Although home to some of the oldest institutions in Europe, Spain’s universities are where the Franco legacy is said to have lingered longest. Complaints include a semi-official system of patronage between established and young academics, dismal pay for junior teachers and researchers, poor publication records and limited investment in scientific research.

This is a generalised, national picture, though, and there are individual centres of excellence.

In the most recent survey of the world’s top 200 universities, the single Spanish university on the list scraped in at 190.

Bad news for Spain, but good news for Catalonia, as this one high-flyer is its very own Universitat de Barcelona.

Expats deciding whether to study here or go home will have to take language into consideration, as most (though not all) courses in Barcelona’s universities are taught in Catalan.

Unlike US and British universities, students here tend to live with their parents, creating an atmosphere that some may find narrow and lacking the extra-curricular intensity of campuses in Anglo states.

 University of Barcelona hall © Martin Dougiamas

Some institutions, such as Universitat Pompeu Fabra are considered too nationalistic and Catalo-centric for some tastes.

For admission to university (from either state or private schools), students must sit two sets of exams. Firstly, the Batxillerat and secondly, an exam set by the university itself, known as Selectivitat.

Admission of students whose educational qualifications were acquired outside Spain is notoriously bureaucratic.

To study a first or second degree here, high school diplomas and/or first degree certificates must be formally approved by the Delegación del Gobierno, which is located in Carrer Bergara 12 (93 520 96 03), near the Estació de França in El Born.

For helpful details (in English) on this process, phone the Barcelona Centre Universitari, the information service for the city’s universities, on 93 23 89 049.

EU nationals do not need a visa to be residents or study in Spain. Non-EU citizens will need to apply for a Visado de Estudios for a Spanish embassy or consulate in their home country.

Student Life

Barcelona’s student population is huge, with around 200,000 of the scruffy tikes spread across its several universities. The cultural, cosmopolitan and arty draw of the city attracts students from all over the world and for a variety of reasons.

Whether you’re on an Erasmus exchange, a TEFL programme, studying for a Masters or embarking on a full undergraduate course, there will be plenty of opportunity to get involved in this enriching city.

Students doing an undergraduate degree at larger universities can expect to be housed in halls of residence based on campus. The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, for example, houses students in the University Village (Vila Universitària), which is designed to feel like a self-contained city with parks, leisure centres and so on. It is worth contacting your university’s accommodation office well before you arrive.

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