The performance of Spanish universities according to the CYD Ranking
The CYD Foundation has published the ninth edition of the CYD Ranking, a tool for measuring and comparing Spanish universities according to different indicators such as teaching and learning, research, knowledge transfer, internationalization and contribution to regional development. In this edition, 79 universities, 28 fields of knowledge and 3,052 different degrees have been analyzed. The participating universities represent 94% of the 84 that offer degree courses included in the Register of Universities, Centers and Degrees (RUCT). Of these, 48 are public (representing 100% representativeness) and 31 are private (86% of the total).
Main messages of the ranking:
- The 15 top-performing Spanish universities according to their number of indicators belonging to the highest-performing group are: Autónoma de Barcelona, Navarra, Autónoma de Madrid, Pompeu Fabra, Deusto, Barcelona, Pontificia Comillas, Carlos III de Madrid, Ramon Llull, Internacional de Catalunya, València-Estudi General, Rovira i Virgili, Politècnica de Catalunya, Girona and Salamanca.
- The Autonomous Communities with the highest performance indicators are Navarra, the Basque Country, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and Madrid.
- Women and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors:
- 36% of students enrolled in STEM degrees are women, compared to 56% of the university average. Their theses represent 37% of the total, female teaching and research staff is 30% and female professors account for 23% of the total.
- According to Ángela Mediavilla, director of the CYD Ranking: "A general trend is observed in the academic career of women: their presence in the university is lower as they advance in their professional academic career."
- Medicine, nursing and mathematics were the degrees with the highest interest in studying in the 2021-2022 academic year, while Tourism, Agriculture, Engineering, Languages and Humanities were the least demanded.
- Adaptation to digitalization:
- The pandemic meant a change in the way university classes were taught. The percentage of hybrid learning in Spanish universities after the end of the 2020-2021 academic year was 32%; representing a growth of 25 percentage points compared to before March 2020, when only 7% of universities opted to combine face-to-face and online teaching.
- Before March 2020, only 4% of exams were taken online, a percentage that rose to 86% at the beginning of the pandemic and after the end of the 20-21 academic year stood at 30%.
Filter results
According to IE University’s Center for the Governance of Change, deeper and more integrated financial markets would strengthen the euro’s global role. This requires, among other elements, resilient and interoperable payment systems and completing the banking union.
Partnerships between banks and private credit: The winners will be those that combine bank underwriting discipline, distribution, and customer access with private capital’s appetite for long-dated, illiquid risk, according to Oliver Wyman.
Lucrezia Reichlin (CEPR): A CBDC is not a prerequisite for monetary sovereignty. Confusing money with payments can risk misdiagnosing the problem and misaligning economic policy efforts.
According to the World Economic Forum´s Global Risk Report 2026, geoeconomic confrontation, mis- and disinformation and societal polarization make up the top three short-term risks, while environmental risks dominate in the long term.
According to the World Economic Forum, over the last few years AI has moved from experimentation to workflow integration, promising systemic gains in productivity while also raising critical questions around economic inclusion, values, trust and resilience.
According to AFME, a clearer, more coherent, and proportionate regulatory environment, without unnecessary layers and focuses on growth and competitiveness, is keyl to increase investor confidence, unlock private capital and deepen European capital markets
According to the Center for the Governance of Change at IE University, Europeans support technological progress if it reinforces security, inclusion, and social welfare; but resist it when change feels imposed, opaque, or misaligned with their values.
According to a recent report released by CEPS, European financial regulators should adopt competitiveness as a formal secondary objective, following the precedent established by the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
According to the OECD. SMEs and start-ups that grow rapidly contribute significantly to job creation, economic growth and competitiveness. Indeed, SMEs that grow by one-third over a three-year period, contribute about as much to job creation as large firms.
According to @McKinsey, banks must prepare for a new growth curve. Strategic precision —the ability to combine technology, capital discipline, and deep customer insight— will distinguish the leaders from the laggards.
According to Kristalina Georgeva IMF Managing Director, lifting growth requires three things: one, regulatory housecleaning to unleash private enterprise; two, deeper regional integration; and three, preparedness to harness AI.
According to The European House – Ambrosetti, the European Union has an opportunity to boost competitiveness and growth by simplifying regulatory and supervisory frameworks, particularly in the areas of sustainability and the financial sector.