Madrid awards €674,397 to the Polytechnic and the Complutense for Erasmus+

The Community of Madrid has published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) two agreements signed on 3 July 2026 by which it grants a total of 674,397 euros to the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) as a supplement to the Erasmus+ KA131 mobility scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year. The agreements, signed by the regional Minister of Education, Science and Universities, Mercedes Zarzalejo Carbajo, and by the rectors of both universities, are included in issue 194 of the BOCM, of 15 August 2026.

Both grants are awarded directly and on an exceptional basis on grounds of social interest, under article 4.5(c) of Law 2/1995, of 8 March, on Grants of the Community of Madrid, and are integrated into a program that allocates 2,000,000 euros to all public universities in Madrid. The expenditure is financed under subheading 45200 of program 322C (Universities) of Law 6/2025, of 23 December, on the General Budgets of the Community of Madrid for 2026, and is distributed among the institutions in proportion to the number of students who were beneficiaries of an Erasmus+ KA131 mobility scholarship in the 2024-2025 academic year.

Two agreements, two universities

The regional minister reported on 11 April 2026 the existence of grounds of social interest, and the Governing Council authorized the signing of the agreements at its meeting of 10 June 2026. The amounts agreed were as follows:

• Polytechnic University of Madrid: 359,254 euros, agreement signed by its rector, Óscar García Suárez (file 03/12.357/26).
• Complutense University of Madrid: 315,143 euros, agreement signed by its rector, Joaquín Goyache Goñi (file 03/12.366/26).

Monthly amounts, payment and justification

The grants supplement tuition, transport, accommodation or other mobility-related expenses, under the same terms and conditions as the European Union aid, and are assigned according to the cost of living of the destination country, determined by the Spanish Service for the Internationalisation of Education (SEPIE):

• Group 1, countries with higher cost of living: 200 euros per month.
• Group 2, countries with medium costs: 175 euros per month.
• Group 3, countries with lower costs: 150 euros per month.

Each university will distribute the funds among applicants ordered according to their score until the amount received is exhausted and may maintain a waiting list. Payment will be made in a single advance payment and without guarantee after the agreement is signed, and the justification must be submitted to the Directorate-General for Universities before 1 March 2028, the date on which both agreements expire, with no possibility of extension.

Requirements for beneficiaries

Students enrolled in official Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD programmes at UPM or UCM during the academic year 2026-2027 may access the grants provided they meet, at least, the following conditions:

• Be a citizen of one of the 27 countries of the European Union, of the EFTA and the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), of the candidate countries for accession (Turkey, the Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia), or of a third country with a valid residence permit in Spain.
• Provide proof of sufficient knowledge of the language in which the studies will be taken, by means of a level test or language certificates, in accordance with each university’s own call for applications.

If the funding proves insufficient, applications will be scored according to academic performance, personal or family vulnerability, or status as a victim of gender-based violence, in accordance with Law 5/2005, of 20 December.

Relevance for students

With these funds, Madrid university students who are beneficiaries of Erasmus+ KA131 and who will study or undertake internships abroad during the academic year 2026-2027 will receive an additional contribution from the Community of Madrid to cover the costs of their stay. The measure, aligned with Regulation (EU) 2021/817, which establishes the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021-2027, reinforces equal opportunities in access to international mobility and extends the reach of the European programme among students of Madrid’s public universities.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, No. 194, 15 August 2026, Section I.D (Announcements), pp. 68-74 and 75-81 (official references: files 03/12.357/26 and 03/12.366/26).