More than 56,500 students are embarking on official studies at the UOC at the start of an academic year defined by its 'normality'

On Wednesday 16 September, the UOC is starting the 2020/2021 academic year, defined by its "normality". More than 56,500 students are embarking on courses at the online university, whose methodology means that its teaching, learning and continuous assessment activities can continue as usual, regardless of the measures and restrictions on mobility and physical presence imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UOC, which will soon be celebrating its 25th anniversary, is extending the measures adopted during the last academic year as a result of the state of emergency declared by the Spanish government. "We have only had to adapt certain processes that required some sort of physical presence," explained Carles Sigalés, Vice President for Teaching and Learning. In this respect, in order to avoid any unnecessary risks, the final assessment tests (synthesis tests and exams) and final bachelor's and master's degree project defences will be done online.

The UOC is thus adhering to the recommendations of the Catalan Inter-university Council (CIC), which has declared this academic year to be an "exceptional period", allowing universities to adapt their teaching practices to abide by the health and safety measures in force at any given time while at the same time providing the most "normal" possible education.

Safe external internships with a priority on e-learning

Similarly, students' external internships will be assigned primarily to centres where they can work remotely, and all the educational activities that can be will be moved online. When it comes to internships in educational or health centres, physical presence will be maintained provided that there are no restrictions for health reasons. If restrictions need to be imposed, alternative activities will be organized remotely to help students attain similar skills to those requiring their physical presence.

Despite all these precautions, there is still a sense of uncertainly at the start of this new year. For this reason, "we will be alert to how the pandemic evolves in order to take the necessary decisions to facilitate our students' academic progress and guarantee the University's usual rigorous standards," emphasized Vice President Carles Sigalés. 

Psychology and Law and Business Administration and Management, the most in-demand degrees

More than 40,500 students are starting their degrees at the UOC for the 2020/2021 academic year, while over 16,000 students are enrolled for university master's degree courses. The most in-demand course is the Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, followed by the Double Degree in Law and in Business Administration and Management. When it comes to university master's degrees, the most popular ones are the University Master's Degree in Legal Practice, the University Master's Degree in Learning Difficulties and Language Disorders and the University Master's Degree in Education and ICT (E-learning).

In addition, the UOC will welcome 2,556 language students this year, 1,345 of whom have enrolled to study English. The next most popular language is Catalan, followed by French, German, Japanese and Chinese.

With regard to the University's postgraduate courses, this semester some 1,376 students will be starting 708 university courses.

It should be noted that the UOC has two starting dates for the semester: 16 September and 21 October. Consequently, these figures for enrolled students will increase even further within a few weeks.

Three new master's and two additional doctoral programmes

The UOC offers a total of 25 bachelor's degrees, 54 master's degrees, 8 doctoral programmes, 15 UOC-certified master's degrees and 195 postgraduate diplomas and specializations. Courses being taught for the first time this year are the University Master's Degree in Design, Visual Identity and Brand Building, the University Master's Degree in Technology-Mediated Language Teaching and Learning,the doctoral programme in Humanities and Communication and the doctoral programme in Health and Psychology.

According to Àngels Fitó, Vice President for Competitiveness and Employability: "The new range of master's degrees and postgraduate courses at the UOC were conceived as interdisciplinary, profession-focused curricular pathways. Based on somewhat shorter online specialization programmes, they offer flexible time and content options to enable students to obtain higher qualifications that meet professional needs and expand upon their prior knowledge to boost their career and increase their value in the labour market."

With regard to postgraduate education, the UOC's catalogue includes 79 new postgraduate diplomas, specializations and courses, some of the most notable of which include postgraduate diplomas in  Design of Immersive Spaces, 3D, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (interuniversity: UOC and Elisava) and Management of Intellectual Property in the New Economy. Other courses include Health Applications for Managing Epidemics, How to Consolidate Teleworking in the Public Sector, How to Position Your Professional Activity in Times of Crisis and New Post-COVID Healthcare Processes. Àngels Fitó said: "In view of the pandemic, we have designed a series of short courses that offer specific tools to manage the type of situations that have arisen in the wake of COVID-19."

In addition, the UOC will be participating with other university institutions in the Joint University Master's Degree in Teacher Training - Secondary Education, Language Teaching and Vocational Training (specializing in Mathematics) (UAB, UB, UOC, UPC, UPF); the interuniversity doctoral programme in Business Administration and Management (UPC, UPM, UPCT, UOC), and the interuniversity doctoral programme in Tourism (UMA, UA, UCA, UCM, UEX, ULL, Nebrija, UOC, URJC, USC, US, UVIGO). 

Who studies at the UOC?

At present, the UOC has more than 85,700 graduates from 134 countries across the world. The typical student starting this year at the UOC combines their studies with work (81.7%), works in the private sector (67.4%), studies in order to advance professionally (61.1%) and chooses the UOC to be able to combine education, work and other responsibilities (50.4%).