STUDENT REPORT
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Barcelona, Spain
Spring 2012
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The university has several campuses, but students from BI will be studying at Ciutadella Campus. The
location is great. It is next to the well-known Parc Ciutadella and only 2 minutes walk from the beach.
It is in Ciutadella Campus they teach economics and business amongst other subjects. It is also
possible to take classes in for example Poble Nou campus, if BI approves it. When you arrive at the
start of the semester you will see that there are a lot of exchange students from all over the world.
It is important to remember that the study structure in Barcelona is something completely different
from how we are used to from BI. I would say it is more like high school in the sense that you are
expected to participate in classes, give presentations, tests and all in all give a good impression of
your self to the professor. This might be uncomfortable in the beginning, but as you expect it, it is not a
problem at all.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Upon arrival at UPF I got a lot of information by email. This helped me understand when and where to
start school. For me the welcome week started the 5th of January whilst classes started the 9th. It is
important to understand that some things in Spain takes more time than the regular Norwegian would
expect. But you will get all the information you need in the end. UPF has a great program for
international students. They have a student organization called ESN. ESN hosts the welcome week
with parties and sightseeing’s etc in the beginning as well as throughout the semester. Something like
“fadderullan” at BI, but with less people (basically only the exchange students), and with events
continuously throughout the semester. The welcome week was a great way to get to know the new
students and your new friends. Remember that everyone is in the same boat. They all need to get new
friends and this makes the welcome week great for the exchange students. Attend the parties ESN
hosts and you will have found friends for life in no time. I found within days that UPF was a great
school with a good environment for international students.
I started with classes the 9th of January with the subjects I had already chosen online upon arrival. The
second week is add and drop week where you can make changes to your subjects. This week is
helpful because you might after one week have realized that you need to switch subjects. Only thing
necessary is to fill out an online form, and the switch will be done for you. Only remember to take
subjects you will get credits for in Norway. If you have any questions during the stay in UPF it was only
to go to the OMA office, which is the office with direct contact with the students. They all speak English
and will help with whatever you need, for example getting the signatures and stamps necessary for the
learning agreement.
UPF works with trimesters instead of semesters. This means that there is one trimester before
Christmas and two after. I had two exam periods, one after the first trimester right before Easter and
one exam period in June. I had my last exam the 29th of June and was therefore in Spain for 6 full
months. A good tip is to take most subjects before Easter so that you can have more time in the last
trimester. Remember that late spring is hot in Barcelona and it might be boring being stuck inside
studying every available second.
When arriving in Barcelona I had booked a hotel for one week because I did not want to book an
apartment unseen from Norway. I found an apartment located in the area called Eixample close to the
main train station at Sants (Estacio Sants). I found this area great because I felt it was safe and
convenient. It took me 30/35 minutes to get to school, which might have been more than necessary,
but it is something you will need to consider before closing the deal on any apartments. I would not
recommend living in the area closest to La Rambla or in a part next to it called Raval. It is usually
cheaper, but also much more unsafe. Not a place to be walking too much alone after dark. Gotico can
be confusing and people I know have both good and bad things to say about it. It is part of the “old
city” which means narrow streets and darker areas, but it is perfectly central and convenient. I was
recommended to not stay in either Gotico or Raval, but Gotico is at least much better than Raval.
Upon picking your apartment be sure to check where you are on the metro map. The metro is by far
the most important mean of public transport and will take you anywhere you need to go. I rented an
apartment together with another Norwegian girl studying at another school in Barcelona, and we lived
only the two of us. Most people rent only a room in a shared flat, just make sure the people you are
going to live with are ok. The school gives only a few tips about where to live, but these tips are
mainly for student residencies and is quite expensive compared to renting a flat. In Barcelona a flat will
cost between 300 and 500€ depending on size and location.
Other than on a flat my money went on basic living expenses and on different social events, either if it
is a night out or a dinner. The culture for social events and dining out is different, so quite a few meals
are eaten in restaurants and not at home. I did not experience many unforeseen costs. I didn’t even
spend any money on books. I bought as much as one book during my six months. In UPF it is not
common that everyone has their own book, and in a lot of the subjects you are not even required to
have one. A lot of the literature you need is put in power points or available online/in the library.
