The Universities of Barcelona are among the best educational institutions not only in Spain but also in Europe. Despite the fact that in general the rating of Spanish universities is not very high, it is the higher educational institutions (universities) of Catalonia that are famous for the quality of their education. This article will focus on the best universities in Barcelona according to their national rankings.
A Brief History of Universities in the Region
The first schools of a civil and ecclesiastical character, according to general archival data, began to appear in Barcelona as early as the 13th century. In 1402, King Martin I the Humane issued a decree according to which all schools in Barcelona were to study the medical sciences and arts. In 1450, another king, Alfonso V, unifies all the scattered schools in Barcelona, and at this time its main universities begin to form.
From the 16th to the 18th century, the number of universities in Barcelona continues to increase, buildings are built for them,main faculties. The 19th century was marked by the official opening of new buildings for some educational institutions, for example, for the University of Barcelona, as well as obtaining autonomy.
In the 20th century, the life of universities in this Spanish city was very difficult, because with the advent of the Franco dictatorship in 1939, a period of repression began that affected academic circles. Only in 1977 began the period of normalization of university life, modernization and democratization of the learning process in the universities of Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwhich regained autonomy only in the 90s of the XX century.
Main Universities in Barcelona
When compiling a list of the main universities in Barcelona, experts are based on the area they occupy and the number of students studying in them. According to recently released official figures from the Organization for Education and Development in Barcelona, the top three universities in this Catalan city are:
- Pompeu Fabra University (UPF);
- Autonomous University of Barcelona (AUB);
- University of Barcelona (UB).
These universities are top not only in the autonomous region of Catalonia, but throughout Spain. In addition to these three, two more universities are among the top best educational institutions in the country. These are the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the European University of Barcelona.
Best University in Spain
Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) is the most important universityBarcelona, which is distinguished by a high quality of education. It is the only university in Spain ranked among the top 200 institutions in the world. In addition, UPF ranks seventh in the list of young and rapidly growing universities in the world.
Founded in 1990, its main priorities are freedom, democracy, justice, equality, independence and diversity. It is these values that teachers try to instill in their students, in addition to providing knowledge in the main subjects of each speci alty. Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona prepares bachelors in 24 areas, masters in 28 and doctors of science in 9 areas. It has the following faculties:
- humanities;
- medical sciences;
- polytechnics;
- economics and management;
- political and social sciences;
- communications;
- right;
- language translation.
In addition, UPF University owns six additional centers and three campuses - university campuses, in which the following faculties are located:
- social and human sciences (Ciutadeia campus);
- Information Technology and Communications (Poblenou Communications Campus);
- Biomedical Sciences (Mar Campus).
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
The Autonomous University of Barcelona (AUB) was founded in 1968 and is located mainly on the Beyaterra campus in the Cerdanyola province of Barcelonadel Bayes. In addition to this campus, some of the faculties of the university are located in Manresa and Sant Sugat del Bayes. It is the second university in the Spanish ranking. AUB has over 37,000 students and over 3,000 professors.
When the university was founded in 1968, the goal was to establish four autonomous principles: free recruitment of faculty, free admission of students, free editing of curricula, free management of university classrooms to avoid overcrowding with students. The university is built relatively far from the city, but at the same time it is easily and quickly accessible.
The following faculties exist at AUB:
- engineering;
- Biology;
- science and communications;
- political and sociological sciences;
- right;
- economics and management;
- philosophy;
- medicine;
- psychology;
- language translation;
- veterinary.
University of Barcelona
This is the oldest university in the city, it was founded in 1450. Its main building is located on Gran Bia de las Cortes Catalanas. It is included in the ranking of the best universities in the country and takes an honorable third place in it.
Faculties of the University of Barcelona are located in different parts of the city. So, in addition to the main building, buildings are located on the Diagonal campus and in the province of Barcelona: Valle de Hebrón. The university has the second largest library in Spain, which includes1,611,721 volumes.
This institution has the largest number of faculties among universities in Spain. It should be mentioned that some of them are the best in the country, for example, the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Barcelona, according to the newspaper "The World" (El Mundo), is the best place in the country to study this discipline.
During more than 500 years of history, the university has produced a large number of specialists and famous scientists from Spain.
European University of Barcelona
Currently, this university is called the Business School. It is part of a network of European business schools, which are also open in Switzerland and Germany. The University has the following features:
- class in all subjects are held in English;
- students have great mobility with the opportunity to study not only in Spain, but also in other European countries;
- the teaching staff of the university is engaged not only in theory, but also in practice.
- this university is the leader among Spanish universities in terms of the percentage of employment of students in their speci alty after graduation.
The university has been operating in Barcelona for 40 years, during which time it has graduated more than twenty-five thousand specialists in the field of economics and business.
Reviews about studying in Barcelona
Reviews of people who have studied and are studying at various universities in this Spanish city, in general, are positive regarding the faculty, qualityeducation and the convenience of the location of universities. Students also note the friendly atmosphere in educational institutions and say that they spent the best years of their lives there.
There are also negative reviews on the Internet, in which former students express dissatisfaction with the cleanliness of the dormitories and uncomfortable furniture in the classrooms of the old University of Barcelona.
