The University of Barcelona is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With 76,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities in Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in both Catalonia and Spain, established in 1450. It is considered the best university in Spain, according to the US News and World Report and Times Higher Education.

Catalan, known in the Valencian Community and Carche as Valencian, is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community, where it is called Valencian. It has semi-official status in the Italian comune of Alghero, and it is spoken in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of France and in two further areas in eastern Spain: the eastern strip of Aragon and the Carche area in the Region of Murcia. The Catalan-speaking territories are often called the Països Catalans or "Catalan Countries".