The historic relationship between the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the University of Andorra (UdA) takes another step forward. The two institutions will jointly offer two new undergraduate programmes: a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Bachelor’s in International Relations. This new educational offer will become a reality thanks to a new collaboration agreement signed by UOC’s Rector, Àngels Fitó, and UdA’s Rector, Juli Minoves. The signing took place on Tuesday, 1 April, at the UdA campus in Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra.

These new virtual programmes will allow students from both universities to obtain an official Andorran bachelor’s degree through UdA upon completion of 180 credits, and an official Spanish bachelor’s degree through UOC after completing an additional 66 credits. In addition, a minor in Andorra will be offered within the UOC curriculum. Both universities emphasised that the programmes are taught in Catalan, reinforcing the use of the official language in higher education.

Research mobility

The agreement also aims to promote research, knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurship among UdA and UOC researchers through research stays, allowing doctoral students and research staff from both institutions to co-supervise doctoral theses. The agreement also includes discounts for UdA researchers on UOC courses in research, knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurship.

During the subsequent press conference, both rectors highlighted the excellent cooperative climate and confirmed the smooth operation of the existing collaboration agreement, which already enabled UdA-UOC double degrees in Communication, Law, Humanities, and Catalan Language. Furthermore, the agreement allows UOC courses to be offered as electives within UdA curricula.

Both rectors met at the UdA campus in Sant Julià de Lòria, Andorra, as part of a series of working meetings between the two institutions, which also included meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Imma Tor, and the Secretary of State for Education and Universities, Josep Anton Bardina.

A historic relationship

The link between UOC and UdA is longstanding. In 1996, they signed their first collaboration agreement, allowing Andorran students to obtain both the Andorran and official Spanish degrees. Later, in 2011, an addendum introduced reciprocity, enabling UOC undergraduate students to also obtain an Andorran bachelor’s degree of 180 ECTS credits.

In 2016, the alliance progressed further, allowing UOC master’s students to also obtain an Andorran master’s degree in collaboration with UdA, and vice versa. The most recent official meeting between Rector Fitó and Rector Minoves took place in October 2024 at UOC, and it was during this meeting, within the framework of periodic gatherings of the Xarxa Vives d’Universitats, that the agreement signed today in Andorra was developed.

Date of publication: 1 April 2025