The Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) is the public university of Tarragona, with campuses in Tarragona, Reus, Vila-seca, Tortosa and El Vendrell. It is concerned above all with providing comprehensive higher education and offers quality teaching and research in the humanities, education, social sciences, experimental sciences, health sciences and technology. URV is located in one of the most socially and economically dynamic areas of Europe and in one of the regions with the highest quality of life in the continent.

'University education in the Tarragona area goes back to the 16th century when cardinal Gaspar Cervantes de Gatea founded a university in the city of Tarragona to teach Grammar, the Arts and Theology. This Universitas Tarraconensis was practically wiped out by the reprisals of Philip V after the War of Succession. One school did remain, however: the Estudi Literari, which depended on the new University of Cervera until the middle of the 19th century when university education was discontinued. Only the Escola de Mestres, which had been founded shortly before, was to survive and it continued to provide non-university education until it became a part of the University in 1972. From the end of the 19th century to the 1930s, the Ecclesiastical University in Tarragona taught further education courses in Philosophy, Theology and Canon Law. University education did not return to the Tarragona area until the second half of the 20th century, when three different roads converged to form the Universitat Rovira i Virgili: the Universitat Laboral (Technical College), created by the Ministry of Employment in 1956, started to teach technical courses for the first time in 1961-62 with specialities in mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering. It depended on the Terrassa School of Engineering. Later, in 1972, the title of ''Engineer'' was changed to ''Technical Engineer'', and the Universitat Laboral ceased to depend on Terrassa and dropped its mechanical and engineering courses. When the university reform bill was passed in 1984 the university sector was restructured, and the institutions in Tarragona were not exempt from the process. The Universidad de Barcelona set up the Divisió VII to bring together all the institutions in the Tarragona area: the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, the Faculty of Chemical Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine and the Teacher Training School (which had become part of the University of Barcelona in 1972). Subsequently, new centres were created within this Division: in 1988, the School of Oenology in Tarragona and the University School of Business Studies in Reus, and in 1990 the University School of Information Technology in Tarragona. Finally, in 1991 the School of Nursing became part of the University. There are also a number of other institutions that teach courses in the south of Catalonia and which were affiliated to the University of Barcelona through the Divisió VII: the Verge de la Cinta University School in Tortosa, the Sant Fructuós University School of Social Work in Tarragona and the Social School, also in Tarragona. In 1973, the University School of Industrial Engineering became part of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. In 1971, the Universitat de Barcelona set up local branches of the faculties of Philosophy and Letters, and Sciences in the city of Tarragona. From the very beginning, the aim was for these new courses to achieve the highest possible university recognition. As early as 1972, a request was made to convert these branches into a university college so that they could provide complete first-cycle courses. In 1977, medical courses began in Reus, and in 1983 the Spanish parliament established the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts and the Faculty of Chemistry in Tarragona. On 30th December 1991, the Catalan Government passed Law 36/1991 and created the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (published in the Catalan Government´s official gazette on 15th January 1992). This law stipulates that ''the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) must integrate and order the university studies that are at present being taught in the south of Catalonia as well as any new subjects, so forming the base for the development of a new University with a character all of its own''. And it goes on: ''The aims are, among others, to improve the territorial organization, the quality and potential of the public service of further education to make it possible for people to exercise their right to education established in article 27.5 of the Spanish Constitution, and to increase and improve the structure of the provision of university places throughout Catalonia.'' The same law states: ''The name of the University is in honour of the illustrious Catalan, Antoni Rovira i Virgili, writer, historian and politician and one of the most important theorisers and champions of Catalonia´s national cause, who was president of the parliament of Catalonia and an example of public-spiritedness, hard work and esteem for the values of our people.'' '

With our gaze set on the European Higher Education Area, and in the spirit of the Bologna Declaration and the URV’s new legal framework, the URV has begun to implement the new degree courses. Our aim is to provide top quality education that focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and competencies that guarantee success in the professional world. To this end, we have designed modern courses that use new teaching and learning methodologies and in which the student is the centre of academic activity.

The University aims to promote the research activities of its members and attaches particular importance to strengthening research groups and the quality and the scope of its scientific production. There are a variety of complex structures that work together on this task, with the research groups as the basic units. Research is carried out within departments, scientific and technical university research institutes, and in participating centres. The main function of the institutes is to organize, develop and evaluate the program of basic and applied research or artistic creation in their area of expertise. The research centres share some of the functions of the institutes but can be created by the University.

The URV provides opportunities to learn and meet people through the University Extension programs and lifelong learning courses. A wide range of activities is available, including cinema screenings, theatre, music and debates, and students are encouraged to voice their opinions and enrich themselves by sharing knowledge with others. Activities are aimed at contributing to the dissemination of culture, science, technology, the arts and knowledge, as a basis for ongoing social progress. The focus is not strictly academic, and participants enjoy the high degree of interaction with people from a variety of educational fields and social and cultural backgrounds.

Management of international relations at URV is divided between two offices: the Internationalization Unit and the International Relations Office. The first is a strategic body that forms part of the Technical Office, answering directly to the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. Its functions include developing international policies, establishing relationships with foreign institutions, and providing information and support to the university community on international matters. The International Relations Office is responsible for the administration of student and staff mobility and the management of cooperation projects and agreements in Catalonia, Spain, Europe, Latin America and the rest of the world. It also welcomes incoming international students and provides information and support to URV students and teaching staff involved in academic mobility and cooperation programs.

The URV offers its students an extensive range of services: • Reception: activities facilitating integration into the social and cultural life of the University. • Housing: assistance finding accommodation for the whole year or for specific periods. • Employment: job marts and assistance with job seeking during studies and after graduation. • Sport: recreational and competitive activities. • Culture: choir, orchestra, drama, cinema and art groups. • Cooperation: cooperation and charity activities in various parts of the world through URV Solidària and the Volunteering Office. • Computer and communication services: e-mail for all students and access to the URV network. • Language learning: affordable and flexible language learning at the URV Language Service.

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