What CEU San Pablo University does

CEU San Pablo University (legal entity: Fundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU) is a private Catholic university headquartered in Madrid, Spain, operating across two main campuses in the Madrid metropolitan area: Moncloa (housing Humanities and Communication Sciences, Law, and Economics and Business) and Montepríncipe in Alcorcón (housing Pharmacy, Medicine, and the Institute of Technology). Founded with over 90 years of teaching tradition and officially established as a university in 1993, the institution is part of the broader CEU educational network, alongside three additional wholly-owned CEU universities in Valencia (CEU Cardenal Herrera), Barcelona (Abat Oliba CEU), and Sevilla (CEU Fernando III), plus the CEU FP Madrid vocational training subsidiary. The university is registered as a non-profit foundation with the Spanish Ministry of Education under registration number 60.

The institution offers a comprehensive portfolio across undergraduate degrees, dual degrees, master's programs, doctoral programs (through the CEU International Doctoral School), and continuing education, spanning eight knowledge areas: Health Sciences, Law and International Studies, Design and Creative Industries, Economics and Business, Education, Humanities, Engineering and Architecture, and Marketing and Communication. Distribution channels span on-campus instruction, international mobility programs (2,000+ placements), online international programs, and dual-degree collaborations anchored by a 20-year partnership with Boston University. Research infrastructure comprises 73 competitive research groups, 8 research centres, 17 specialized support services, and 3,400 m² of dedicated R&D facilities, with active participation in Horizon Europe, MSCA postdoctoral fellowships (10 grants awarded), and 116 competitive research projects totaling 5.9 million EUR. The university holds WASC/WSCUC US-equivalent accreditation and the European Commission's HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R) award (December 2021), and operates five open-access academic journals via Open Journal Systems.

Revenue mechanics rely on tuition and fees across degree programs (publicly undisclosed, with the official Ministerio registry noting no public shareholders); the foundation structure precludes equity-based fundraising. Distribution to industry is enabled by 12,000+ company agreements (convenios), cited as supporting a 94%+ graduate labor insertion rate. Customer segments are primarily prospective undergraduate and graduate students, supplemented by doctoral researchers and continuing education professionals. Multiple Spanish research-funding relationships (ANECA, FECYT, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Comunidad de Madrid) and private foundation grants (BBVA, La Caixa, Lilly, Mapfre, Mutua Madrileña, Rafael del Pino, Ramón Areces) provide supplementary research funding streams rather than core revenue.

Name

CEU San Pablo University

Legal name

FUNDACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA SAN PABLO CEU

Website

https://uspceu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CEU San Pablo University is a private Catholic university in Madrid, Spain, offering undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs across 8 knowledge areas, serving prospective students with 12,000+ corporate partnerships and 2,000+ international mobility placements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate master's programs
• Doctoral research programs
• Continuing professional education

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEU San Pablo University is a private Catholic university delivering higher education across bachelor's, dual degree, master's, doctoral, and continuing education programs in 8 knowledge areas (Health Sciences, Law, Design, Economics, Education, Humanities, Engineering, and Marketing). It operates two Madrid campuses (Moncloa and Montepríncipe), offers 75+ degree programs, and runs an open-access scientific publishing division with 5 academic journals on the OJS platform.

Product overview

CEU San Pablo University is a private university in Madrid offering a comprehensive portfolio of academic programs across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels in 8 knowledge areas (Health Sciences, Law, Design, Economics, Education, Humanities, Engineering, and Marketing). The university's scientific publishing division operates 5 open-access academic journals (Doxa Comunicación, Escuela Abierta, Microtextualidades, Constelaciones, and Arbitraje) published through Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Research infrastructure includes competitive research groups, ethics committees, MSCA postdoctoral fellowships, and HR Excellence in Research recognition (HRS4R).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Degree Programs (Grados)

Quantifiable outcome

• 94%+ labor insertion rate
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Collaboration in historical symposium 'Spain and the Birth of American Democracy' showcasing Spain's contributions to American independence
• Queen Sofía Spanish Institute (QSSI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Co-organized historical symposium on Spain's contribution to American democracy with Queen Sofía presiding
• Fundación Ramón Areces (FRA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025Co-sponsored historical symposium on Spain and American democracy alongside DAR and QSSI
• Boston UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner20-year collaboration partnership with Boston University, involving academic exchanges, joint research initiatives, and dual degree programs
• ANECA (Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación)coreOthersNational agency for quality assessment and accreditation in Spanish higher education
• FECYT (Fundación Española de Ciencia y Tecnología)coreOthersSpanish foundation supporting science and technology, providing grants and research funding opportunities
• Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIcoreOthersGovernment health research institute providing strategic health action funding and research grants
• Horizon EuropecoreOthersEuropean Union's reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training, supporting MSCA fellowships and research projects
• Comunidad de MadridcoreOthersRegional government providing research calls and funding through Dirección General de Universidades e Investigación

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ESADE: Established private business and law school in Spain with international rankings; overlaps with CEU's business, law and economics programs but is more specialised and globally branded.
• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid: Public research university in the Madrid metropolitan area with strong programs in law, economics, engineering and social sciences; competes for the same Madrid-based student talent and research talent pool.

Regional players

• Boston University: Major US private research university and CEU's 20-year strategic partner for dual degrees and exchanges; comparable in comprehensive research university profile but operating in a different (US) geography.

Others

• Fundación Universidad-Empresa (FUE): Spanish university-industry foundation that channels corporate partnerships and internship programmes into universities; functionally comparable to CEU's 12,000+ corporate agreements infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Universidad Pontificia Comillas: Madrid-based private Catholic university offering undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs with strong industry links in law, economics and engineering; competing for the same Madrid and Spanish student pool.
• IE University: Private Spanish university with strong international positioning, multi-campus presence (Madrid and Segovia) and a wide portfolio of undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs; competes directly with CEU for Spanish and international students.
• Universidad de Navarra: Private Catholic university in Spain with comprehensive degree offerings, a large research operation and an international student body; directly comparable in mission, faith-based identity, and program breadth.
• Loyola University Andalusia: Private Jesuit/Catholic university in southern Spain (Sevilla region) with undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs; directly comparable in Catholic mission and offering, including overlap with CEU's Sevilla subsidiary.
• Universidad Europea: Large private Spanish university with multiple campuses and a broad health sciences, business and engineering portfolio; competes for tuition-paying students and employer partnerships across Spain.
• Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC Barcelona): Private non-state university in Barcelona with comprehensive undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs; competes with CEU Barcelona (Abat Oliba CEU) for private tuition-paying students in Catalonia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uspceu
• Facebookfacebook.com/USPCEU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/universidad-san-pablo-ceu

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEU San Pablo University