History
Established in 1961, it is the first design school launched in Spain.
The School was founded thanks to the effort of a group of professionals and cultural intellectuals (theorists, architects and designers) concerned about the teaching of design and committed to social and cultural modernisation.
Education
ELISAVA is a School affiliated with Pompeu Fabra University, and offers official Bachelor’s Degrees in Design and Engineering in Industrial Design. It also offers professionally-oriented MA and Postgraduate Diploma programmes, and the Master’s Degree in Design and Communication, the first official Master’s Degree in Design in Spain.
The School's offer is further supplemented with a wide range of specialised design courses for professionals and firms. All these learning paths are the result of new emerging careers, benefiting from the quality and creative personality that have given the School such prestige over the years.
Research
Decoding Design is based on the integration of two approaches: research for design and research about design.
The first approach is required to improve design practice and the second is for developing methodological and scientific rigour, which is the foundation for generating knowledge.
It also proposes the necessity of finding lines of research and rigorous development through trans-disciplinary work, based on a theoretical approach – design studies – and on practice – design practice.
The decoding project is developing three lines of research:
- The creative process and the new methodologies in product design
- The scales and states of matter/energy
- Internet of things – Internet of people
Short Courses
Student services
ELISAVA is a reflection of its students. Year after year, the school incorporates new services to expand and promote the benefits for our students’ personal and professional development. The School gives global advice on technical issues, scholarship applications, company internships and the choice of an international destination to pursue their studies.
Its main mission is to address concerns and questions from students and future students of the School, and to coach them throughout their stay. ELISAVA also manages visits to schools, information sessions and open days.
Library services
The Enric Bricall Library is a leading service for supporting research, teaching and investigation, as well as the training of future professionals in the worlds of design and engineering. Its services are available to the entire ELISAVA community and industry experts.
ICT services
Students can use computer rooms, equipped with all they need for project work, and workshops and laboratories specialising in various areas.
The school has 11 classrooms equipped with MAC and PC software with the specific programs required for their design and engineering studies.
Wi-Fi is available throughout the campus. This favours activity and helps you stay connected at all times.
Campus life
ELISAVA has an enviable location on one of the most emblematic streets in Barcelona: La Rambla, which enhances the School of Design with its characteristic cultural vitality. This location affords students with proximity to historic Barcelona, full of restless enthusiasm.
We are in the historical centre, just meters away from the Mediterranean Sea. La Rambla, the Gothic Quarter, Gaudi's emblematic works and many of the city’s famous sights are within walking distance from ELISAVA, and thanks to public transport many other destinations are very close as well.
ELISAVA is a School affiliated with the University of Pompeu Fabra, which offers official Bachelors Degrees in Design and Industrial Design Engineering, established by the new European Higher Education Area. It also teaches professionalising Masters and Postgraduate programmes, and the Masters Degree in Design and Communication, the first official Masters Degree in Design in Spain.