Valencia

Valencia for students

Spain’s third-largest city, located about 350km south of Barcelona on the east coast, Valencia rises an incredible 16 places in the Best Student Cities ranking this year.

Valencia is ranked joint 74^th in the world in the Best Student Cities 2019 ranking, helped by increases in its scores for desirability, employer activity and student view.

Valencia has quite a large student population, with notable universities in Valencia including the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia and the Universitat de Valencia, both of which make the top 600 of the QS World University Rankings® 2021.

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Best universities in Valencia - QS Best Student Cities ranking: =74^th

Universidad Politecnica de Valencia(=326th); Universitat de Valencia (591-600)

More about Valencia

Number of universities ranked by QS	2
Highest-ranked institution	Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (ranked joint 326th in the world)
Population	2,522,000
Average international fees (at ranked unis)	US$2,000
Desirability rank	60th
Employer Activity rank	76th
Affordability rank	46th
Student View rank	90th

To find out how each of the above categories is calculated, view the methodology.

Why study in Valencia?

The history and culture

Valencia’s city centre (Ciutat Vella) is packed with historical buildings and monuments and has plenty of restaurants, bars and cafés.

The transport links

Valencia has fantastic transport links, with regular links to major Spanish cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.

The beach

There’s no better way to relax after a long day of lectures than soaking up the sun on the beach. The beach is in very easy reach of the University of Valencia. 

Valencian cuisine

Known for its paella, tapas and fideua, students won’t go hungry in Valencia.

Cost of studying in Valencia

With tuition fees only costing around US$2,000 per year and the city having relatively low living costs, Valencia ranks an impressive 46^th for affordability this year. 

Prices in Valencia are 20 percent lower than in Spain’s capital, Madrid according to Numbeo. A one-bedroom apartment in Valencia’s city center will cost around US$870, compared to approximately US$1,130 for the same apartment in Madrid.

Life & culture in Valencia

Valencia is probably best known for being the spiritual home of the delicious rice-based dish paella. It is also home of the massive Les Falles festival, where hundreds of giant puppets are paraded and then burned, and the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, one of the biggest music festivals in Europe. The ‘La Tomatina’ annual tomato fight also draws huge crowds to the city.

Aside from these events, Valencia is a major tourist magnet through much of the year, due to its beautiful beaches, attractive city center, museums and interest-packed Ciutat Vella (Old Town) – full of historic buildings and bustling bars.

The city is also home to the futuristic Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences), which boasts the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe, among many other attractions.

Career in Valencia

Valencia is a prosperous area of Spain – its economy is the third largest of the Spanish cities.

The trade, hospitality, tourism, IT, engineering, finance and healthcare sectors are the most likely areas to find a graduate job in the city.

Some jobs may require specialist knowledge, making them perfect for recent graduates in that field and prominent national and international companies are always looking out for skilled workers.