Over 50,000 people have chosen to study an official programme at the UOC, up 9% on last year

UOC students could fill half of the Camp Nou football stadium. A total of 51,160 people around the world have chosen the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya to study a bachelor's degree or a university master's degree, in other words, an official programme. Specifically, 35,473 have chosen a bachelor's degree and 15,687, a university master's degree. As a result, the University has recorded an 8.8% increase in student numbers compared to the previous academic year.

In international terms, the UOC has 2,847 foreign students enrolled on an official programme, a figure which represents an increase of 27.7% compared to a year ago. The group recording the highest growth at the UOC principally comes from Colombia (where the University opened an office this year), Germany, the United Kingdom and Ecuador (where the programmes are now officially recognized). The programmes most demanded by this group are bachelor's degrees in Psychology, Business Administration and Management and Computer Engineering, and university master's degrees in Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization; Data Science; and Education and ICT (E-learning).

By autonomous community, Catalonia has the highest number of enrolled students: 31,744, recording a growth of 6.1% compared to the previous academic year. It is followed by the Community of Valencia, with 3,546 students, 13.1% more than a year ago; Madrid, with 3,306 students, a growth of 20.3%; the Balearic Islands, with 2,030 students, 7.4% more than in the 2017/2018 academic year; and Andalusia, with 1,948 students, 0.1% more than the previous academic year. The  Canary Islands has close to a thousand students, with 972, a figure which represents an increase of 20.3% compared to a year ago; Galicia, with 799 students, an increase of 4.9%; Aragon, with 742 enrolled students, a growth of 5.1%; and the Basque Country, with 739 students, an increase of 29%.

The autonomous communities recording the highest growth in student numbers, between 20 and 30%, are the Basque Country (29%), Cantabria (25.8%), the Canary Islands and Madrid (20.3%) and Navarre (19.3%).

Which bachelor's degree and university master's degree are chosen according to autonomous community?

In overall terms, of the University's seven faculties, it is the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences which has the largest number of students (13,642). It is followed by Economics and Business (9,613); Law and Political Science (7,801); Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications (7,518); Arts and Humanities (4,100); Information and Communication Sciences (3,768); and Health Sciences (757).

By autonomous community (and in alphabetical order), the bachelor's degree or university master's degree most demanded in Andalusia is the university master's degree in Education and ICT (E-learning); in Aragon, the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in Asturias, the university master's degree in Learning Difficulties and Language Disorders; in the Balearic Islands, the bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management; in the Basque Country, the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in the Canary Islands, the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in Cantabria, the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in Castile-La Mancha, the bachelor's degrees in Computer Engineering and Psychology; in Castile and León the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in Catalonia, the bachelor's degree in Psychology; in Ceuta, the university master's degree in Education and ICT (E-learning);  in the Community of Valencia the university master's degree in Learning Difficulties and Language Disorders; in Extremadura, the bachelor's degree in Law; in Galicia, the bachelor's degree in Computer Science; in La Rioja, the bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management; in Madrid, the bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering; in Melilla, the bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Management and Computer Engineering; in Murcia, the university master's degree in Nutrition and Health; and in Navarre, the bachelor's degree in Psychology.

The typical UOC student is a young woman with a job

UOC students combine their studies with work in 80% of cases, and 70% have a previous university qualification. They choose the UOC because it is innovative and allows them to manage their time better. By gender, 58% are female, and by age, most are within the 26 to 35 age group, which represents 37% of the total number of students. In all, 94% are from Spain, 2% from Latin America and 4% from the rest of the world.

The University's global presence

During the past year, the UOC increased its presence worldwide by opening new offices in Alacant, Vigo, Palma and Bogotá The most recent was just a week ago, when the University opened an office in Alacant, to serve the students of this province. And just a month ago, the UOC opened its first office in Galicia. Since November 2017, it has had an office at C/ Ausiàs March, 11, in Palma, strengthening the presence the UOC already enjoys in the Balearic Islands through its offices in Manacor, Ciutadella and Ibiza.

Its most international office also opened this year: in March several UOC representatives travelled to Bogotá to open its second international office after Mexico, which aims to improve the service offered to the thousands of students and graduates the UOC has in Colombia, and also strengthen the ties it has maintained with academic institutions and government in Colombia for more than 15 years now.

In international terms, it is worth noting that during the last year the University has appeared for the first time in two of the most prestigious rankings in the university sector: the Times Higher Education ranking, becoming the only online university in Spain to feature in it, and ShanghaiRanking's ranking.