The Government creates the Luisa de Medrano grants for university mobility

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities has approved Order CNU/880/2026, of August 17, which establishes the regulatory bases for the new “Luisa de Medrano” mobility grant program for university students. The regulation, signed by Minister Diana Morant Ripoll, is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) number 205, of August 21, 2026, in section III (p. 116044), with official reference BOE-A-2026-18012.

The program was created to eliminate the economic barriers that limit participation in the SICUE (Exchange System between University Centers of Spain), managed by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE). The order recognizes that travel, housing, and adaptation costs have hindered access under conditions of equality, especially for students with lower economic capacity or those from remote territories.

What it finances and who can apply

The grant covers a temporary academic stay at a Spanish university other than the home institution, in a face-to-face format, with a maximum duration of nine months. The call for applications may provide for full-year or single-semester stays, and the recognition of credits in the academic record will be immediate.

Students enrolled in Spanish universities pursuing official Undergraduate degrees who have secured a place in the SICUE call are eligible. The cumulative requirements are:

• Having passed 60 credits at the home university and being enrolled in at least 30 credits.
• Having a minimum grade point average of 5 points in the academic record.
• For external curricular internships, being enrolled in the linked subject.
• Non-EU foreign students must prove residency status.

Amount and award criteria

The grant amounts to 900 euros per month per beneficiary for the duration of the mobility, paid in a single installment preferably prior to the start of the stay and without the requirement of guarantees. An additional 500 euros will be added for those traveling from or to Insular Autonomous Communities, Ceuta, or Melilla.

The award is processed through a competitive bidding process, with a Selection Committee that evaluates:

• The academic record, up to 7 points.
• 2 points if the destination center is in a province with fewer than one million inhabitants; 1 point if it has between one and three million.
• 1 point if the destination center is more than 300 km from the home institution.

Deadlines and processing

Applications shall be submitted electronically through the ministry’s electronic office, within a period of between ten days and one month from the publication of the call summary in the BOE. The maximum period for resolution shall be six months, and the justification of the stay must be completed before October 31 of the year in which the mobility ends, by means of a final report approved by the coordinator of the host center.

The grant is incompatible with other subsidies from any administration or public or private entity, and does not constitute State aid according to Article 107.1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Impact

With this program, the State assumes for the first time a homogeneous framework of financial support for national mobility, so that participation in SICUE no longer depends on the economic situation of each student. The measure affects thousands of undergraduate university students and reinforces territorial cohesion and equal opportunities in access to higher education, without generating significant administrative burdens by relying on the mechanisms already integrated into the SICUE program.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 205, August 21, 2026, Sec. III, page 116044 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18012).