Medicine, Sciences, Fine Arts, Communication, Law, Philosophy, Economics, Pharmacy
The Complutense University of Madrid, in Spanish Universidad Complutense de Madrid, traces its origin to Alcalá de Henares. King Sancho IV granted the royal charter on 20 May 1293 to the Estudio de Escuelas Generales. On 13 April 1499 Cardinal Cisneros secured a papal bull from Pope Alexander VI to expand it into a full university, which took the name Universitas Complutensis. In 1824 it merged with the University of Sigüenza.
A royal order of 29 October 1836 moved the university to Madrid, where it became the Literary University. It became the Central University in 1851 and was renamed Universidad de Madrid in 1943. In the 1970s it was split, and the Technical University of Madrid took some of the colleges. Its Latin motto, Libertas Perfundet Omnia Luce, is rendered in English as freedom will flood all things with light.
The main campus is at Moncloa, in the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid. A second campus is at Somosaguas, in Pozuelo de Alarcón. The grounds also hold the Palace of Moncloa and the Spanish Constitutional Court. The infobox counts 74,771 undergraduates and 11,388 postgraduates, which makes it the eighth largest non-distance European university by enrollment. The administrative staff numbers 11,162, and the library network has more than 30 libraries.
The academic offer is wide: nearly 80 majors, 230 degrees and 221 doctoral programs. The Faculty of Medicine runs several hospitals. Fine Arts was created in 1978. In 1509 and 1510 the university had five major schools: Arts and Philosophy, Theology, Canon Law, Philology and Medicine.
The list of alumni is among the strongest in Spain. Seven Nobel Prize recipients are counted among them, and the physicians Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Severo Ochoa are on the roll. The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, the poet Federico García Lorca, the dramatist Pedro Calderón de la Barca and the grammarian Antonio de Nebrija belong to it. José María Aznar, former prime minister, studied there, and so did María Teresa Fernández de la Vega. The record also counts 18 Prince of Asturias awardees and seven Miguel de Cervantes Prize recipients. Public tuition fees in Spain are set by each region. Check the current tariff.
Domains taught:
Chemistry, Data Analytics, Finance, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Microbiology and Genetics, Physics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Campuses at Moncloa and Somosaguas, over 30 libraries and teaching hospitals run by the Faculty of Medicine.
Research:
Medicine, sciences, humanities, law, social sciences, communication and fine arts.
Famous Alumnis:
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Severo Ochoa, José Ortega y Gasset, Federico García Lorca, José María Aznar, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Antonio de Nebrija
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
11162
Current students***:
86159
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
One of the oldest universities in Spain, nearly 80 majors, 221 doctoral programs, seven Nobel laureates among its alumni, Moncloa campus.
Cons
Very large student body, crowded lecture halls, old buildings in places, bureaucracy.
Best For
Students looking for a historic, comprehensive public university in the Spanish capital.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Another national school that puts finance, microbiology and genetics and chemistry at the centre is University of Barcelona, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers ecology and sustainability as well.
Also strong in finance, microbiology and genetics and chemistry, University of Valencia makes a sensible second look at home; it covers statistics and engineering as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 55,000 students against roughly 86,159 here.
Autonomous University of Madrid overlaps with this institution on finance, chemistry and physics, so the two are easy to compare, and it covers engineering as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 31,722 students against roughly 86,159 here.
Another national school that puts chemistry, physics and mathematics at the centre is University of Granada, and it is also a public institution, and runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes.
Think of University of the Basque Country when chemistry, physics and mathematics is the priority: it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers fluid dynamics and materials as well.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Abroad, University of Vienna (Austria) covers finance, microbiology and genetics and chemistry in a comparable way, and it has almost the same size, at about 85,243 students, and is also a public institution.
Charles University offers an international parallel to this institution, with microbiology and genetics, chemistry and physics as common ground; it is smaller, enrolling about 51,438 students against roughly 86,159 here, and is also a public institution.
If this university is on your list for finance, microbiology and genetics and chemistry, University of Turin in Italy deserves a comparison, because it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers agriculture and statistics as well.
Seen from abroad, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) is a close relative on subject matter, since microbiology and genetics, chemistry and physics are central to both, and it covers software engineering as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 32,000 students against roughly 86,159 here.
A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on finance, microbiology and genetics and chemistry is Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany, and it covers statistics as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 36,569 students against roughly 86,159 here.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the Complutense University of Madrid?
Its main campus is at Moncloa, in the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid.
When was it founded?
The royal charter dates from 20 May 1293, at Alcalá de Henares.
When did it move to Madrid?
By a royal order of 29 October 1836.
What is its motto?
Libertas Perfundet Omnia Luce, freedom will flood all things with light.
What is the second campus?
Somosaguas, in Pozuelo de Alarcón.
How many students does it have?
Over 86,000 undergraduates and postgraduates.
How many doctoral programs does it offer?
221.
How many Nobel laureates are among its alumni?
Seven.
Which famous writers studied there?
Federico García Lorca, José Ortega y Gasset and Pedro Calderón de la Barca.
What does it cost?
Public tuition fees in Spain are set by each region. Check the current tariff.
Biology, Chemistry, Innovation, Physics, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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