Universities in Madrid
Universidad Complutense
Universidad Autónoma
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Universidad Politécnica
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Universidad Antonio Nebrija
Universidad de San Pablo CEU
Universidad Pontificia Comillas
Universidad Camilo José Cela
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio
Universidad de Alcalá de Henares
Universidad Europea de Madrid
Schiller International University
The Major Public Universities
UCM has history and size on its side. It can trace its origins back to the thirteenth century and had become a leading European university by the middle ages. There are approximately 60,000 students at any one time, housed on a massive campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district in the west of Madrid, plus a smaller campus in the suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcón. Its alumni traditionally dominate the academic fields of philosophy, literature, history, science and mathematics and have held important positions in all the governments of Spain since the Enlightenment and many were deeply involved in the successful post-Franco transition to democracy. The current Deputy PM, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, and former President José María Aznar are both graduates of the university.
UAM was created in 1968 and prides itself on being in the vanguard of modern thinking and academic studies. Although relatively young it has quickly established itself as one of the elite academic institutions in Europe. The university's main campus is in Cantoblanco, in the countryside of the northern outskirts of Madrid, and hosts approximately 30,000 full-time and 6,000 part-time students. Particularly strong for medicine and nursing (the nursing schools are affiliated to the 5 main hospitals in Madrid), law, business management and education. HRH Felipe, Prince of Asturias, did his law degree here.
URJC was created in 1996. Its headquarters are located in Móstoles, where the Rectorate is, although URJC is divided into four campuses:
High School of Experimental Sciences and Technology, located in Móstoles
Faculty of Health Sciences, in Alcorcón
Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, in Vicálvaro
Telecommunication Engineering, Communication and Tourism, in Fuenlabrada
UC3M A relatively modern institution, the university was founded in 1989 and houses over 15,000 students. It is located just outside of Madrid with campuses in the suburbs of Colmenarejo (the School of Social Sciences and Law), Getafe (the School of Humanities, Documentation and Communication, and Leganés (The Higher Technical School). There is an emphasis on speaking English and international studies - an innovation designed to give its graduates advantages in the international work-sphere. The undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Economics and Law are ranked first, second and third respectively among those offered by public universities in Spain.
UPM's existence as the Technical University of Madrid celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1996, though most of its departments were created between the 18th and 19th centuries and were all independent before they merged with UPM. These were chiefly technical based shools - engineering, mathematics and architecture - that occupied important highly important positions in the development of manufacturing and technical sciences in Spain. UPM's Schools are spread all over Madrid including Ciudad Universitaria, Montegancedo (the faculty of computer science, created in 1969), Vallecas Politechnic Complex and in the city centre. Rafa Benítez, the Liverpool Football Club manager, attended UPM.
Important Private Universities
UFV was originally created in 1993 as part of the University of Madrid and affiliated to Complutense, it became private in 2001 under new laws which gave the university's degrees complete accreditation. It is "inspired by the Catholic religion". Located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, a small town northwest of Madrid proper, it has a strong reputation in the fields of journalism, business, and visual communications.
The University of Antonio de Nebrija is a small, private university with approximately 4,000 students and is relatively new, being created in 1990. In 2001 it ranked 9th in the Spanish university league tables, according to the CIS. It is spread over 2 campuses, Dehesa de la Villa - which includes the engineering departments in the centre, and La Berzosa, in Hoyo de Manzanares near to Torrelodones.
The CEU Foundation runs a a number of private schools and universities throughout Spain which are based on the principles of christian belief and the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Madrid part has three campuses in Mosteles, Argulles and Monteprincipe.
UP Comillas is a private university which is administered by the Company of Jesus. It was first established in 1890 as a seminary by founders Don Antonio López and his son Don Claudio López Brú, the Marquis of Comillas as a place to instruct candidates who wanted to join the religious orders. Entrants originaly came from all over Spain and South America to be taught here which gave it a strong international identity that is still retains today. It was made a university by a decree of Pope Saint Pio X in 1904. After the Franco dictatorship the establishment was moved from Comillas to Madrid and from that point on it gradually expanded and added a large number of faculties specializing in different subjects other than theology. The university has approximately 10,000 students.
UCJC was formally created in 1999 but its orgins lie in the Colegios San Estanislao de Kostka which was founded in 1892. The 100,000m2 of campus is very modern and is located about 25 km outside of Madrid, in the Urbanización Villafranca del Castillo.
Other Universities in Madrid
UNED is Spain's version of the Open University for distance learning. It was founded in 1972 and is spread across a variety of centres nationwide but administered from its centre in Madrid. It has over 5,000 professors dispersed across 60 Associated Centres and serves approximately 175,000 students.
UAX is located to the west of Madrid in Villanueva de la Cañada. It is a private university that was founded in 1993 and has a student population of 10,000.
UAH was created in 1977 and is located in the East of Madrid, on the original site where Complutense University started back in the 16th century. Campuses in Alcalá (the hometown of Cervantes) and nearby Guadalajara host approximately 20,000 students, Its strongest faculties are in engineering, economics and business, and there are a number of notable programs for teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
UEM has over 8,500 students and belongs to the Laureate Education, Inc. group of private universities. Undergraduates get the chance to study part of their courses at the University of California at Irvine and there are three specialist Graduate schools - IEDE Business School, Real Madrid University Studies School and School of Construction.
Schiller is a private, for-profit American university with eight campuses in six countries, originally founded in 1964 by Dr. Walter Leibrecht as a study abroad program for Americans in Heidelberg, Germany. The Madrid campus is located in the Colomina Building in Argüelles.