Academic Information

The Academic Secretary’s Office aim is to help you as regards all administrative and academic questions related to your studies and which offers you information on the current year’s studies: academic calendar, timetables, classrooms...; the most common academic formalities —registration and amendment of the registration, exam withdrawals, etc.

You will see that the name of this space may vary, depending on the type of course you are taking:

• Academic Secretariat for undergraduate courses
• Master’s Academic Secretary
• Doctorate Academic Secretary

If you need any help or any further information, please enquire at the Student Information Desk.

From Campus Global, “Aula Global and teaching” section, you will have access to the online classrooms of each of the subjects for which you are registered for the current term. You can access all classrooms from the Aula Global section.

Each of your online classrooms will contain:

• An information and management area featuring a list of your classmates, the name(s) of the subject’s lecturer(s), its course plan and its recommended bibliography.
• A central content area, which may offer a greater or lesser degree of activity and interactivity, depending on the subject: classroom, activity submission, areas for participation, questionnaire banks, subject support materials, etc.

You will be able to access your AG as of the beginning of the academic year. Each AG will also be available to you the year after studying the corresponding subject, so that you can retrieve materials and review content from the previous year.

We recommend you follow the instructions you are given by the lecturers for each subject. If you encounter any problems in using Aula Global, you can ask ‘La Factoria’ for assistance.

If your family income is low, you can apply for various scholarships and grants that will exempt you from paying some or all of your registration fees.

Some scholarships also include cash grants that are paid directly into your current account.

Check the various announcements for which you might be eligible, the requirements and deadlines for submitting the application form on our Scholarships and Grants website.

At Pompeu Fabra University subjects are taught mainly in Catalan, Spanish or English. It is important that before you enrol you consult on the website of your studies in what language or languages the subjects/groups will be taught to ensure that your language knowledge will enable you to follow the lessons and understand the literature and course materials.

To help you improve your knowledge of languages, UPF offers language tests, subsidised courses with the Parla3 programme and official certificates via Languages UPF. You might also be interested in the UPF minor in Plurilingualism. In addition you can practise languages through Language Volunteering.

Free elective cross-disciplinary training 

Would you like to take subjects of other courses? You can take them through Free elective cross-disciplinary training. When you are to take optional subjects, in addition to the subjects of your studies, you can choose from those which UPF offers as free elective cross-disciplinary training. These subjects will appear as optional in your academic records.

Minors

Supplement your official studies training with a minor. Minors offer you the chance of training in a field other than the core of your studies and allow you to acquire specific skills in a different area from your bachelor's or master's degree studies. You can take thematic or transversal minors that will help you gain more complete training, allow you to go beyond your syllabus and acquire knowledge and skills in order to round off your education at the University. 

Languages UPF

Foreign languages are essential for making the most of your academic life and as preparation for your professional life. That is why they are a vital part of the curriculum tracks available on UPF and, moreover, Languages UPF will help you to improve your skills in these languages and you can obtain AGAUR grants up to €350 per academic year for tuition until you can accredit an advanced level in any of these four languages. Upon finishing a course of this level at Languages UPF, you will be able to use the certificate to pass the language requisites of your degree course.

In addition, in keeping with current regulations, you can have your credits recognized for your degree academic record if you study any foreign language catered for by Languages UPF: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Russian.

In addition, if you wish to supplement your bachelor’s degree with training in two or more foreign languages through Languages UPF, you can the UPF minor in plurilingualism.

Also, each term Languages UPF provides Catalan language courses throughout the academic year, ranging from beginner level to proficiency level (level C), with a view to making students and teaching

staff from outside Catalonia feel at home and aiding their integration into the university’s community and Catalan society. Additionally, members of the community in question and the general public alike can study and sit exams to obtain accreditation corresponding to the advanced level (level D) and have your credits recognized for your degree academic report, in accordance with the current regulations in force.

Languages UPF also offers Spanish language courses for the international university community, as well as courses for training as a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language, which can lead to a career with excellent prospects.

Summer courses

The summer course programme comprises subject-specific and instrumental courses covering a varied range of topics, the aim being to provide comprehensive training for students and pave the way for the general public to acquire knowledge. Summer courses may be taught on a face-to-face basis in classrooms on UPF’s premises or online via Campus Global.

The courses in question, which are fully adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), are taught in the months of July and September and have a minimum duration of 20 teaching hours.

Among the highlights offer Barcelona International Summer School (BISS) as a flagship program to improve the curriculum of both domestic and international undergraduate students during the summer term in Barcelona. Courses are credit-bearing (ECTS) and can be taken in English, Spanish or Catalan, in and international classroom environment. They are structured in modules of different duration and intensity, which can be flexibly combined in periods ranging from one to five weeks.

MOOC

MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) are free courses that aim to share and disseminate knowledge on the basis of the materials that the teachers upload to the web and the discussions that are raised. If you want to do a course of UPF or another university with participants from around the world, visit the UPF MOOC website or go straight to the FutureLearn or Miríadax platforms.

The academic offering includes the new Barcelona Program for Interdisciplinary Studies (BaPIS). This program,  is open to both all UPF undergraduate students and students from other national and international universities and begins in January 2021. The courses have credit recognition (ECTS) as FTLE and are taught in English, Spanish or Catalan, always in an international environment. The BaPIS rolls out a catalog of courses as part of the FTLE and breaks down the barriers of the disciplines and open multidisciplinary perspectives to topics of interest and current affairs. All subjects have 6 ECTS.