Selectivity 2026: complete guide to the PAU in Catalonia

BarcelonaUniversity entrance exams (PAU) are the mandatory step that all high school students who wish to pursue a university degree must take. Students who have completed a higher vocational training degree (FP) and wish to improve their grades to access university studies can also take them. In 2026, the selectivity exams will be held on June 9, 10, and 11, and for those taking the exams in September, the tests will take place on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of that month. We explain everything you need to know in this complete guide to the PAU in Catalonia.

PAU 2026 Calendar and Schedule

The selectivity begins on June 9. On the first day, in the morning, the exams for Castilian language and literature and foreign language (English or French) will be held. In the afternoon, students who have chosen the optional subjects of choir and vocal technique, physics, artistic foundations, geography, geology and environmental sciences, and dramatic literature will be examined. Wednesday, the 10th, in the morning, it will be the turn of history, history of philosophy, musical analysis, technical drawing applied to plastic arts and design, general sciences, Latin language and culture, and mathematics. From 3 p.m. onwards, the tests for biology, design, business operation and business model design, Catalan literature, technology and engineering will be held.

On the last day of the PAU, in the morning, June 11, students will be examined in Catalan language and literature, performing arts, artistic drawing, Greek language and culture, mathematics applied to social sciences, and cultural and artistic movements. In the afternoon, the exams for technical drawing, art history, music and dance history, Castilian literature, chemistry, and graphic-plastic expression techniques will be held.

Previous years' exams by topic

The best way to prepare for university entrance exams is by doing past exam papers. The structure and content of the selectivity tests are usually very similar each year: therefore, students can get an accurate idea of what they will find on June 9, 10, and 11. To do this, it is best to test yourself using the PDF exams from previous years and try to answer all the questions in less than an hour and a half (which is the time given on the day of the PAU).

How do the PAU work?

The selectivity is divided into two phases, the general and the specific. The first consists of the common subjects for which all high school students must be examined:

• Catalan language and literature
• Spanish language and literature
• Foreign language
• History or philosophy

They must also choose a common subject to be examined on from:

• Mathematics
• Mathematics applied to social sciences
• Latin
• Musical analysis
• Performing arts
• General sciences
• Artistic drawing

It should be remembered that this year there will be a single exam model, unlike previous years when students could choose between two different exams for each subject. Even so, the option to choose between two activities in each block of the exams is maintained.

The specific phase is more extensive and students from vocational training can also participate voluntarily to increase their final grade by up to 4 points. In this phase, the student can be examined in a maximum of three subjects from the following:

• cut-off grades for the 2025 selectivity exam

Furthermore, one can also choose from the common subjects as long as they have not been chosen in the general phase.

Publication of grades

This year, the Government estimates that the PAU results will be made public on June 23rd, Sant Joan's Day. University pre-registration will take place from June 2nd to 26th, and the first allocation of places will be on July 10th.

All about cut-off grades

Cut-off grades are used to decide how places for all degrees at each of the Catalan universities are allocated. To do this, the place is first awarded to the student with the highest grade and it goes down in order of grade until the places offered by that degree are exhausted. Therefore, what we know as "cut-off grade" is the score obtained by the last student who entered that particular institution. This grade is what serves as a reference for subsequent courses to provide guidance on whether it will be possible to access the desired studies before places are allocated. To get an approximate idea of whether it will be possible to enter a course based on your grade, you can consult the cut-off grades for the 2025 selectivity exam and also those from the last five years. selectivity exam cut-off grades for the year 2025 and also those from the last five years.