In Lleida, especially in Alt Urgell, more students are choosing the University of Andorra, with its campus in Sant Julià de Lòria just 14 kilometres from La Seu d'Urgell. For many, that short distance is a practical reason to study in the Principality rather than at the University of Lleida or other centres in Catalonia and Spain.
The university says students from Spain are its largest minority group. In the latest balance for the 2025-26 academic year, they account for 30.7% of enrolments, or 63 students. The same figures show 123 students, 60% of the total, completed their previous studies in Andorra. There are also nine French students, 4.39%, and about ten from other countries, 4.88%. UdA sources said the number of students from Lleida has been rising, after 54 last year, which represented 28.57% of those enrolled.
Lower accommodation, living and fuel costs are part of the appeal, along with less time spent travelling. The smaller size of the university also means more personal attention. Gaizka Marcianes, a La Seu d'Urgell resident studying Nursing in Andorra, said, “Here we are not just a number, we all know each other and they make us feel good.”
The University of Andorra follows a competency-based model and does not use cut-off grades for admission. If applications exceed the number of places available, candidates must take an entrance exam. Its courses follow the European Higher Education Area framework, and its main teaching areas are Nursing, Education, Computer Science and Business. It also offers virtual studies in Law, Communication, Humanities and Catalan. Andorran first-cycle degrees, known as Bachelors, are equivalent to Spanish undergraduate degrees and carry 180 credits over three academic years.
For students who want to work in Spain, recognition of Andorran qualifications remains a hurdle. Thaïs Carreño, who finished her Nursing degree at UdA last year and now works in a social and healthcare centre in Andorra, described homologation as “a long and expensive process.”
The University of Andorra traces its roots to 1988, when higher education in the country began with Nursing and Computer Science schools. The university was officially created in 1997. It now has 34 teaching and research staff, 14 administrative and technical workers, and 288 occasional professors and collaborators from Andorran companies and international universities. More Catalonia news
