There are eight Prince of Asturias Awards: Communication and Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts, Letters, Technical and Scientific Research, International Cooperation, Concord and Sports.

They are intended to acknowledge scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanistic work performed by individuals, work groups or institutions at an international level.

Nominees for any of the Awards should be outstandingly exemplary, and their work should be of acknowledged international standing.

Prince of Asturias Award for Communications and Hummanities
The award will be bestowed upon the person, group of people or institution whose work or research constitutes a significant contribution to universal culture in these fields.

Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences
The award will be bestowed upon the person, group of people or institution whose work or research in the fields of Anthropology, Law, Economics, Geography, History, Psychology, Sociology or other Social Sciences constitutes a significant contribution to the progress of these sciences to the benefit of mankind.

Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts
The award will be bestowed upon the person, group of people or institution whose work in Architecture, Cinematography, Dance, Sculpture, Music, Painting or other forms of artistic expression constitutes a significant contribution to Mankind's cultural heritage.

Prince of Asturias Award for Letters
The award will be bestowed upon the person, group of people or institution whose work or research constitutes a significant contribution to universal culture in the field of Literature or Linguistics.

Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research
The award will be bestowed upon the person, persons, work group or institution whose discoveries or research work represent a significant contribution to Mankind's progress in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, and Earth and Space Sciences, or to techniques or technologies related to these fields.

Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
The award will be bestowed upon the person, persons or institution whose work has contributed to mutual understanding, progress and brotherhood among nations in an exemplary and significant way.

Prince of Asturias Award for Concord
The award will be bestowed upon the person, persons or institution whose work has made an exemplary and outstanding contribution to mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence amongst men, to the struggle against injustice, poverty, disease or ignorance, to the defence of freedom, or whose work has widened the horizons of knowledge or has been outstanding in protecting and preserving mankind's heritage.

Prince of Asturias Award for Sports
The award will be bestowed upon the person, persons or institution whose lives and works are not only examples to others, but who have also reached new heights in man's quest to surpass himself, and whose efforts have contributed to the advancement, nurturing, promotion or dissemination of sport.