The Faculty of Biological Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) is one of the largest and oldest in Spain, offering degrees in Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, and Environmental Sciences.
Address: Calle José Antonio Novais, 12, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology
Domains taught:
- Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Ecology and Sustainability, Food Science, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies
Diplomas*:
- Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
- Public
Partnerships:
Part of UCM, a major public research university with extensive international partnerships. Strong collaborations with CSIC institutes and biomedical research centers.
Research:
Leading research in all areas of life sciences, including molecular and cell biology, genetics, microbiology, neurobiology, ecology, evolution, and plant sciences.
Famous Alumnis:
Margarita Salas, Severo Ochoa
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
600
Current students***:
5000
Foreign students***:
10%
Cumulative former students***:
40000
Pros
Comprehensive and highly prestigious biology faculty with excellent research infrastructure and a wide range of specializations at a leading public university.
Cons
Very large faculty, can be impersonal. Highly competitive.
Best For
Students seeking a comprehensive and research-intensive education in any field of biological sciences at one of Spain’s top universities.
Most Similar Schools Locally
- Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Bioquímica takes a similar route through bioinformatics, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering, and it is far smaller, with about 700 students against roughly 5,000 here, and is also a public institution.
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas works in much the same fields, chiefly bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics, and it is far smaller, with about 150 students against roughly 5,000 here, and is also a public institution.
- In terms of fields, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas is the nearest neighbour, with nanotechnologies again at the core; it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
- In terms of fields, University of Barcelona is the nearest neighbour, with microbiology and genetics, chemistry and ecology and sustainability again at the core; it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers finance and physics as well.
- Another national school that puts microbiology and genetics, bioengineering and chemistry at the centre is Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, and it is far smaller, with about 1,500 students against roughly 5,000 here, and is also a public institution.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
- For food science, bioinformatics and microbiology and genetics outside the home country, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Sweden is a natural reference; it has almost the same size, at about 5,000 students, and is also a public institution.
- Students considering a move abroad can look at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, where bioinformatics, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering also form the core, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers statistics and life sciences as well.
- In Norway, Norwegian University of Life Sciences teaches much the same core subjects, food science, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering, and it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral.
- Université de Lausanne in Switzerland shares the bioinformatics, nanotechnologies and microbiology and genetics orientation of this university, and it covers marine science and geotechnics as well, and is far larger, with about 17,000 students against roughly 5,000 here.
- A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on bioinformatics, microbiology and genetics and bioengineering is Hannover Medical School in Germany, and it covers life sciences as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 3,997 students against roughly 5,000 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.
- Biodiversity, Bioengineering, Biology, Biomaterials, Ecology, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Impact
*: 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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