Domain · Physical Sciences · Spain
Physical Sciences research in Spain
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid ranks first in Spain for Physical Sciences research in 2022–2025 (#312 worldwide), followed by Universitat de Barcelona and Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats.
- Spain's world rank
- #13 of 157 countries, 2022–2025
- Works, 2022–2025
- 128k
- Top-10% rate
- 18.4%
- Ranked institutions
- 60
Research strength only: this says nothing about teaching, admissions or cost.
What is the best university for Physical Sciences in Spain?
| # | Institution | World rank | Score | Top-10% rate | Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universidad Autónoma de MadridMadrid | #312 | 39.3 | 21.5% | 2,379 |
| 2 | Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona | #321 | 39.0 | 20.5% | 2,930 |
| 3 | Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvançatsBarcelona | #407 | 36.5 | 32.1% | 840 |
| 4 | University of the Basque CountryLeioa | #463 | 35.2 | 17.0% | 3,775 |
| 5 | Universitat de ValènciaValencia | #512 | 34.1 | 20.3% | 2,687 |
| 6 | Universidad Complutense de MadridMadrid | #564 | 33.1 | 17.0% | 3,460 |
| 7 | Universitat Politècnica de CatalunyaBarcelona | #594 | 32.5 | 16.4% | 5,076 |
| 8 | Universidad de GranadaGranada | #598 | 32.4 | 21.1% | 3,335 |
| 9 | Donostia International Physics CenterDonostia / San Sebastian | #629 | 31.9 | 22.4% | 479 |
| 10 | IkerbasqueBilbao | #638 | 31.8 | 24.7% | 908 |
| 11 | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasMadrid | #645 | 31.6 | 16.4% | 1,798 |
| 12 | Universidad de SevillaSeville | #653 | 31.5 | 17.9% | 4,077 |
| 13 | Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaCerdanyola del Vallès | #656 | 31.5 | 21.4% | 1,975 |
| 14 | Institute of Photonic SciencesBarcelona | #659 | 31.4 | 23.8% | 370 |
| 15 | Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaValencia | #663 | 31.4 | 16.6% | 4,106 |
| 16 | Universidad de ZaragozaZaragoza | #678 | 31.1 | 15.6% | 2,642 |
| 17 | Universidad Politécnica de MadridMadrid | #790 | 29.5 | 18.1% | 4,179 |
| 18 | University of AlicanteAlicante | #824 | 29.1 | 19.6% | 1,988 |
| 19 | Universidade de VigoVigo | #826 | 29.0 | 19.6% | 1,947 |
| 20 | Instituto de Física TeóricaMadrid | #896 | 28.2 | 42.6% | 255 |
| 21 | Universidad de OviedoOviedo | #1,087 | 26.1 | 18.0% | 2,109 |
| 22 | Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela | #1,135 | 25.7 | 18.6% | 1,827 |
| 23 | Universitat Rovira i VirgiliTarragona | #1,142 | 25.6 | 21.5% | 1,242 |
| 24 | Institut Català d'Investigació QuímicaTarragona | #1,168 | 25.4 | 26.0% | 237 |
| 25 | Universidad de SalamancaSalamanca | #1,210 | 25.0 | 19.2% | 1,615 |
| 26 | Universidad Carlos III de MadridMadrid | #1,255 | 24.6 | 18.3% | 2,420 |
| 27 | Universidad de La LagunaSan Cristóbal de La Laguna | #1,267 | 24.5 | 19.8% | 1,234 |
| 28 | Universidad de MálagaMálaga | #1,363 | 23.7 | 17.6% | 1,995 |
| 29 | Universidad de MurciaMurcia | #1,374 | 23.6 | 19.5% | 1,339 |
| 30 | Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de MadridMadrid | #1,401 | 23.5 | 13.9% | 374 |
| 31 | University of Castilla-La ManchaCiudad Real | #1,416 | 23.3 | 16.6% | 1,769 |
| 32 | Universidad de ValladolidValladolid | #1,449 | 23.1 | 16.4% | 1,565 |
| 33 | Universidad de CantabriaSantander | #1,472 | 22.9 | 16.5% | 1,117 |
| 34 | Universidad de AlcaláAlcalá de Henares | #1,514 | 22.6 | 21.4% | 1,320 |
| 35 | Universitat de les Illes BalearsPalma | #1,636 | 21.8 | 21.4% | 774 |
