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Writing about the UPC



This collection covers basic aspects of communication in English at the University and provides established translations and rules on forming common structures such as the names of UPC schools, subjects and degrees.

Name of the UPC

  • Write the full name of the University on first mention as follows. Write the acronym (UPC) thereafter.

    Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC)

    The UPC is a multilingual university whose working languages are Catalan, Spanish and English.

  • Capitalise University if it can be replaced by the full name (the University but this university).

    The University has an official policy on sustainable development.

  • As is the case for other Catalan universities and institutions in general, the full name of the University and the acronym carry the definite article. For a more detailed explanation, see the Abbreviations and articles section of the Interuniversity Style Guide. 

Spelling

  • Follow standard British usage for the UPC’s institutional texts.

  • Use the form -ise/-yse (analyse) rather than -ize/-yze (analyze).

  • Write program when referring to data processing and programme for all other instances.

    computer program
    doctoral programme

Abbreviations

  • Write out the full name of UPC schools and departments followed by the abbreviation in brackets the first time it appears in a text, and use only the abbreviation thereafter.

    Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT)

  • Check the correct abbreviations of UPC schools and departments in the Higher Education Lexicon.

  • If you need to abbreviate the names of months and days, do so as shown below.

    Months of the year

    January Jan.
    February Feb.
    March Mar.
    April Apr.
    May May (no abbreviation)
    June June (no abbreviation)
    July July (no abbreviation)
    August Aug.
    September Sep.
    October Oct.
    November Nov.
    December Dec.


    Days of the week

    Monday Mon.
    Tuesday Tues.
    Wednesday Wed.
    Thursday Thurs.
    Friday Fri.
    Saturday Sat.
    Sunday Sun.

Rector and vice-rector

  • Translate rector in Catalan and Spanish as rector in English (not president, principal or vice-chancellor).

  • Translate vicerector in Catalan and vicerrector in Spanish as vice-rector in English.

Academic titles

  • Lowercase academic titles unless they precede a personal name.

    The rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Daniel Crespo, gave the opening speech.

    At the ceremony, Rector Crespo gave the opening speech.

Academic years

  • Translate curs acadèmic and any acadèmic as academic year.
  • Write the years before academic year, using four digits (2023-2024) rather than two (’23-’24).

    The UPC hosted a ceremony to mark the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.

Subjects

  • Capitalise the names of subjects using standard title case (all words except conjunctions and prepositions of fewer than four letters).

    Innovation in Composite and Hybrid Structures

  • Use the following standard translations for repeated structures.

    (CA) Ampliació de ___________
    (EN) Further ___________

    (CA) Bases de ___________
    (EN) Basic ___________


    (CA) Complements de ___________
    (EN) Complementary ___________

    (CA) Fonaments de ___________
    (EN) Fundamentals of ___________

Bachelor’s degrees

  • Write the UPC’s bachelor’s degrees using the structure bachelor’s degree in (lower case) followed by the degree name (upper case).

    bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering

  • Check the official name of UPC bachelor’s degrees in the Higher Education Lexicon.

Master's degrees

  • Write the UPC’s master’s degrees using the structure master’s degree in (lower case) followed by the degree name (upper case).

    master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering

Schools

  • Write out the full name followed by the abbreviation in brackets the first time it appears in a text, and use only the abbreviation thereafter or the School.

  • Capitalise School if it can be replaced by the full name (the School but this school).

    The Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) is the largest and oldest school of architecture in Catalonia. The School offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

  • Check the full names and acronyms of UPC schools in English, Catalan and Spanish in the Higher Education Lexicon.

  • Remember there are no faculties at the UPC, as all the facultats are schools in their English translation: the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), the Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry (FOOT), the School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME) and the Barcelona School of Nautical Studies (FNB).

Departments

  • Write out the full name of the academic department followed by the abbreviation in brackets the first time it appears in a text, and thereafter use only the abbreviation or the Department.

  • Check the names of academic departments in English, Catalan and Spanish in the Higher Education Lexicon.

    The Department of Computer Architecture (DAC) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) carries out research and education in the areas of computer architecture, computer networks and operating systems. The DAC's activities are summarised in this brochure.

Research groups and centres and other entities

  • Write out the full name followed by the abbreviation in brackets the first time it appears in a text, and use only the abbreviation thereafter.

    The Nanoengineering Research Centre (CRNE) is dedicated to research, development and innovation in the fields of micro- and nanoengineering, nanotechnology and nanoscience.

  • See the names of research centres, groups and institutes, technology parks, quality assurance agencies and other entities related to universities in English, Spanish and Catalan in the Higher Education Lexicon.

Numbers

  • Spell out numbers one to nine and use numerals for 10 upwards, but don’t mix the two styles when they belong to the same category.

    There are 40 companies of this type; 32 are large and 8 are medium-sized.

  • Spell out numbers (including years) that begin a sentence or paraphrase so that the number does not appear in first position.

    Nineteen ninety-nine was marked by…
    The year 1999 was marked by sharp growth.
    A total of 99 students were interviewed.

Campuses

  • Translate the names of UPC campuses, as in the following examples.

    (CA) Campus Nord
    (EN) North Campus

    (CA) Campus Sud
    (EN) South Campus

    (CA) Campus Diagonal-Besòs
    (EN) Diagonal-Besòs Campus

Theses

  • Translate as follows.

    (CA) treball de fi de grau
    (EN) bachelor's thesis


    (CA) treball de fi de màster
    (EN) master's thesis

    (CA) tesi; tesi doctoral
    (EN) doctoral thesis