Severo Ochoa Research Excellence Accreditation

The Barcelona School of Economics is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence.

The Severo Ochoa Excellence Program recognizes those institutions that are defining the global scientific debate. It is sponsored by Spain's State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación - AEI). 

In the latest accreditation, the AEI granted this distinction to only nine research centers in the entire state across all fields of scientific investigation.

The BSE has been accredited as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence in all three editions of the program (2012-15, 2016-19, and 2020-23). For each edition, the BSE submitted to a rigorous accreditation process that examined the research output of the entire BSE research community during the previous period.

Benefits of the Severo Ochoa accreditation

  • €4M in funding over four years to promote frontier research
  • Preferential access to the best research facilities 
  • Improved access to other competitive calls 
  • Flexibility to hire new researchers 
  • Increased visibility and capacity for attracting sponsors

Accreditation process

  • Evaluation by an independent selection committee composed of international researchers
  • Examination of research activities and human resources 
  • Analysis of institutional outlook and projected results 

“Being named part of the selective group of research centers to obtain the Severo Ochoa accreditation is public recognition of the excellent standards in frontier research that are an integral part of the BSE academic community.”

Professor Teresa Garcia-Milà
Director of the BSE

News related to the BSE Severo Ochoa awards

Some of the research initiatives supported by the Severo Ochoa Program have included:

Summer Forum

In June, the BSE faculty organize and participate in the Summer Forum, a two-week conference with 25+ different workshops that attracts hundreds of researchers from around the globe to Barcelona to present their latest research.

The Summer Forum receives support from the Severo Ochoa Program.

Visit the Summer Forum page

Recognition Program

The Research Recognition Program acknowledges BSE Affiliated Professors who have published research papers in a list of international economic journals of high impact within the last three years.

See the latest Recognition Program publications

BSE Focus

BSE Focus is an online magazine offering research-based analysis and commentary from economists and social scientists in the BSE community.

Visit BSE Focus

Economics "Trobada"

The "Economics Trobada" is an annual gathering of BSE affiliated professors that marks the beginning of the academic year, introduces new affiliated professors and their work to the research community, and serves as a venue for debate and idea exchange on current Economics issues.

Find highlights from all Trobada events

Barcelona JOCS

Barcelona JOCS (Seminars on Game Theory and its Applications) provide a meeting point for the game theory community in the Barcelona area. Seminars are held several times a year. The organization of Barcelona JOCS rotates every two years between Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and Universitat de Barcelona (UB).

View a list of Barcelona JOCS seminars

La Caixa-Severo Ochoa International Doctoral Fellowships

"La Caixa" Foundation funds doctoral fellowships for students and candidates of the BSE's PhD programs at UPF and UAB. The Foundation supports doctoral fellowships at those institutions which have received the Severo Ochoa Excellence Accreditation.

Details and recipients

More initiatives supported by the Severo Ochoa Program