The Technical University of Catalonia (Catalan: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, pronounced[uniβəɾsiˈtatpuliˈtɛŋnikəðəkətəˈluɲə], Spanish: Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest engineering university in Catalonia, Spain. It also offers programs in other disciplines such as mathematics and architecture.
UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it is one of Europe's technical universities with the most international PhD students and the university with the largest share of international master's degree students. UPC is a university aiming at achieving the highest degree of engineering/technical excellence and has bilateral agreements with several top-ranked European universities.
UPC is a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network, which allows for student exchanges between leading European engineering schools. It is also a member of several university federations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) and UNITECH. UPC is also a parent institution of the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).
The university was founded in March 1971 as the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona through the merger of engineering and architecture schools founded in the 19th century. As of 2007 it has 25 schools in Catalonia located in the cities of Barcelona, Castelldefels, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Igualada, Vilanova i la Geltrú and Mataró. As of the academic year 2017–18, the UPC has over 30,000 students and over 3,000 teaching and research staff, 65 undergraduate programs, 73 graduate programs and 49 doctorate programs.
Rankings
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is one of the top public universities in Barcelona, Spain. It is ranked #354 in QS World University Rankings 2024.UPC is consistently ranked as one of the leading European universities in the technology and engineering fields. U.S. News & World Report, for instance, ranks it as the world's 36th for Computer Science and 60th for Engineering. The QS World University Rankings also place the UPC among the world's 50 best universities in disciplines such as Architecture, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Instruments Science and Technology and Remote Sensing.
Schools
Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE)
Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering (EETAC)
Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB)
Manresa School of Engineering (EPSEM)
Vilanova i la Geltrú School of Engineering (EPSEVG)
Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB)
Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT)
Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB)
Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV)
Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB)
Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB)
Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB)
School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME)
Barcelona School of Nautical Studies (FNB)
Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry (FOOT)
Interdisciplinary Higher Education Centre (CFIS)
Image Processing and Multimedia Technology Centre (CITM)
Affiliated Schools
Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI)
Euncet University Business School (EUNCET)
EAE University Business School (EAE)
UPC UNESCO Chairs
Càtedra UNESCO de Direcció Universitària (CUDU) – UNESCO Chair of Higher Education Management
Càtedra UNESCO de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria de la UPC – UNESCO Chair of Numerical Methods in Engineering
Càtedra UNESCO de Sostenibilitat – UNESCO Sustainability Chair
Càtedra UNESCO en Salut Visual i Desenvolupament – UNESCO Chair of Vision and Development
Càtedra UNESCO en Tècnica i Cultura – UNESCO Chair of Technology and Culture
UPC Research Centers
The UPC has a number of research centres.
BSC – Barcelona Supercomputing Center
CCABA – Advanced Broadband Communications Center
CD6 – Centre for Sensors, Instruments and Systems Development
CDPAC – Cen. de Documentació de Projectes d'Arquitectura de Catalunya
CEBIM – Molecular Biotechnology Centre
CERpIE – C. Recerca i Desenv. per a la Millora i Innov.de les Empreses
CETpD-UPC -Tech. Research Cen. for Dependency Care and Autonomous Living
CPSV- Centre of Land Policy and Valuations
CRAE – Centre de Recerca de l'Aeronàutica i de l'Espai
CRAHI – Centre de Recerca Aplicada en Hidrometeorologia
CRAL – Centre for Research and Services for the Local Administration
CIMNE – International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering
CREB – Biomedical Engineering Research Centre
CREMIT – Center for Engines and Heat Installations
CRNE – Centre for Research in Nanoengineering
LACÀN – Specific Research Center of Numerical Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
LIM/UPC – Maritime Engineering Laboratory
LITEM – Laboratori per a la Innovació Tecnològica d'Estructures i Materials
MCIA – Center Innovation Electronics. Motion Control and Industrial Applications
PERC-UPC – Power Electronics Research Centre
TALP – Centre de Tecnologies i Aplicacions del Llenguatge i la Parla
TIEG – Terrassa Industrial Electronics Group
Science Fiction Award
From 1991–2010, the Board of Trustees at the UPC organized and awarded an annual Science Fiction Award. Currently the award is presented bi-annually.
Previous winners include:
2007: Brandon Sanderson, Defending Elysium; and Carlos Gardini d'Angelo, Belcebú en llamas
2008: Eduardo Gallego Arjona and Guillem Sánchez Gómez, La cosecha del centauro
2009: Roberto Sanhueza, Bis
2010: José Miguel Sánchez Gómez (Yoss), Super extra grande