Everybody that plans to go into higher education wants to prepare themselves in the best way possible to decide what they want to study and, above all, where they want to enrol. This is because many times, depending on the institution and the teachers taking the courses, a degree can completely change as it may focus more on one scope or it can support clear working opportunities. If you are looking for which are the best universities in Barcelona or the campus best suited to you, we give you all the answers!
Best Universities in Barcelona
In the official rankings of the best universities in the world we find that, in all of Spain, the best-placed ones are 3 of the public Catalan universities for excellence: Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Universidad de Barcelona and Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
-Public universities
Public universities are an excellent option to study your degree at as they have a better studying offer and more variety, their studies are official and the Spanish government supports them and, last but not least, they are usually much cheaper or even free if you comply with the established requirements set by the ministry of education.
This is the main university of the city and many consider it the best, not only in Barcelona, but in Spain too. Founded in 1450, and over its 550 years of history there have been many great people in Catalan history to have passed through its classes, such as Lluis Comanys, Josep Pla, Joan Maragall or Eugeni d´Or.
With 19 faculties spread out all over the city, the main and most beautiful one is the faculty of Philosophy and Maths, the historic building of UB is found on Plaza Universidad. It´s interior is not only a classic style, but inside you can find some truly treasures like the “Sala del Paraninf” or the collection of canvases, paintings and books that reside in its fantastic library.
Thanks to its complex characteristics and enormous offer of degrees, courses, masters and postgraduates, it has become an excellent option to study in for whatever subject, as they have as many official courses as their own ones.
Have you ever dreamed of going to an American-styled university with huge campuses, surrounded by grass where you can lay with friends studying or hang out? Well in that case stop dreaming for a minute because UAB is your ideal place. And it is that, in spite of being one of the best universities in Barcelona and all of Spain, behind that it is famous for its facilities and its laid back style. That being said, it is not entirely perfect in getting all that you want because you would have to stay in Cerdanyola del Vallès, some 50 minutes from the centre of Barcelona on public transport. This way, UAB offer a number of student residencies.
In the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, they have a veterinary course, which is considered the best in the whole of Spain. Furthermore, they are also specialists in languages, environmental science, courses in the field of social science and in communication and publicity.
The UPC is one of the best universities in Barcelona to study technology degrees and, above all, engineering. With 50 years of career paths, this public university has specialised in everything there is to see with technology development, engineering, design and architecture, therefore if you want to dedicate yourself to something in this field it should be your first choice.
The UPC has gained a great reputation over its many years in Spain, thanks to its 69 official undergraduate degrees, 61 masters and 46 doctorate programmes, without doubt a very specialised and hard to beat option to students.
Being one of the newest universities in Barcelona, it is has quickly stood out for its quality in level of education and is now placed in 1st place among the best Spanish universities. In addition, not only is it considered the best in the country, but the education they teach is at a level comparable to diverse European universities of great prestige thanks to its international character and its focus to investigation.
This modern university has three campuses spread out over the centre of Barcelona and it offers 40 distinct degrees, among them they find joint honours, simultaneous degrees or even degrees in English. Furthermore, degrees in law and of the ADE that they offer here are considered the best in the whole of Spain.
-Private universities
As for public universities, there are many private universities in Barcelona that offer excellent education. In spite of being a lot more expensive, many people opt to study in these institutions as they usually have better contacts in the world of work and, in the end, it is much easier to find a good job in the future.
Undoubtedly, this excellent private university in Catalonia, and almost in the whole of Spain, is the Ramón Llull. Inside this university there are 11 clear institutions of great fame like ESADE, Blanquerna or La Salle, which, although have a very high price, offer renowned education to its students. Furthermore, how it runs a completely self-managed centre, the teachers are usually successful business owners or famous celebrities in their field of work, therefore it would not be extraordinary if your teacher was the CEO of a large corporation or on TV.
If you decide to take your studies in this university you will be able to enjoy smaller class sizes than in public universities, with better materials and computers to be able to work on your projects and develop your education to the maximum.
You have already seen that Barcelona is an excellent option to study a degree or masters in, as there are over 8 universities where you can choose between thousands of higher education courses. It is impossible not to find what you are looking for! Also, many of these have a marked international character, therefore it is easy to find some studies that are taught entirely in English. So, what are you waiting for! Come to discover the best universities in Barcelona!