| 36 | Universitat de GironaGirona | #1,701 | 21.4 | 19.0% | 919 |
| 37 | Universidad de ExtremaduraBadajoz | #1,723 | 21.3 | 18.8% | 1,377 |
| 38 | Universidad Rey Juan CarlosMadrid | #1,798 | 20.8 | 19.1% | 1,703 |
| 39 | Barcelona Supercomputing CenterBarcelona | #2,022 | 19.6 | 22.5% | 375 |
| 40 | Universidad de CádizCadiz | #2,024 | 19.6 | 15.7% | 1,369 |
| 41 | Centro de AstrobiologíaTorrejón de Ardoz | #2,028 | 19.5 | 24.3% | 218 |
| 42 | Material Physics CenterDonostia / San Sebastian | #2,065 | 19.4 | 16.5% | 170 |
| 43 | University of AlmeríaAlmería | #2,071 | 19.3 | 18.4% | 930 |
| 44 | Instituto de Tecnología QuímicaValencia | #2,079 | 19.3 | 13.5% | 236 |
| 45 | Institut Català de Nanociència i NanotecnologiaBarcelona | #2,103 | 19.2 | 19.2% | 237 |
| 46 | Instituto de Física FundamentalMadrid | #2,117 | 19.1 | 21.5% | 215 |
| 47 | Universitat Jaume ICastellon | #2,125 | 19.0 | 16.4% | 1,163 |
| 48 | Parc Científic de la Universitat de ValènciaPaterna | #2,192 | 18.7 | 21.6% | 499 |
| 49 | Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry ApplicationsCerdanyola del Vallès | #2,201 | 18.7 | 40.3% | 176 |
| 50 | Universidad de JaénJaén | #2,236 | 18.5 | 20.2% | 1,139 |
| 51 | Universidade da CoruñaA Coruña | #2,273 | 18.3 | 16.2% | 1,236 |
| 52 | Institut de Ciència de Materials de BarcelonaCerdanyola del Vallès | #2,356 | 18.0 | 16.5% | 296 |
| 53 | Instituto de Astrofísica de CanariasTenerife | #2,400 | 17.8 | 23.0% | 360 |
| 54 | Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de SevillaSeville | #2,426 | 17.6 | 16.5% | 241 |
| 55 | University of CórdobaCórdoba | #2,496 | 17.4 | 20.6% | 976 |
| 56 | Basque Center for Materials, Applications and NanostructuresLeioa | #2,502 | 17.3 | 22.1% | 252 |
| 57 | Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex SystemsPalma | #2,533 | 17.2 | 29.9% | 169 |
| 58 | Madrid Institute for Advanced StudiesMadrid | #2,541 | 17.2 | 16.5% | 254 |
| 59 | Universidad de BurgosBurgos | #2,577 | 17.0 | 17.5% | 707 |
| 60 | Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de AragónZaragoza | #2,620 | 16.8 | 16.2% | 260 |
Institutions in Spain above the floor of 40 fractional works in Physical Sciences, ordered by their worldwide rank on research quality, 2022–2025.
Who are the top Physical Sciences researchers in Spain?
Francisco Herrera, D. F. Torres and Maciej Lewenstein rank highest among researchers based in Spain.
- 1Francisco Herrera#517 worldwide overall6.5k citations · 281 works
- 2D. F. Torres#8,568 worldwide overall2.9k citations · 257 works
- 3Maciej Lewenstein#11,489 worldwide overall3.4k citations · 332 works
- 4Antonio Plaza#12,339 worldwide overall3.5k citations · 356 works
- 5F. Guinea#21,952 worldwide overall2.8k citations · 263 works
- 6Sergei D. Odintsov#29,071 worldwide overall3.3k citations · 302 works
- 7Josep Peñuelas#30,345 worldwide overall4.1k citations · 267 works
- 8J. García-Bellido#31,610 worldwide overall2.4k citations · 259 works
- 9Avelino Corma#39,410 worldwide overall4.4k citations · 436 works
- 10J. Capmany#43,570 worldwide overall1.1k citations · 262 works
- 11R. Rébolo#56,979 worldwide overall2.5k citations · 405 works
- 12I. Vila#65,408 worldwide overall4k citations · 604 works
- 13A. Ruiz-Jimeno#73,318 worldwide overall4.2k citations · 645 works
- 14R. Miquel#79,589 worldwide overall1.9k citations · 289 works
- 15E. Sánchez#89,181 worldwide overall1.9k citations · 288 works
How Spain compares with other countries in Physical Sciences