Language rights

You can contact the Language Policy Committee of the URV via the online form "Queries, complaints and proposals regarding language rights and uses at the URV".

Yes, the Language Policy Committee of the URV guarantees the anonymity of any individual who registers a complaint.

The Language Policy Committee gathers all the information from the parties concerned and takes the necessary steps to resolve the issue. If necessary, it will also promote changes to improve the functioning of the University regarding the issue at hand.

Classes at the URV are taught in Catalan, Spanish and English (you can see the proportions here). According to the Statute of the URV and the Catalan Parliament's Language Policy Law, Catalan must be the language normally used in university teaching. Nevertheless, teachers and students have the right to express themselves in the official language of their choice (Catalan or Spanish).

Exam papers and other assessment activities (oral and written) are given in the language in which the subject or class group is taught, as stated during registration. Students can take exams and submit their work and other assessment materials in Catalan or Spanish (or in other languages if the subject is taught in that language).

No. In accordance with the principles of transparency and language security, the language of instruction is announced beforehand in the curriculum and will not be changed subsequently.

It is the principle adopted by Catalan universities whereby students can find out in advance which language will be used to teach a subject that they have registered for.

This is the Catalan universities’ commitment to ensuring that a subject is taught in the language of instruction that was originally announced in order to guarantee the linguistic rights of the members of the university community.

According to the Language Policy Law, you have the right to use both Catalan and Spanish when speaking in class, doing work or taking exams, regardless of the language in which the subject is taught.

The URV aims, on the one hand, to move towards the normal and preferential use of Catalan as its the language of the URV and, on the other hand, to increase the multilingualism of university students and of the University in general. These objectives are in line with the rest of the Catalan university system.

Through multilingual language policy plans, which contain objectives and actions to advance these two objectives and which are approved by the Governing Council of the URV.

The governing bodies of the URV have overall responsibility for university language policy. However, in practices this power is devolved to two specific university bodies: the Language Policy Committee (which is representative in nature) and the Language and Publications Service (which is technical in nature). Llengües URV is the URV's language portal and contains information from these two bodies.

The strategy of the university’s language policy is to combine the promotion of Catalan with multilingualism: the aim is to protect the use of Catalan in certain areas to guarantee its prevalence and to ensure that it acts as a language of reference, whilst promoting multilingualism in other areas in order to achieve the University’s internationalisation objectives. The URV’s Senate approved this Framework Document on the functional distribution of languages.

Yes, the URV's Language and Publications Service offers Catalan courses at different levels and in different formats each semester (and also in the summer). There are courses for beginners (A1 and A2) and for advanced learners (from B1 to C2). In all cases students can obtain an official certificate that accredits their knowledge of the language.

Yes, there are resources for learning Catalan independently before you arrive. We especially recommend the websites Parla.cat and Intercat.

Yes, the URV's Language and Publications Service offers courses in English, French and Italian at different levels and in different formats (annual and intensive in the summer). English courses range from A2 to C1, while French and Italian courses range from A1 to B1.

No. The URV recommends that you study English and other languages so that you can further your academic and professional career. But it is not a requirement for graduation.

Yes, according to the URV's Plan for the Promotion of Third Languages, all new students must take an English language proficiency test, even if they already have a certificate that demonstrates their language level.

For URV undergraduate students, the courses run by the Language and Publications Service courses are very good value for money. In addition, if you pass the course you can apply for a grant of €350 from the AGAUR, which covers almost the entire cost of the registration fee.