Are you considering studying at the University of Valencia, or have you recently arrived from a non-Catalan-speaking area? In either case, you may want to know more about the language and culture you will find here. The University has two official languages: Catalan (known locally as valencià) and Spanish (often referred to as castellà). Both are used for academic and administrative purposes, as well as in daily life. Catalan is easy to understand and learn, especially if you already speak another Romance language, such as Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian or Spanish. Catalan has around 9 million speakers and is the official language in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Country and Andorra. It is also spoken in Eastern Aragon and Alghero (Italy).

At the UV, approximately 46% of the lessons at bachelor’s level are taught in Catalan, 46% are taught in Spanish, and about 8% are taught in other languages. Students are entitled to use any of the official languages (Catalan and Spanish) when asking questions or writing assignments and exams. There are specific language requirements for incoming students in each degree.

Before you arrive

To help you make the most of your time in Valencia, we encourage you to learn at least a little Catalan. You can even start before you arrive! This website provides information about basic level courses at your home university, or in your city, to be able to communicate effectively when you arrive in Valencia. You can also learn using the resources at the University's Languages Service website.

You can also learn Spanish before you arrive in the Instituto Cervantes's centres around the world.

At the University

Once you arrive here, we recommend you to enrol the Valencian Workshops, our language and culture workshops to facilitate the full integration of international students. The UV also offers an introductory Catalan course to new incoming students. Once you have completed the introductory course, you can continue at a higher level if you want to. There is a range of courses and timetables to suit different needs and abilities at the Language Centre. UV Languages Service organizes a range of cultural activities designed to help you practise your language skills, meet new people and get to know more about our culture and society: languages learning centres, language exchanges, conversation groups, etc. All the information you need can be found on the website.

You can also learn Spanish at the University's Language Centre with subsidised courses (50% discount for students) of different levels and purposes (general courses and preparation for certification tests), or use the learning resources available at the languages learning centres. There is the possibility to arrange language exchanges.

At the University of Valencia you can also certificate your level of Catalan (CIEACOVA tests) or Spanish (DELE tests).

 

Learn other languages

You can also learn other languages (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Arabic, Japanese) at the Language Centre with subsidised courses (50% discount for students) of different levels and purposes (general courses and preparation for certification tests). There is also the possibility to learn Chinese at the Confucius Institute.

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