The UAB opens its doors to over 25,000 future university students

Once again, the UAB welcomed future university students and secondary school teachers interested in learning about the academic programmes offered for the 2020/21 academic year, including new programmes in a variety of areas. The UAB Open Days were held on 4, 5 and 6 February.

30/01/2020

On 4, 5 and 6 February, the UAB organised its Open Days to make its course offer for the 2020/20 academic year known to future students and secondary school teachers, including all those new programmes offered in a variety of areas. For the first time ever, the UABwelcomed more than 25,000 visitors to its campus.

During those three days, there were information sessions on all UAB bachelor's degree courses offered by lecturers from each field. Moreover, each day at 10:30 a.m. the Rectorat building held conferences on the new programmes for the 2020/21 academic year for secondary school teachers. The Vila Universitària residence halls were also open to visitors.

New programmes for the next academic year

With regard to the brand new academic programmes, the UAB will begin to offer the bachelor's degree in Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture, the first of its kind in any university in Spain. It will be offered by two faculties located very near to each other, the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. This four-year degree (240 ECTS credits) aims to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures, given the growing volume of economic and cultural exchanges occurring today: Chinese and Spanish are the two languages most spoken as native languages and, now that China has reached global importance in all areas (politics, economics, international trade, tourism, migrations, cultural productions, etc.), there is an increasing demand for professionals with a good grasp of both languages. Not only that, but the growing interest for Spanish in China also makes it crucial to train future teachers.

With this in mind, the UAB created this programme that combines training in Spanish Studies with crosscurricular studies on the culture and society of China, two fields in which the UAB holds a privileged position (theUAB, also forms part of the board of the Confucius Institute Barcelona). Students will acquire an advanced level of Chinese and an interdisciplinary training that will facilitate working in China in any of the professionals sectors related to culture, language and literature. Although teaching is the career option most highlighted in the bachelor's degree, this programme offers several other possibilities linked to the cultural industries and mediation between both countries.

The UAB will also begin to offer the bachelor's degree in Catalan Philology: Literature Studies and Linguistics, which will replace the bachelor's degree in Catalan Language and Literature currently being offered. It will continue to be a four-year degree (240 ECTS credits) offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. With this updated programme of a degree the UAB has offered since its founding in 1968, the UAB aims to strengthen the international component and professional options of its graduates. With the renovation of the bachelor's degree, there is also the need of fulfilling the requirements for Catalan language professionals wanting to enter the secondary education sector, as well as eliminating the perception that philologists have difficulties in entering the labour market. The new degree strongly focuses on the specialisation of each student thanks to specific tracks (specialisation in Catalan Literature and European Tradition and specialisation in Catalan and Linguistics) and an improvement in the flow from undergraduate studies to master's degrees and postgraduate programmes, both locally and internationally.

Therefore, in addition to becoming teachers, graduates will be able to work in sectors such as publishing, communications and media, management of literature heritage, proofreading and language assessment, etc. The wide range of subjects allows for this diversity of professional specialisations. The degree also maintains its own unique profile created by the UAB Department of Catalan Studies in both the orientation of its studies (the study of language prioritises a specific analysis of modern linguistics and the study of literature emphasises the contemporary period from a documentalist and interpretational perspective) and the characteristics of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, with several different departments working side by side and many degrees being offered in a variety of areas of the humanities.

A degree in Barcelona and Madrid

Another new programme for the 2020/21 year is the new bachelor's degree in Science that will be offered in Barcelona and Madrid by the A4U universities. In addition to the UAB, this alliance includes the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). All lectures in Barcelona will be offered at the UAB, while classes in Madrid will be held at both the UAM and the UC3M. The bachelor's degree will combine contents from the experimental and engineering sciences to train multidisciplinary professionals prepared to enter a variety of labour sectors. Students will be able to personalise their syllabus thanks to a broad range of optional subjects and with the help of their tutor.

Finally, the Salesian University School of Sarrià (EUSS), a UAB-affiliated centre, will offer a new four-year bachelor's degree in Automotive Engineering. The programme will prepare students to become professionals with skills in mechanical engineering, specialising on automation, electronic engineering, energy engineering and industrial organisation. It aims to meet the professional needs of a strategic economic sector currently facing the challenges posed by digitalisation and the development of technologies adapted to a more sustainable mobility model.

More information: UAB Open Days