About Complutense University
Below you can find information about the history of the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as general facts and a brief description of the installations available.
History
The Complutense University of Madrid traces its origins back to the 13th century, when King Sancho IV of Castilla founded a school on the banks of the river 'Compluto' (which is located 50km. from Madrid and today is called Henares).
In 1499, after several requests from Cardinal Cisneros, Pope Alexander VI changed the status of the school to a university, giving it the Roman name of its place of origin "Universitas Complutensis".
In 1836 the University was transferred to Madrid and was renamed "Universidad Central". Madrid had, 200 years earlier, been named capital of Spain and Queen Isabel II considered it important to have a university in the center of the Capital.
Complutense University was erected in San Bernardo in the center of Madrid, but in 1927 the installations in San Bernardo became too small and the university was moved to Moncloa where the main campus remains today.
In 1943, as a result of general legislation for Spanish Universities, its name was changed to "Universidad de Madrid". Finally, the new University law from 1970 gave it the definitive name of Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
General Information & Facts
Complutense University is located in the western area of Madrid called Moncloa, about 15 minutes away from the central shopping areas of Madrid. Complutense is a public university and is owned by the Spanish State. It is one of the oldest and biggest Universities in the world, with more than 500 years of experience and a current number of 130.000 students (among them about 4000 foreign students).
Complutense University offers 76 official degrees within four different areas: Humanities, Mathematics & Natural Sciences, Health Sciences and Social Sciences. It consists of 20 faculties, 6 University schools and 184 departments, and there are more than 9000 people working at the university.
Within the University there are several student organizations that anybody can join, many of which welcome and arrange special events for foreign students. Apart from the student organizations, the university arranges conferences, which allow students to get close to, and discuss current issues with, Professors and guest speakers.
Installations
The Complutense University installations extend over 36,000 acres. The terrain includes green zones of more than one million square meters, of which 640,000 are forested and 375,000 are gardens.
The Complutense University Main library contains about 2,000,000 volumes, 40,000 scientific publications and more than 10,000 audiovisual titles. Apart from the main library, each faculty has its own library with specialized titles.
On campus, Complutense University has a complete Sports Area at six different locations, which allows the practice of all outdoor and indoor sports. Sports facilities are open to all members of the University Community.
