The University of Barcelona (UB), founded in 1450, is the largest public university in Catalonia, with faculties spread across the centre of Barcelona. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, it was 165th in the world and the highest-ranked university in Spain. It’s known for medicine, the life sciences, pharmacy, psychology, economics and the humanities.
UB’s fees are among the lowest of any top European university, but most of its teaching is in Catalan and Spanish, and places go to the applicants with the highest admission marks. Here are 10 things you can do to give yourself the best chance, based on the University of Barcelona’s own guidance and official Spanish government information.
1. Get ready to study in Catalan and Spanish
Most UB courses are taught in Catalan and Spanish, so you’ll need a good level of Spanish and a willingness to learn Catalan. UB’s language services run a reception programme with Catalan courses for international students. A few degrees, such as International Business, are taught entirely in English.
2. Get your school qualification accredited
Spanish public universities admit students by an admission mark. If your school qualification is from an EU country, the International Baccalaureate, the European Baccalaureate or a country with a reciprocity agreement (such as the UK, China, Switzerland or Norway), you apply to UNEDasiss, run by Spain’s national distance university, for an accreditation that converts your grades to a mark of 5 to 10. If your qualification is from another country, such as the US or India, you usually need to have it officially recognised (homologated) by Spain’s Ministry of Education or go through UNEDasiss. You then apply through the Catalan government’s pre-enrolment system. UNEDasiss.
3. Raise your admission mark with the PCE
Popular degrees have high cut-off marks (notas de corte), and the maximum admission mark is 14. You can add up to 4 points by taking UNEDasiss’s subject exams, the Pruebas de Competencias Específicas (PCE), or the optional phase of Spain’s university entrance exam, in subjects that count extra for your chosen degree. PCE results stay valid for three academic years, so you can take them a year early.
4. Apply in the pre-enrolment period
In Catalonia, you apply for bachelor’s places through the Generalitat’s pre-enrolment, usually in June for courses starting in September, and you can list several degrees in order of preference. Have your UNEDasiss accreditation or recognition receipt ready before the deadline, and check the cut-off marks from previous years to choose realistic options.
5. Check the requirements for your degree
Some degrees have extra requirements, such as aptitude tests for certain programmes, and weighting tables decide which of your subject exams count most. Check your degree’s page on the UB website for its admission requirements and the subjects that are weighted most heavily.
6. Prove your English for English-taught courses
If you choose an English-taught degree, you’ll need to show your level of English. Practise with our free IELTS and TOEFL practice tests.
7. Understand the fees
Fees at Catalonia’s public universities are set by the regional government. For 2026-27, UB’s bachelor’s degrees cost €17.69 per credit for first enrolment, so a full year of 60 credits costs about €1,060 plus administrative fees, and UB charges the same bachelor’s rate to EU and non-EU students. Master’s degrees cost more for non-EU students. UB enrolment prices.
8. Budget for life in Barcelona
Barcelona is one of Spain’s most expensive cities, and rents have risen sharply in recent years, so your living costs will be much higher than your fees. Start looking for accommodation as soon as you have a place, and budget for rent, food and transport.
9. Get your student visa
EU citizens don’t need a visa to study in Spain, but they must register as residents if they stay more than three months. If you’re from outside the EU, you apply for a student visa (a long-term stay for studies) at the Spanish consulate in your country once the University of Barcelona has admitted you. You’ll need to show that you can support yourself, normally 100% of Spain’s IPREM indicator for each month of your stay (€600 a month in 2025), or half that if your accommodation is already paid, plus health insurance. If your course lasts more than six months, you must apply for a foreigner identity card (TIE) within a month of arriving. Spanish consulate: student visa.
10. Plan for work during and after your studies
Since Spain’s new immigration regulation came into force in May 2025, a long-term study authorisation for higher education automatically lets you work up to 30 hours a week, as long as the job is compatible with your studies, with no separate work permit. After you graduate with a bachelor’s degree or higher, you can apply for a residence permit to look for a job or start a business. The Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet says this permit lasts up to 24 months, but you can’t work while you hold it, so you’ll need to switch to a work permit once you find a job. Rules change, so check the latest guidance with the University of Barcelona’s international office.
Applying for a master’s or PhD at UB?
UB offers a wide range of official master’s degrees, some taught in English, and each sets its own requirements and deadlines. If your degree is from outside the European Higher Education Area, you may need an equivalence study, and documents from outside the EU must be apostilled or legalised. Non-EU master’s students pay a higher price per credit. See our 50 sample SOPs and free GRE practice tests.
Be ambitious, but apply to a balanced list
Popular degrees have high cut-off marks, so apply to other options too. Read our guides to Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Madrid and Pompeu Fabra University. Our guide to studying in Spain explains how the Spanish system works, and our free study abroad assessment can help you build a shortlist.
Information was taken from the University of Barcelona’s official admissions and fee pages, UNEDasiss, Spanish government sources and the QS World University Rankings 2027, and checked in October 2026. Admissions rules, deadlines, fees and immigration rules can change, so always confirm the details on UB’s website for international students before you apply. StudyAbroadMarket is not affiliated with the University of Barcelona.