Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Coming to the UPF? Check out our tips on registering for courses and how Add/Drop works!
Established in 1990, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) is one of Barcelona’s newest institutions and has already earned an International Excellence Campus label from the Spanish Ministry of Education.
Learn more about the UPF programs open to international students here.
UPF Campuses
The main UPF campus is the CIUTADELLA CAMPUS, located next to Ciutadella Park and a few blocks from the beach. The campus has multiple buildings, an auditorium, an incredibly beautiful library, a cafe, and some terrace space. This is where courses in the BaPIS program and the Spanish classes take place.
Address: Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27
Closest Metro Station: Ciutadella - Vila Olímpica (L4 - Yellow).
Finding Your Classrooms: Classrooms are indicated as follows: 40.253.
The first number (40) is the address of the building (For example, Roger de Llúria building is 40).
The second number (253) is the room, the first number (253) indicating the floor number (2nd).
This would mean that your class is in building number 40, on the 2nd floor, in room number 253.
THE ESCI CAMPUS is located in a building on the other side of Ciutadella park, in the Born neighborhood. To get from one building to the other is about a 15 minute walk.
Address: ECSI - Passeig de Pujades, 1, 08003 Barcelona
Closest Metro Stations: Arc de Triomf (L1 - Red Line) and Urquinaona (L1 - Red Line and L4 - Yellow Line)
UPF welcome orientation: spring 2024
Below you can find the Welcome orientation program for both ESCI and BaPis students. It contains all the essential information students need regarding their program and navigating the campuses.
ENG Welcome_WINTER24.pdfCafés & libraries near the upf
Cafés
UPF Cafeteria - There is a cafeteria located on each UPF campus where you can buy a snack, coffee, or full meal. Prices are really reasonable. You can find more information here.
Cafè Menssana - Carrer de Sardenya, 48 - This cafe is located just a few minutes walking from the Ciutadella campus. It is a good place to have a nice lunch between classes.
El Cafè de la Pompeu - Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas, 40 - This cafe is located right across the street from campus and is perfect for bringing a coffee or croissant on the go.
All You Eat is Love - Carrer de la Marina, 52 - A quaint vegetarian restaurant with everything from coffee and cakes to salads and wraps.
Libraries
UPF Ciutadella Library - Located on the Ciutadella campus is a beautiful, historic library. Here you will have access to computers, study spaces, printers, and books.
UPF Poblenou Library - You can also use the library for Communication and Translation on the UPF Poble Nou campus. It is much more modern than the Ciutadella Library.
Close to Home: Find a library close to your housing here!
GRADING AT UPF
The UPF is Barcelona's most academically challenging university, and you'll find that you need to study hard to pass your classes. Most local students fail at least one class per semester - there is no grade inflation, and a C is considered a good grade. Be prepared to put in extra time and effort to be able to pass your courses.
You may have classes where the entire grade is based on a midterm and final exam alone. This makes it difficult to know how you are doing in a course, so it is important that you let your teachers know if you have any questions or need extra help.
Spanish Grade equivalency: Grades are structured differently in Spain compared to the U.S. You will be graded on a number scale from 1-10. Anything above a 5 is a passing grade, and it is very uncommon that students receive a 10. An 8 (considered to be a B) is a common good grade.
What appears on my transcript? Once grades are sent to your home institution it is up to your school to decide how it appears on your transcript. Some schools may transfer grades as pass/fail while others assign a letter grade, but this grid the UPF send along with your grades to help your school decide how to transfer them:
"The UPF's qualitative grading scale is: Suspens, Aprovat, Notable, Excel.lent and Matricula d'honor. The quantitative grading scale goes from 0 (the lowest grade) to 10 (the highest grade). The minimum grade to pass is 5 (Aprobat). The correspondence between the qualitative and quantitive grades is as follows:
Suspenso (suspens): from 0 to 4.9 (American system: D, E, F)
Aprobado (aprobat): from 5 to 6.9 (American system: C)
Notable (notable) from 7 to 8.9 (American system: B to B+)
Sobresaliente (excel.lent) from 9-10 (A- to A)
Matricula d'honor (Given to very few students) (American system: A+)
No presentado (no presentat): The student either withdrew from the course after add/drop or failed to take the final exam. No grade given.
The UPF does not give letter grades, the grades above are suggested and our US partners may establish their own equivalences to letter grades."
Transferring Credits: It is the responsibility of the student to confirm that they will get the appropriate credits with their home institution for any courses they take at the UPF. As you register for classes or during the add/drop period, be in touch with your advisor at home to ensure that you will be getting the credits you need. Once grades are sent to your home institution, it is up to your school to decide how it appears on your transcript. Some schools may transfer grades as pass/fail, while others assign a letter grade.
*ECTS are roughly double U.S. credits (for example, 6 ECTS equals 3 U.S. credits). Make sure you're enrolled in a minimum of 24 ECTS (12 U.S. credits) per semester.
STUDENT LIFE at UPF
While campuses don't exist in Spain the same way they do in the U.S., the UPF is the most similar when it comes to student groups.
You can join the soccer team, the choir, or attend a ski weekend with local students!
Learn more about UPF Sports teams.
Learn more about UPF Cultural Activities.
Learn more about UPF Volunteer Programs.
Learn more about the volunteer language program.
UPF attendance policies: bapis & esci
UPF-BAPIS: ATTENDANCE POLICY
In a semester 3 credit course at Bapis, you can miss 2 classes without penalty. The 3rd class you miss will affect your final grade, and every missed class after the second one will bring down your grade by one point. For example, 4 missed classes could drop your grade from an 8.5 to a 6.5.
Attendance at lectures is compulsory and shall be monitored daily by the teaching staff.
UPF-ESCI: ATTENDANCE POLICY
ESCI Students are deemed responsible for managing their absences, and no distinction shall be made between justified and unjustified absences. Emergency situations (hospitalization, family crises, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the program's academic director, once valid medical documentation has been provided.
Please send a doctor's note to internationalprograms@upf.edu
Please check the syllabus for every course for more details.
UPF faqs
Late withdrawal: If you wish to drop a course, after making sure you will still be fully enrolled, please send an email to academics@barcelonasae.com with the subject line: UPF late withdrawal. Additionally, you will then have to talk to the UPF professors informing you are willing to drop the course. The dropped course will appear as NP (No Presentado = Withdrawal) in the transcript. It can be requested until the day before the final exam.
Accessing your Home University's Catalogs/Online Databases - Along with UPF resources, you should be able to access your home university's databases for e-journals, articles, and e-books. If you cannot access these databases you should reach out to your home university for assistance.
Here more info on Registering for Classes & Add Drop at UPF.
Receiving your transcript after your semester at the UPF: All transcripts will be issued by the UPF once all grades have been submitted and approved by the UPF Academics Coordinator. This means that students will not need to take any action during this process, that will take up to 6 to 8 weeks after the departure date.
Re-taking an ESCI exam from your home university: If a student fails one of their ESCI classes, it will not be possible to re-take the exam. While this is a possibility for local students, international students are not usually in Barcelona after the official exam period has ended, and UPF does not allow students to re-take an exam if this is not in person.
UPF IT SERVICES
See PDF below or you can see their websites here:
Go in person to the Student Service Desk - Ciutadella Library/LRC Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27 Tel. (+34) 93 542 22 28
Support for Aula Global (Online UPF Platform)
How to use ESCI Sigma
BaPIS Academic welcome session.pdf