Agency for Management of University and Research Grants - Grants for Students Enrolled in Affiliated Schools

What the ACA grant covers

You will receive a partial refund of your tuition fees for one academic year, which is paid not on a monthly basis but as a single annual payment. The partner universities listed below charge higher fees per credit point than Catalonia’s public universities, so this grant brings your costs closer to the level charged by public universities. There is no fixed amount per person. The amount you receive depends on your university, your degree programme, your grades, your household income and the number of students receiving the grant this year. You can receive this grant alongside the general grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education. AGAUR, the scholarship agency of the Regional Government of Catalonia, administers the grant. The total budget amounts to approximately 98,000 EUR, which is divided amongst all recipients (around 404 students in the last allocation round).

Who can apply

• Your school: You are enrolled on an official Bachelor’s degree programme (Grado) at one of the five affiliated higher education institutions in the Barcelona area: the Sant Pau School of Nursing or the Escola Massana School of Art and Design (both affiliated with the Autonomous University of Barcelona), the TecnoCampus or the Escola del Mar School of Nursing (both affiliated with Pompeu Fabra University), or the CITM Centre for Image and Multimedia (affiliated with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia).
• Degree level: Bachelor’s students only. Master’s, postgraduate and specialisation students are not eligible to apply. Nor are students who only need to complete their final dissertation.
• First degree: You do not yet hold any other higher education qualification.
• Field of study: Every subject taught at these schools counts (nursing, art and design, technology and more).
• Nationality: You must be a national of any EU country. Non-EU nationals may apply if they are legally resident in Spain.
• Course load: You are enrolled for at least 60 ECTS credits per year or, if you enrol on a semester basis, for at least 30 per semester.
• Grades: First-year students must have an admission mark of at least 5.75. From the second year of study onwards, you must have earned a specified proportion of the credit points awarded in the previous year: 80% in the humanities, natural sciences, health sciences and social sciences, or 60% in engineering and architecture.
• Income: Your household income must remain below certain thresholds, for example around 21,775 EUR for a one-person household or around 48,349 EUR for a four-person household. Higher thresholds apply to larger families.

How to apply

You apply for funding online via the Generalitat de Catalunya’s funding portal. You will need a digital ID, such as a certificate or idCAT mòbil. The application window is open every year from around December to January (the 2025–2026 round ended on 19 January 2026). The results are published in the regional official gazette.

How realistic are your chances?

This grant is cut narrowly: only students at five specific schools who also meet the grade and income limits can apply, so the pool is small. If you study at one of those schools, keep your marks above the threshold and fall within the income limits, your prospects are solid. Because a fixed budget is shared among the recipients, the size of the refund depends on how many people qualify, so it is worth applying as soon as the window opens.