Universidad Complutense de Madrid

The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM) is a large public university in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in the world still in operation. It was first set up in 1293 in the city of Alcalá de Henares and later moved to Madrid in 1836.
Today, it is the largest university in Spain, with more than 86,000 students.

The name "Complutense" comes from Complutum, the old Latin name of Alcalá de Henares, where the university was first built.

History

Beginnings (1293)
In the spring of 1293, King Sancho IV of Castile gave permission to the Archbishop of Toledo, Gonzalo Pérez Gudiel, to create a school in Alcalá de Henares. This school was called the Estudio de Escuelas Generales ("General School of Study"). At that time, such schools were known as a studium generale, which was the Latin term for a university-like institution of higher learning.

Cardinal Cisneros and the University (1499)
One of the school's most important graduates was Cardinal Cisneros (Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros). He worked hard to turn the school into a full university. On 13 April 1499, Pope Alexander VI granted a papal bull (an important official church document) called Inter cetera, which officially made the school a full university. This meant that the degrees given by the university were recognized all across the Christian world at the time.

Cardinal Cisneros also purchased a large amount of land and ordered the construction of many new buildings. This made the Complutense one of the very first universities in history to have a campus built from the ground up specifically for a university.

Move to Madrid (1836)
For several centuries, the university stayed in Alcalá de Henares. However, by the 19th century, people in the Spanish government felt that the main university of Spain should be in the capital city. On 29 October 1836, Queen Regent Maria Christina ordered the university to move to Madrid.
At first it was called the Literary University, and from 1851 it became known as the Central University ().

Important moments in the 20th century
 In 1909, the Central University became one of the first universities in the world to give a doctorate degree (the highest academic title) to a woman.
 On 28 February 1923, the university gave Albert Einstein an honorary Doctor of Science degree. This was the first such honorary degree that Einstein accepted from any European university.
 In 1943, the name was changed to Universidad de Madrid ("University of Madrid").
 In 1970, the Spanish government reorganized higher education and the university received its current name: Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Location and campus

The university is in a large area of western Madrid called Ciudad Universitaria ("University City"). This campus covers a very large area and is its own district within Madrid. The university also has some buildings and departments in the nearby city of Pozuelo de Alarcón, in an area called Somosaguas.

The current campus was first planned in 1927, with the idea of bringing education, science, and culture together in one place.

Size and structure

The Complutense University of Madrid is the largest university in Spain and one of the largest non-distance universities in Europe by number of students.

It has:
 About 86,000 students
 More than 9,000 staff members (teachers and other workers)
 20 faculties (divisions that teach different subjects)
 6 university schools
 184 departments
 More than 76 official degree programmes
 More than 170 official master's programmes

Subjects taught

The university teaches a wide variety of subjects in four main areas:

 Humanities – History, Philosophy, Literature, Linguistics, Fine Arts
 Social Sciences and Law – Law, Economics, Politics, Sociology, Communication and Journalism
 Health Sciences – Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Optometry
 Mathematics and Natural Sciences – Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Geology, Computer Science

The university is especially well known for its programmes in law, medicine, journalism, fine arts, and social sciences.

Rankings

The UCM is considered one of the top universities in Spain and in the world. Some of its rankings are:

 QS World University Rankings: ranked #164 in the world, #58 in Europe, and #1 in Spain
 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings: around #501 in the world
 Shanghai Ranking (ARWU): among the best 300 universities in the world, and in the top 3 in Spain
 SCImago Institutions Rankings: #175 in the world, and #3 in Spain

Special achievements

 The Central University was the first and only institution in Spain authorised to grant doctorate degrees throughout the Spanish Empire, by Royal Decree of 1857.
 The university gave Albert Einstein his first honorary Doctor of Science degree from a European university in 1923.
 In 1909, it was among the first universities in the world to give a doctorate to a woman.
 The university has its own newspaper and radio station.
 It has over 100 student clubs and activity groups, and several sports teams.

Notable alumni

Many famous people studied at the Complutense University of Madrid. These include:

 José María Aznar – former Prime Minister of Spain
 María Teresa Fernández de la Vega – former First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
 Santiago Ramón y Cajal – Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine (1906)
 Severo Ochoa – Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine (1959)
 Federico García Lorca – famous poet and playwright
 José Ortega y Gasset – famous philosopher

The university has produced graduates who have been part of every Spanish government since the Age of Enlightenment, as well as several Nobel Prize winners, heads of state, and leaders of major international organisations.

Other information

The teaching language at UCM is mostly Spanish, though some programmes offer classes in English. The university also welcomes international students and has about 4,000 foreign students on campus.

The campus has a large sports area with six different locations for both indoor and outdoor sports, open to all students and staff.

References

Other websites
 www.ucm.es – Official website of the Complutense University of Madrid 
 www.ucm.es/english – UCM official English-language pages
 www.britannica.com – Complutense University of Madrid at Encyclopædia Britannica
 www.timeshighereducation.com – UCM profile at Times Higher Education
 www.topuniversities.com – UCM profile at QS Top Universities
 www.shanghairanking.com – UCM profile at Shanghai Ranking
 www.scimagoir.com – UCM profile at SCImago Institutions Rankings

Category:Universities in Spain
Category:Universities in Madrid
Category:1293 establishments
Category:Public universities
Category:Research universities
Category:Educational institutions established in the 13th century