Because we are EU citizens we are not required to obtain any visa at all. But it is recommended to get
a NIE. This is a number you will need to register to get. Some things in Spain demands it, some banks
wants it, and if you want to use Bicing(city bike located almost everywhere in the city, perfect for
getting around). Bicing costs 40€ and can save you both time and money. For the metro you should
purchase a 3months card (you need to be 25 or under) and it will cost 100€. This is much cheaper
than buying a card for only one month at a time.
During my stay I decided to take part in the “Spanish for Erasmus” classes. This cost 90€ per
trimester, but I highly recommend it. It is 5 hours a week and gives 3ECTS. I had only had Spanish in
high school and wanted to learn more. With all my subjects in English and mostly international
(English speaking) friends I felt it was a great way to improve my Spanish skills. The learning you get
from studying a language in a country they speak it is huge. Even if the OMA office speaks Spanish it
is important to remember that not only is Barcelona in Spain, but it is part of Catalonia. In Catalonia
they speak Catalan, which is slightly different from Spanish. And in general people in Barcelona do not
speak to good English. So some basic Spanish makes it a lot easier to be understood. Barcelona is a
great city with a very diverse population and an interesting culture. Among the things that are different
is the “Siesta”. But after a while everyone will learn to understand and enjoy the culture as much as
everyone else in Barcelona.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
In UPF it is possible to choose courses in Spanish, Catalan or English. It is important to make sure
you are actually applying for a course in the language you want. I took all my classes in English and
the level of the professors English is good. Some are better than others of course, but nothing too bad.
The level of study in UPF is different than BI because the way of teaching is quite different. You are
getting grades not only from exams, but also from different test, presentation and how you act, and
what you say in class. This means that you get a more personal relationship with your professors. The
professors use lectures, group work and cases depending on the subject. In addition to theory
sessions in the subjects, you have seminars. This is a class taught in smaller groups for better group
work and class interaction. The workload in UPF might be a bit less than at BI, but the subjects also
give fewer ECTS credits. Because the classes are taught differently you might be expected to have
done readings and cases before each class.
I only had classes in English and all my material was in English as well, even if some of it was directly
translated from Spanish or Catalan. For my exams I had to read this material, but the most important
material I had was from seminar and lecture notes. I had 5 final exams, and they where all multiplechoice exams, but some subjects practice normal exams as well. All material needed was provided
either in class, in the Aula Global (comparable to @bi.no/atbi.no) or found in the library. All books for
the courses are possible to get there, and works like at BI.
This is a list of the subjects I took during my two trimesters in Barcelona.
Course name:
Exam
ECTS Approved as
21140 Operations management
20668 Psychology and business
21139 International marketing
21135 Human Resources 1
20854 Information economy
Level 2, Spanish course
Level 3, Spanish course
multiple-choice
multiple-choice
multiple-choice
multiple-choice
multiple-choice
5
5
5
5
5
3
3
Logistics
I got all together 31 ECTS credits, because I got 3 credits per Spanish course.
Operations management was a good subject, where you had a quiz every week for 6 weeks, these
tests only accounted for a few percent of the final grade. The course finished with a 2 hours multiplechoice exam. Be aware that in UPF it seems to be common to make questions from things learnt or
happened in class. It might not be in your notes or the lecture notes.
Psychology and business was a subject I liked, but it was also a lot of work. The professor demanded
us to read cases for almost every class and write down answers to questions about it. It took a lot of
my time, and it was the subject I spent most my time on in the first trimester. We had to make a big
group work, and also an individual hand-in in the end of the semester. Because of this we only had a
multiple-choice exam of 30 minutes in the end.
International marketing was a subject more based on lectures and less case studies than Psychology
and business, but for almost every seminar we had to hand in case studies either individual or in
groups.
Human Resources 1 is a basic HR course, with focus on personnel economics. Mostly based on a
final exam and a presentation.
Information economy was the only economics subject I had during my stay, and it was unfortunately
quite difficult. It might only be because it was harder to read and practice it by your self. The book was
not very good. Although it was an interesting subject, it was harder than expected. To have
information economy you had to have had some microeconomics earlier.
The Spanish courses are called Spanish for Erasmus and you will need to apply for this shortly after
arrival and pay 90€ per course. This is because it is not taught directly as a UPF course, but through
the Language Training Programme. Each course gives 3 ECTS credits and will count as elective
course at BI. Just make sure you are allowed to have two.