Introduction

The Dean’s letter of welcome

In welcoming you to our home page, I would like to take a moment to offer you a brief history of the Faculty of Physics and introduce the opportunities available to you here.

The UB’s Faculty of Physics dates from 1900 when the Physics Section was created within the former Faculty of Sciences.  The first doctorate in Physics, however, was not awarded at the University of Barcelona until the year 1954, when it was no longer necessary to defend doctoral theses in Madrid.

The governing council of the Physics Section met for the first time in 1967 and the building in the Diagonal hosted its first class in 1969.  The current Faculty of Physics was formed when the Faculty of Sciences was restructured in 1974.  In 1992, second-cycle studies in Electronic Engineering were first offered in the Faculty.  With the recent enlargement of the Physics and Chemistry building in 2006, the Faculty of Physics now possesses the space required to meet its needs.

The undergraduate degree in Physics is the principal offering of the Faculty.  As a basic science, Physics drives the vast majority of scientific and technological advances today.  The slogan of the recently celebrated World Year of Physics captures it well:  “Physics is the basis of everything”.

A recent jobs study of graduates with degrees in Physics shows a very low level of unemployment.  The study also found that physicists were equipped to work in a wide variety of fields, finding jobs not only in education and research, but also in technology, IT and industry, to name only a few of the options open to them.
In addition, the engineering degree in Electronic Engineering enables students to pursue training which has a strong technology component.

The typical profile of students entering the Faculty reflects a keen interest in physics and a strong educational record in secondary school.  Additionally, a considerable number of students choose to continue their studies after graduation, enrolling in postgraduate programs that will prepare them professionally for employment in research.

In this regard, it is notable that all of our teaching faculty devote a significant part of their time to basic or applied research, taking part in national and international projects.  A key characteristic of the Faculty, therefore, is the quality and quantity of research done here.  This is of particular importance in light of Spain’s scant tradition in the field of Physics.

Although the faculty may be relatively small, the contributions made by the UB’s Faculty of Physics are especially notable in terms of productivity (articles, patents, etc.) and research income (project grants).
I welcome you to the Faculty of Physics and invite you to join us in our work,