with the price asked, especially in the private universities.
• How the university is adapting to the changes imposed by the European Higher Education Area.

In addition to this information on the academic institution and its professors, other external indicators are also taken into account, such as : Results in international rankings, ANECA (National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation) reports, etc. This criterion accounts for 10% of the total evaluation.

To conclude, it can be said that all European bodies specialized in the university field (EUA; ENQA) or the Spanish National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) agree that the quality of universities cannot be measured in its entirety.

Like them, we consider that there are as many Rankings as there are student profiles and that the best university is the one that corresponds to the needs and preferences of the future student.

The perfect university for a student in Spain is the one that best suits the needs and goals of that student, who has every interest in creating his or her own Ranking items and valuing them.

To consult the detailed Ranking of Spanish universities, please click on the following link: https: //www.elmundo.es/especiales/ranking-universidades/index.html