Rovira i Virgili University has been recognized as a Campus of International Excellence by the Ministry of Education.
The city is home to four research institutes in Catalonia: chemistry, energy, archaeology
Tarragona is a university city. Rovira i Virgili University (URV) offers a syllabus of nearly fifty undergraduate courses and around fifty master's degrees in all fields of knowledge, and is attended by some fourteen thousand students. It is a research university with outstanding international visibility. It ranks 76th in the world in the category of universities less than fifty years old, according to the Times Higher Education ranking.
In 2010, the URV was awarded the distinction of Campus of International Excellence by the Ministry of Education for the Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia project, which includes research institutes, university hospitals and the system of technology centres and science and technology parks promoted by the URV, which focus on the main socioeconomic axes of Tarragona: chemistry and energy, nutrition and health, tourism, oenology, heritage and culture, and numerous companies in the region.
Tarragona is a centre of innovation in chemistry based on the new Science and Technology Park of the Chemical Industry, with a quality academic environment. It is home to the Chemical Technology Centre of Catalonia and the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research. The other major reference points in the city are knowledge and research in culture and heritage, in which the Institute of Classical Archaeology of Catalonia (ICAC) and the Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) are the key players. Added to this are Pere Virgili Institute of Health Research (IISPV), the Energy Research Institute of Catalonia (IREC-CRER) —whose Tarragona headquarters specializes in energy saving and renewable energies, the Medical Anthropology Research Centre (MARC) and various other technology and innovation centres.
The city also boasts a comprehensive range of secondary education, which explains its success in the excellent collaboration between middle and higher education centres and companies, business associations and trade unions. During the 2016-2017 school year, 915 students benefited from dual training in 400 companies.
URV-related research institutes:
Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC)
Catalan Institute for Chemical Research (ICIQ)
Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES)
Pere Virgilio Health Research Institute (IISPV)
Catalonia Energy Research Institute - Renewable Energy Research Centre (IREC-CRER)
Centre for Research in Conduct Assessment and Measurement (CRAMC)
Centre for Research in Materials Engineering and Micro/NanoSystems (EMaS)
Tarragona Centre for Environmental Law Studies (CEDAT)
Climate Change Centre (C3)
Centre for Research in Industrial and Public Economics (CREIP)
Medical Anthropology Research Centre (MARC)
