Find your degree. Compare universities. Choose with perspective.
Studying in Spain opens up a world of possibilities. SUN is being developed to help you understand them: what to study, where to study and what each option offers. An initiative from AulaMagna.News, with content in English and Spanish and a public methodology.
SUN: Spanish University Navigator
Our name describes our purpose: helping you navigate Spanish higher education. SUN also evokes the clarity we aim to bring to an academic, personal and professional decision. Every edition will identify its coverage, sources and update date.
Look beyond the university name
Degrees with similar names can offer different experiences. Curricula, teaching languages, placements, student support and campus settings all matter. SUN will examine those differences to help you identify a programme that fits your goals.
The project will develop four strands: degree comparisons; faculty and school analysis; evaluation of Spanish universities; and international comparisons where equivalent indicators are available. Each edition will state exactly what it covers.
SUN Documentary methodology · version 2.0
SUN — Spanish University Navigator — compares educational provision and support documented in public sources. This editorial edition uses ten dimensions and twenty documentary checks. It retains the original weights while replacing non-comparable outcome measures with verifiable programme features.
What suns mean: they express documented fulfilment of this rubric. They are not a measure of total university quality, official accreditation, or an estimate of employment, student satisfaction or service effectiveness. A higher score means more checks evidenced in the reviewed corpus; a lower score may reflect information not located or inaccessible.
| Dimension | Weight | Check 1 · 50 points | Check 2 · 50 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Student support | 15% | Accessible academic guidance or tutoring | A degree- or centre-specific academic tutoring or mentoring programme |
| F · Humanities and ethical education | 12% | Explicit ethical or social programme competencies | An identified ethics, humanities, professional responsibility or profession-related social subject |
| P · Practical learning | 15% | Documented laboratory, field, applied-project or placement learning | An identified practical curricular experience with credits and compulsory/elective status |
| D · Career development | 18% | Specific career pathways published | Curricular external placements with credits and academic conditions published |
| C · Social engagement | 8% | Explicit curricular sustainability, environmental education or social responsibility | An identified degree- or centre-level service-learning or community collaboration project |
| R · Academic experience and outcomes | 10% | Degree quality assurance or monitoring identified | An accessible, dated degree results report or table |
| I · International experience | 5% | Documented access to international mobility | Degree- or centre-specific destinations, agreements or international courses/programmes |
| N · Teaching innovation and improvement | 7% | Discipline-specific digital tools or explicitly active learning methods | An identified degree- or centre-level teaching innovation or improvement project |
| B · Wellbeing and community | 5% | An identified institutional psychological support or wellbeing service | Operational access information: contact, booking or procedure |
| E · Accessibility and equal opportunity | 5% | An identified institutional disability, inclusion or adjustment service | Financial aid with application and eligibility information |
Common rules for every degree
Each evidenced check contributes 50 points to its dimension: two checks score 100, one scores 50 and none scores 0. Checks are binary and require explicit public evidence. Zero means “not evidenced in the sources reviewed”, not that a service or activity is absent. Scores are not assigned intuitively, private outcomes are not imputed, and weights are never redistributed.
A, F, P, D, C, R, I and N accept degree or centre evidence where its application to degree students is identified. B and E describe institution-level context shared with other programmes. Source scope is identified. Another centre, a master’s programme, a joint degree or an old qualification cannot substitute for evidence of the assessed degree.
The review covers programme descriptions, curricula, course guides, quality documents, guidance, mobility and student-service pages. Institutional-domain searches cover tutoring, ethics and social education, placements, service-learning, digital tools, innovation, mobility, wellbeing, disability and financial aid. Each edition identifies its source corpus.
Curricula, regulations and services must correspond to provision documented at the cutoff. Reports and experiences use the academic-year window 2021–2022 to 2026–2027 for this edition, closed on 5 November 2026. Registered, approved projects can evidence innovation or collaboration provision while still in development; they are not described as completed outcomes. Electives, mobility places and aid availability can change.
For F, an explicitly profession-related social subject can evidence the second check; a generic institutional mission statement cannot. For P, a final-year project counts only when applied activity is described. D distinguishes curricular from extracurricular placements. For R, empty templates do not evidence results. For I, English-language teaching alone does not establish an international programme.
For N, digital tools must be discipline-specific or active methods explicitly described. Its second check requires an identifiable teaching innovation or improvement project or action. One experience can evidence both social engagement and teaching improvement when both features are documented; checks are not presented as statistically independent.
Calculation and positions
S = 0.15A + 0.12F + 0.15P + 0.18D + 0.08C + 0.10R + 0.05I + 0.07N + 0.05B + 0.05E. Dimensions range from 0 to 100 and weights total 100%.
SUN suns = 1 + 0.09 × S. The scale ranges from 1 to 10. Scores display two decimals using decimal half-up rounding; positions use unrounded S. Exact ties share a position and the next position skips accordingly. Alphabetical order within a tie is for readability only.
Ten suns means all twenty checks were evidenced in the edition, not academic perfection. Each ranking must state coverage, cutoff, methodology version and evidenced checks.
Traceability and corrections
Each edition publishes ten dimension scores, evidenced checks and sources. Information not located and access limitations are recorded as corpus limitations and may change the result when further evidence is supplied. Institutions may request corrections under common rules. Score-changing corrections must have a date and reason.
Version 2.0 replaces the earlier rate- and survey-based specification. Scores are not comparable with that design or a bibliometric ranking. A winner is not selected before calculation; advertising, sponsorship and commercial services do not change scores.
Spain, explained for international students
Choosing from abroad means understanding admission documents, actual teaching languages and the costs to plan for. SUN’s guides will address those questions alongside campus, study mode, financial support and practical opportunities.
An English-language profile does not mean the degree is taught entirely in English. Platform language and teaching language will always be distinguished.
Evidence and independence
Every edition will identify sources, time periods and limitations. If SUN conducts surveys, their participation and methods will be explained. Positions and suns will not be for sale: advertising, sponsorship and commercial services will not change assessments.
Institutions will be able to provide evidence and report errors through a common procedure. Material corrections will be recorded.
First comparisons
The first comparison prepared covers Environmental Sciences degrees at 29 universities. The ranking will be published separately with positions, sun ratings, provinces and sources.
Discover your options. Understand the differences. Choose your future in Spain.
SUN · Spanish University Navigator · An AulaMagna.News initiative.