Ask ten different Spain-bound students whether they need IELTS, and you’ll get ten different answers — and unlike some countries where that inconsistency signals bad information, here it’s genuinely because the question itself is the wrong one to ask first. In Spain, the real fork in the road isn’t “test or no test.” It’s Spanish or English — and once you know which language your program actually runs in, the IELTS question mostly answers itself.

Start With This Question, Not With IELTS

Spain’s government scholarships — MAEC-AECID chief among them — fund both Spanish-taught and English-taught programs, and which language proof they ask for depends entirely on which one you’ve chosen. Apply for a Spanish-taught program and IELTS is irrelevant; you’ll need DELE B2 or SIELE instead. Apply for one of the growing number of English-taught master’s programs (common at business schools and technical universities) and IELTS or TOEFL comes back into the picture, usually at a fairly forgiving band — IELTS 5.5 overall with 5.0 in each component turns up often, well below what competitive Anglophone destinations expect.

The Government Route

1. MAEC-AECID Scholarships
Funded by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, covering tuition, monthly stipends, health insurance, and return airfare for postgraduate and doctoral study, with priority given to applicants from partner developing countries.
🔗 aecid.gob.es
The language requirement here genuinely tracks your program: DELE B2 for Spanish-taught courses, or a modest IELTS/TOEFL threshold for English-taught ones. Confirm your specific program’s teaching language before assuming either test applies to you.

2. Fundación Carolina Scholarships
A public-private partnership offering over 700 scholarships across roughly 200 academic programs annually, focused on postgraduate study, doctoral research stays, and professional training for applicants from Ibero-America, Equatorial Guinea, and Portugal.
🔗 fundacioncarolina.es
Colombia alone has produced over 4,000 recipients across 25 years of this program — a scale that reflects how deeply this scholarship is woven into Spain’s relationship with Latin America specifically, more so than a general worldwide scheme.

The Business School Route (Where English Genuinely Dominates)

3. ESADE Talent Scholarship Programme
Covers 60% to 100% of tuition and living costs for bachelor’s students with outstanding academic records and demonstrated financial need — with 46% of undergraduate applicants who apply for it actually receiving it.
🔗 esade.edu/bachelor/en/degrees/scholarships-grants
Because ESADE’s bachelor’s and master’s programs run predominantly in English, your prior academic record (IB, French Baccalauréat, SAT, or equivalent) typically carries more weight in the scholarship decision than which specific English test you submitted.

4. IE University Scholarships
A portfolio of named awards — including the IE Kistefos Young Talented Leaders Scholarships and IE Scholarships for Countries in Special Situations — covering 10% to 40% of tuition depending on the specific award.
🔗 ie.edu
Several of these scholarships have separate application processes and deadlines layered on top of your regular admission, so don’t assume applying to the university automatically enters you into every named award.

5. IESE Business School Financial Aid
Beyond traditional scholarships, IESE runs a genuinely distinctive Post-Graduation Payment Aid program — an income-share agreement, backed by the European Investment Fund, letting eligible MBA and master’s candidates pay a fixed percentage of post-graduation income over up to 10 years instead of tuition upfront.
🔗 iese.edu/loans-scholarships
This isn’t a waiver of any kind, English or otherwise — it’s worth including specifically because it solves the funding problem differently from every other entry on this list, for students who’d rather defer cost than chase a scholarship committee’s approval.

The Public University Route

6. Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) Scholarships
One of the world’s oldest universities (founded 1293), offering financial aid alongside guidance toward external scholarships like MAEC-AECID and Fundación Carolina for its non-EU applicants.
🔗 ucm.es/english/scholarships
Non-EU applicants without a Spain-recognized prior degree first go through an academic accreditation process with Spain’s Ministry of Education — a bureaucratic step that has nothing to do with English proficiency but trips up applicants who assume language is the only hurdle.

7. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
A public university where roughly 20% of the student body is international, offering a genuinely broad range of bachelor’s and master’s programs taught entirely in English.
🔗 uc3m.es
Because English is already the working language of so many UC3M programs, applicants coming from a prior English-medium degree are in familiar territory here — check your specific program’s page for its exact accepted proficiency documentation.

8. Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
A public Barcelona university with Campus of International Excellence status, offering scholarships and grants alongside a strong international relations and business curriculum.
🔗 upf.edu/en/web/graus/beques-i-ajuts
UPF’s international profile means it regularly appears alongside UCM and other major public institutions as a genuine landing spot for both MAEC-AECID and Fundación Carolina recipients.

The EU-Wide Route

9. Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMD)
€1,400/month stipend, tuition, and travel allowance for joint master’s degrees delivered across 2+ European countries, with several consortia including Spanish partner universities.
🔗 eacea.ec.europa.eu/scholarships/erasmus-mundus-catalogue_en
Several EMJMD consortia exempt applicants from English-speaking countries or English-medium degree holders from a formal test entirely — check the specific consortium’s page, since this varies program by program rather than applying catalogue-wide.

And a Broader One Worth Knowing About

10. Spain’s 76-University Network for MAEC-AECID and Fundación Carolina Recipients
Roughly 76 Spanish universities — including University of Barcelona, University of Granada, and dozens of others — accept students funded through the two government scholarships above, across all academic fields and degree levels.
Check each specific university’s own international admissions page for its exact program list.
This is less a distinct scholarship and more a reminder that your MAEC-AECID or Fundación Carolina award isn’t tied to one single university — you’re choosing from a genuinely wide field once the funding itself is secured.

Making Sense of the Language Requirement

  1. Identify your target program’s teaching language first — Spanish or English — before worrying about which test to take
  2. For Spanish-taught programs, start DELE B2 or SIELE preparation early, since these aren’t quick tests to pass at short notice
  3. For English-taught programs, note that Spain’s accepted IELTS thresholds (often 5.5–6.0) run noticeably lower than the UK, US, or Australia
  4. Check whether your prior degree’s teaching language exempts you — some universities and MAEC-AECID country calls do accept this, though it’s confirmed case by case rather than guaranteed nationwide

Deadlines and the Costs Scholarships Don’t Touch

MAEC-AECID applications typically open in February and close by May; Fundación Carolina’s window usually runs from January through March. University-level scholarships (ESADE, IE, IESE, UC3M, UPF) generally follow each program’s own admissions calendar rather than a shared national date.

Whichever route you take, budget for what these scholarships often don’t fully absorb: Spain’s non-lucrative or student visa financial-proof requirement, mandatory health insurance, and — a genuinely Spain-specific quirk — the academic accreditation/recognition process through Spain’s Ministry of Education if your prior degree wasn’t earned in the EU. A service like Wise is worth using to move remaining funds without a heavy bank markup.

Two Questions Worth Asking Yourself

If my scholarship covers a Spanish-taught program, does IELTS matter at all?
No — genuinely not. DELE B2 or SIELE is the relevant document there, and submitting an IELTS score alongside a Spanish-taught program application serves no purpose.

Can I apply for MAEC-AECID and Fundación Carolina at the same time?
Yes, you can apply to both, but Spain’s rules prevent you from holding two publicly funded scholarships simultaneously — if you’re offered both, you’ll need to choose one.

Before You Apply

  • Confirm your target program’s teaching language before choosing which test to prepare for
  • Start DELE/SIELE preparation early if you’re headed for a Spanish-taught program — these aren’t last-minute tests
  • Check whether your prior degree needs Ministry of Education accreditation before university applications will even be processed
  • Note IE University and similar schools’ named scholarships often have separate deadlines from the general admission process
  • Budget for visa financial-proof requirements and health insurance separately from any scholarship award
  • Re-verify every scholarship’s current deadline and language policy directly on the official link before applying

Scholarships Without IELTS