UPF IS A RESEARCH-INTENSIVE PUBLIC UNIVERSITY, COMMITTED TO TEACHING INNOVATION. FOUNDED IN 1990 IN BARCELONA, IT HAS A STRONG INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK
WHO WAS POMPEU FABRA?
This institution is named in tribute to Pompeu Fabra i Poch (1868–1948), the engineer and linguist who established the foundations of modern Catalan.
Through the standardization of its spelling, grammar and lexicon — notably with the publication of the Gramàtica catalana (1918) and the Diccionari general de la llengua catalana (1931) — he provided Catalan with a coherent and modern linguistic framework.
His scientific rigour and forwardthinking approach — remarkably advanced for his time — continue to inspire the University’s commitment to research excellence, innovation and service to society.
UPF WORLWIDE
2nd Spanish university
79th in Europe
176th worldwide
(Times Higher Education ranking, 2025)
6th Spanish university
99th in Europe
265th worldwide
(QS ranking, 2026)
1st Spanish university
2nd Spanish institution in ERC grants (absolute terms)
(88 grants since 2007)
ACTIVITY AROUND EIGHT DEPARTMENTS
ENGINEERING
MEDICINE AND LIFE SCIENCES HUMANITIES
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
COMMUNICATION
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
TRANSLATION AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES LAW
UPF CAMPUSES IN BARCELONA
CAMPUS DEL MAR
Doctor Aiguader, 80 08003 Barcelona
‒ MEDICINE AND LIFE SCIENCES
CAMPUS DE LA CIUTADELLA
Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27 08005 Barcelona
‒ POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
‒ LAW
‒ ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
‒ HUMANITIES
CAMPUS DEL POBLENOU
Roc Boronat, 138 08018 Barcelona
‒ COMMUNICATION
‒ ENGINEERING
‒ TRANSLATION AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES
UPF COMMUNITY 2025-2026
ACADEMIC YEAR
UNDERGRADUATE
1 joint programme in AI (coordinator)
5 joint programmes (partner)
1.409 full-time equivalent
746 technical, management and administration and service staff
research support staff
1. TEACHING QUALITY AND GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT
1st Spanish public university with the highest performance rate (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities, 2025)
Alumni: ‒ International chapters in 13 regions ‒ More than 5,000 alumni in 48 countries
First choice by students and employers
Innovative degrees interdisciplinary, international and English-taught
Alumni satisfaction
90% of graduates would choose UPF again (AQU Catalunya, Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency, 2023)
Intership agreements with more than 1,300 compaines (2024-2025 academic year)
92% graduate employment rate
(AQU Catalunya, Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency, 2023)
2. RESEARCHINTENSIVE
High performance and competitive research
Competitiveness
1st university in Spain for harnessing European funding (considering the size of the teaching staff)
95 projects and € 74 million from the EU Horizon Europe programme (from its launch in 2021 to December 2025)
Talent 1st university in Catalonia for attracting scientific and academic personnel for research of excellence (ICREA programme, in absolute terms, 2025)
1st university in Spain for projects funded by the EU’s most competitive research programme
· ERC, €1,5 M approx. per project
· Since 2007, UPF has secured 88 ERC grants—ranking first among Spanish universities
Tenure-track system 112 faculty members in 9 years
3. TRANSFER AND INNOVATION
Connecting research to society
Research valorization
UPF Proof of Concept programme
(5 editions between, 2018-2025)
35% of funded projects have resulted in incorporated spinoffs
Promoting entrepreneurship
Boosting social sciences and humanities Universitybusiness/society relationship
Agreements with benchmark companies in their sector
Cytometry Unit UPF/CRG and Cytek
+RAIN Film Festival
An international film festival focused on works created with AI
UPF Legal Clinic
(4 editions, 2020–2024)
52 projects supported >130 students trained since the program was established
Start-up UPF Seal
10 companies recognized (2024)
Music Technology Group and Yamaha
A service-learning initiative where UPF law students, professors, and volunteer lawyers provide free legal support to vulnerable individuals
Diari de Barcelona
A multichannel digital news platform relaunched by UPF with the Barcelona City Council, led and produced by journalism and communication students
4. INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK
Student mobility (undergraduate, credit mobility)
Degrees in a foreign language International teaching staff (teaching and research staff only, excluding personnel in training)
International doctoral students Research funding from international sources
GLOBAL REACH
Institutional
Alliances
Global
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES
Mobility/exchange
International degrees
Barcelona International Summer School (BISS)
Barcelona Program for Interdisciplinary Studies (BaPIS)
International Business Program (IBP, alongside with ESCI, School of International Business)
NEW RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COMPLEX, FOCUSED ON PLANETARY WELLBEING
Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Agora for Societal Wellbeing
