Use of languages


Language use at the University

Catalan is the University’s own official language, and as such, it has institutional uses, both academic and administrative. In university teaching, Catalan and Spanish are used as official languages of Catalonia, as well as English, according to each faculty’s planning. Knowledge of other languages is also promoted with the aim of achieving a multilingual university and improving students’ language skills.

Professors and students have the right to express themselves, orally or in writing, in the official language of their choice. For example, students may write assignments and take examinations in either language, regardless of which language is used by the teaching staff. For incoming mobility students, the possibility of using other languages in assessment activities is also considered, if this is agreed in advance with the teaching staff.

Each centre announces the language of instruction before the academic year starts, so that students can check the language of instruction for each subject group when they enrol. The language indicated will not change, and it is maintained throughout the course. 

Mobility students can take an intensive introductory-level Catalan course, ten days before the start of each semester, and the Catalan Language Cultural Reception, which includes the CATclub activities and the Language Exchange Service. You can check the course calendar, the centres where they will be held and the registration system on the Language Services website.


Languages at the Faculty

We are committed to internationalization, and this is also visible in the languages used at the Faculty (beyond Catalan and Spanish). With this in mind, we offer a significant number of teaching credits in English in both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. We also offer, in some degrees (Business Administration and Management and International Business), the possibility of taking specific language courses for business.

Apart from teaching, we are an official examination centre for certain foreign languages, currently Italian.


Linguistic awards

We have organized several awards to promote the use of Catalan at the Faculty, some of them have a long history. On the one hand, we have some awards to honour the best academic papers written in Catalan: 

  • Award for the linguistic quality in bachelor’s degree final projects (TFG) (rules).
  • Award for the best master’s degree final project (TFM) written in Catalan (rules).
  • Ensaïmada Lingüística Award. Doctoral thesis category (rules).

On the other hand, we have a prize to award people in the Faculty who have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of Catalan or who have excelled in their efforts to learn the language and understand it:

  • Ensaïmada Lingüística Award, in the categories of students; PTGAS and PDI, awarded by popular vote. 

All these awards, with which the Language Services collaborate, are promoted by the UB’s Language Promotion Committee, and receive the support of the corresponding UB’s Office of the Vice-Rector for Language Policy.


Activities of the Language Promotion Committee
The Language Promotion Committee promotes awards and cultural initiatives to promote the Catalan language and its culture, and to showcase the linguistic diversity of the Faculty. Created around Saint George’s Day, several activities have been presented over the years as part of the Committee’s application: the Book Club, the Book Recommendations and FEEMots, the multilingual idiom game.