Pre-enrolment at university in Catalonia for 2026-2027 is a mandatory procedure for admission to the first year of a degree programme at Catalan public universities and at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia.
This process, managed by the University Access Office (OAU), guarantees equal conditions in the allocation of university places according to the student’s admission score and order of preference.
Knowing the pre-enrolment deadlines, the calls for applications, the necessary documentation and how the allocation of places works is key to not missing any opportunities.
In this guide, we explain step by step how to pre-enrol at university in Catalonia for the 2026-2027 academic year and what you need to bear in mind at each stage of the process.
What is university pre-enrollment?
University pre-enrolment is the process by which students apply for a place on the first year of a university degree course. Through this process, students indicate the courses they wish to study and rank them in order of preference, with the aim of securing a place based on their admission score and the availability of places on each degree course.
The purpose of pre-enrolment is to assign a place to the student in the chosen course and university, based on their admission score and order of preference. In order to gain access to the university and the chosen course, it is necessary to meet the admission requirements, such as having passed the corresponding cut-off mark, which is calculated on the basis of the academic record and the Selectividad exams.
Pre-enrolment does not guarantee automatic admission, but rather forms part of an allocation system that allows university places to be assigned in an objective and transparent manner. This process is mandatory for admission to undergraduate programmes and must be completed prior to university enrolment.
How to pre-register for university for the 2026-2027 academic year?
To pre-register for university for the 2026-2027 academic year, you must meet the university admission requirements, such as having passed the Baccalaureate or an equivalent qualification and having a sufficient admission mark for the studies you are applying for.
In the case of public universities in Catalonia, pre-enrolment is carried out online through the University Access Portal, within the deadlines established for each call for applications. During the process, students must select the university degrees they wish to study and rank them in order of preference, from their first choice to their alternatives.
The pre-enrolment system allows you to choose between several courses and universities, and it is essential to define your order of preference correctly, as places are allocated based on your admission score and this order.
In the case of private universities, the admission process is independent and each institution sets its own criteria, which may include personal interviews, specific tests or the submission of additional documentation.
What steps should I follow to pre-register for university for the 2026-2027 academic year?
- University pre-enrolment must be done online through the university access portal, taking into account the deadlines that have been set for each call for applications.
- Once you are on the portal, you must enter your ID number with letter, your NIE, or your passport number and then register as a user of the portal.
- Next, fill in all the sections of the pre-enrolment form and save it in PDF format or print the receipt if you wish. It is important to check the order of preference of the selected studies, as places are allocated according to this criterion.
- If you are a student from another autonomous community or from a foreign education system that allows your studies to be recognised, you must submit the relevant documentation certifying this in order to be admitted to the university. The documentation must be attached in digital format within the portal itself for the application to be valid.
When are the lists of admitted students published by the University of Catalonia?
To view the results of the list of admitted students, it should be noted that there are two exam sessions: the ordinary phase, which takes place in June, and the extraordinary phase, which takes place in September.
In addition, there is a February call for applications, for which pre-registration for the 2026-2027 academic year will take place from 2 to 4 February 2026, according to the official calendar of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Once pre-enrolment has been completed, the allocation of places according to preferences must be taken into account. In each call for applications, it should be noted that there are several allocations of places in order of preference and that each allocation and each enrolment will depend on a different date. After these successive allocations, the final allocation of places is published, at which point students must formalise their enrolment within the established deadline.
February 2026 call for applications
- Pre-registration period: 2 to 4 February 2026 (both inclusive).
- Publication of place allocation: 6 February 2026.
- Enrolment of allocated students: 9 February 2026.
This call for applications is intended to fill vacancies in certain university degrees. If the programme you are interested in does not appear in this phase, you will have to wait for the June call for applications.
June and September admission rounds
The exact dates for the publication of the lists of admitted students and the subsequent allocation of places for the June and September intakes are published each year on the University Access Portal and may vary depending on the academic year.
Places are allocated progressively, strictly following the order of preference indicated in the university pre-registration form.
How does university place allocation work?
To gain admission to a university, you must have achieved the admission mark assigned to each centre and each degree programme.
Applications are ranked according to the student’s admission score and the order of preference indicated in the university pre-registration form. This allocation process ensures that places are awarded objectively and transparently, taking into account the admission score and preferences indicated by each student.
Students with the highest scores are awarded places in their first choices until all available places are filled.
The cut-off mark for each degree is automatically set based on the last place assigned in each call for applications.
In Catalonia, places are assigned through successive allocations, which allows students to improve the place they have obtained if vacancies become available in better-ranked options.
You can view the allocation of places on the University Access Portal.
If you disagree with the allocation you have received, you can lodge an appeal within 5 days of its publication.
How do you know if you have been accepted after pre-enrolling at university?
To find out your university admission results, you must access the University Access Portal within the deadline established for the assignment results mentioned above. Once you have been assigned a place, you must formalise your enrolment on the day established for each assignment.
If you do not formalise your enrolment within the specified period, you will lose your assigned place. If you do not obtain a place in the first allocation, you will automatically continue to participate in subsequent allocations until you enrol in a lower-ranked option.
February 2026 call for applications
- Publication of place allocation: 6 February 2026
- Enrolment of allocated students: 9 February 2026
Are you up to date and know everything about the cut-off scores? Unihabit solves all your doubts.
Are you worried about your 2026 university entrance examination because you didn’t get the minimum score required to get into the university you wanted? Don’t worry! Nowadays, there is a wide variety of degrees related to your interests with different cut-off scores.
Furthermore, cut-off marks are not fixed: they vary each year depending on the number of places available and the demand for each degree, so they may change between admission rounds.
If you would like to learn more about how cut-off marks work in Catalonia and consult up-to-date information by university and degree programme, you can do so in our comprehensive guide to cut-off marks for university degree programmes for 2026.
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