The University of Barcelona is the most formidable public institution of higher education in Catalonia, catering to the needs of the greatest number of students and delivering the broadest and most comprehensive offering in higher educational courses. The UB is also the principal centre of university research in Spain and has become a European benchmark for research activity, both in terms of the number of research programmes it conducts and the excellence these have achieved.
The University of Barcelona (Catalan: Universitat de Barcelona, UB; IPA: [uniβərsiˈtat də βərsəˈɫonə]; Spanish: Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. With 75 undergraduate programs, 353 graduate programs and 96 doctorate programs to over 63,700 students, UB was considered to be the best University in Spain in the 2011 QS World University Rankings,which ranked the university 148th overall in the world. Its subject rankings were: 74th in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, 89th in Arts & Humanities, 87th in Natural Sciences, 143rd in Social Sciences and 175th in Engineering & IT. In 2010, according to University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP),it is the best university in Spain and 83rd university in the world.
