Polytechnic University of Catalonia

The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Catalan: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, pronounced [uniβəɾsiˈtat puliˈtɛŋnikə ðə kətəˈluɲə], UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is one of the largest polytechnic universities in Spain. The majority of its Engineering Schools and Research facilities are consistently ranked as leading academic institutions in their fields in Europe.

It was established in 1971 as a result of different higher technical schools founded in the 18th century merging together. Those schools include Industrial Engineers of Barcelona (ETSEIB) and Terrassa (ETSEIAT), the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB) and some research institutes.

As of 2025^[update] it has 18 schools in Catalonia located in the cities of Barcelona, Castelldefels, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Igualada, and Vilanova i la Geltrú. As of the academic year 2024–25, the UPC has over 30,000 students and over 3,000 teaching and research staff, 67 undergraduate programs, 96 graduate programs and 46 doctorate programs.

UPC is a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network, which allows for student exchanges between leading European engineering schools. It is also a member of several university federations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) and UNITECH. UPC is also a parent institution of the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is one of the top public universities in Spain. It is ranked #97 in QS World University Rankings in the field of Engineering and Technology in 2025. While other rankings, such as that of EduRank, ranks UPC as the best Engineering university in Spain

The QS World University Rankings also place the UPC among the world's 50 best universities in disciplines such as Architecture, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Instruments Science and Technology and Remote Sensing.

According to the annual university ranking conducted by El Mundo, UPC also reigns first place in fields such as Civil Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering in Spain.

The university traces its origins to the foundation of the Polytechnic Higher Institute in 1968, which was formed by the merger in Barcelona of the state technical schools of Architecture and Engineering established in the mid-19th century. The institute was presided over by industrial and aeronautical engineer Víctor de Buen Lozano.