Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) is a modern and highly prestigious public university. It was founded in 1990 and is located in the urban centre of the city of Barcelona, by the sea. The University offers undergraduate and graduate courses in the social sciences, in the humanities, in communication and information technologies as well as in health and life sciences.
UPF is a university with a decisively international outlook and a steadfast commitment to forging links between students and society. This commitment accounts for the high degree of mobility of its students and the large number of foreign students (especially graduates) on its courses; its intense collaboration with universities all around the world; the fact that UPF has leading lecturers and teaching staff, as well as its participation on a multitude of international projects, networks and associations. All this has enabled Pompeu Fabra University to incorporate frontline companies from these sectors into its graduate programmes. These companies take an active part in drawing up the contents of programme subjects, actually teach certain classes and contribute their practical expertise in order to provide high-quality education.
Pompeu Fabra University, in collaboration with its Continuing Education Institute (IDEC) and its affiliated and associated centres of higher education, provides graduate education in a great variety of specialised fields (advanced theory academic courses, more practical courses geared to the labour market...) covering a broad spectrum of programmes of vital importance to promote the transfer of knowledge, innovation and development and at the same time provide expert training for highly specialised and qualified professionals.
Internationalisation
38% of graduate students are international
Employment figures
Students' valuation of UPF
*Survey carried out by the UPF Board of Trustees with a group of 2,500 UPF students. Mark out of 10.
Because it is a high-quality public university
Pompeu Fabra University is a public university that offers comprehensive training in accordance with a rigorous educational model that demands high standards of excellence and quality.
Studying at UPF means acquiring training from a civic, cultural, scientific, humanistic, technical and professional point of view as well as attaining a degree of personal development which turns the student into a creative person, committed to their profession, to scientific progress and to society's future.
Since the very beginning, UPF has been indefatigable in its commitment to pedagogical renewal and to improving its educational processes. It achieves this through a series of initiatives: by providing support to the lecturers in their teaching; by introducing measures to improve the students' learning process; by introducing teaching evaluation, experimentation and innovation activities; by transferring the results of teaching innovation procedures to third parties, or by studying, monitoring and assessing educational activities throughout the University.
UPF lecturers are well known for their proven competency and their stalwart commitment and responsibility towards teaching and research
Student mobility to universities around the world is now a widespread phenomenon, and UPF has forged a name for itself as a leading university that attracts international students and shows a deep commitment to the international university community. It has achieved this by incorporating first-rate international teaching staff and researchers and by taking an active part in international projects, networks and associations. In this respect, it should be pointed out that 38% of graduate students are international.
UPF has already adapted all of its courses to the new model of education of the European Higher Education Area. To this end, UPF places great importance on the following aspects: students' practical training, implementing innovation in teaching, boosting practical skills, the use of new technologies in education, reducing the number of lectures in favour of tutorials for individuals or small groups, promoting lifelong education and the continuous assessment of students.
Quality improvement through new technologies is one of Pompeu Fabra University's main challenges. Currently UPF is one of the frontline universities in Spain in the development and implementation of state-of-the-art information and communication technologies, in both its academic and administrative environment.
UPF Library is considered Spain's best university library. It is open 360 days a year, seven days a week. The Library boasts 600,000 volumes and 16,000 specialised reviews for teaching, research and learning, and its highly trained and experienced library staff are there to answer queries and to help with information searches and administrative procedures.
Computer room facilities with long opening hours and constantly updated software; a wide range of self-learning resources; the Student Information Desk; accommodation services; the psychological counselling service; a human team to help out in whatever is needed... These are examples of the services and study, research and student support tools that UPF makes available to its students and teaching staff.
Research at UPF is oriented towards creating new scientific knowledge which will benefit human beings: which will improve people's health and provide clues to interpreting the world so as to contribute to making it more governable, more just and friendlier.
UPF carries out high-level research, focusing on state-of-the-art projects in the following areas:
UPF places a multidisciplinary team at the service of companies and institutions. It is made up of almost one thousand highly-qualified researchers who are used to working with and providing effective and innovative solutions to production and services environments and to the administrations.
UPF provides information concerning the professional environment and connects the student with the labour market in an enduring way. 86% of students find a job within the first six months after graduating, and over 73% find employment in jobs related to their studies.
UPF campus is located on the Rambla as well as in the new technological district of Barcelona, known as 22@, close to the beach and as well as the centre of Barcelona.
