The University of Granada has achieved its best ever result in the ranking, with eight of its degree programmes ranked among the top five in Spain in their respective subject areas.
The University of Granada (UGR) has consolidated its position as a leading university within the Spanish HE system, after entering the national top 10 of El Mundo newspaper’s ‘50 Carreras’ (top 50) ranking of Spain’s best universities. The list was published on 6 May 2026.
This year, the University of Granada ranks tenth nationally in terms of the number of degree programmes featuring among the top five in Spain in their respective subject areas. Furthermore, the UGR leads Andalusia in the ranking: eight of its degree programmes feature on the list, three more than the next highest-ranking Andalusian university.
El Mundo‘s annual ‘50 Carreras’ ranking analyses the most popular undergraduate degrees and selects the five best Spanish universities at which to study them. The ranking is based on 27 evaluation criteria, including academic performance indicators, the opinions of over 2,000 teaching staff members, data provided by the universities themselves, internationalization criteria, and other external measures of university quality and performance.
This year’s list represents the UGR’s best ever result in the ranking, in terms of both its overall position and the number of degrees that have been included. Eight of the University’s degree programmes now rank among the best in Spain. This is the highest number to date and represents an improvement on the results of previous years.
Areas in which the UGR ranks among Spain’s top five
- Sport and Exercise Sciences (1st in Spain)
- Translation and Interpreting (1st in Spain)
- Computer Science (2nd in Spain)
- Labour Relations (2nd in Spain)
- Food Science and Technology (4th in Spain)
- Early Childhood Education (4th in Spain)
- Social Pedagogy (5th in Spain)
- Human Nutrition and Dietetics (5th in Spain)
Furthermore, the UGR has added three new degree programmes to the ranking this year: Food Science and Technology, Social Pedagogy and Human Nutrition and Dietetics. These new additions demonstrate the growing breadth and diversification of the University’s academic excellence.
The ranking also highlights the high level of competitiveness within the Spanish higher education system: of the 93 universities assessed, 47 did not manage to place any degree programmes among the top five in the country. The UGR’s position among the top ten institutions in Spain both reinforces its academic standing and raises its profile within key areas of higher education.
In addition, several degree programmes have consistently demonstrated a high level of excellence in the ranking in recent years. Notably, its Sport and Exercise Sciences and Translation and Interpreting programmes have remained in the number one spot in Spain since 2024.
According to Salvador del Barrio, Vice-Rector for Ceuta and Melilla Campuses, Strategic Planning and Communications: “These results confirm the academic strength of our university, as well as the commitment of our faculties, schools, departments, and teaching teams to excellence in higher education. This ranking is particularly valuable because it combines objective indicators provided by the universities themselves — including those relating to demand, human and physical resources, curricula, results and internationalization activities — with external assessments from teaching staff, students, employers, and other independent studies. We are therefore delighted that the UGR has entered the national top 10 of El Mundo’s ‘50 Carreras’ ranking for the first time.”
The full results are available on the ‘UGR in Rankings’ website
Contact details:
Secretariat for Strategic Planning
Vice-Rectorate for Ceuta and Melilla Campuses, Strategic Planning and Communications
planifica@ugr.es
Translated version: This text has been translated into English by the Language Services Unit (Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization) of the University of Granada.