University of Alcalá


The University of Alcalá is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a Studium Generale for the public, and was refounded in 1977. The University of Alcalá is especially renowned in the Spanish-speaking world for its annual presentation of the highly prestigious Cervantes Prize.
The University currently enrolls 28,336 students, 17,252 of whom are studying undergraduate degrees which are taught by a teaching staff of 2,608 professors, lecturers and researchers belonging to 24 departments. The University is also proud of its modern and efficient administration, which is carried out by the Administration and Services, comprising approximately 800 people.
One of the university's campuses, located in the city center, is housed partly in historic buildings which were once used by the Complutense University of Madrid, which was located in Alcalá from its medieval origins until it was moved to Madrid in 1836.

History

Studium Generale

On May 20 of 1293, the king Sancho IV of Castile granted license to archbishop of Toledo. Gonzalo Pérez Gudiel to create a Studium Generale in Alcalá de Henares, "with the same frankness for teachers and students, which were granted to General Study of Valladolid". These studies, although quite modest, survived through time to link with the Cisneros refoundation. On July 17, 1459 Pope Pius II granted a bull, requested by the archbishop Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, "for the erection of three Cathedras of Arts and Grammar in this study of Alcalá". These last chatedras, subsisting of that General Study of the 13th century, were integrated by Cisneros into the "new" university.

University

In 1499, Cardinal Cisneros founded a university in Alcalá de Henares. This university is known in historiography in different ways: Complutense University, Cisneriana University, University of Alcalá... and reached, together with the University of Salamanca, a pre-eminent place among the Castilian universities during the Golden Age. However, it later entered a period of decline until in 1836 the government decreed its transfer to Madrid, renamed Central University of Madrid. This, in 1970, adopted the name of Complutense University of Madrid. The Complutense University of Madrid, in accordance with such historical trajectory, shows continuity with the university founded by Cisneros in 1499.

Move to Madrid

By a royal order of 29 October 1836, Queen Regent Maria Christina ordered The University to move to Madrid, where they took the name of Literary University and, in 1851, the Central University of Madrid. The University would be known under this name until its original name of "Complutense" was restored in the 1970s.

Restoration

In 1975, after years of the buildings passing between various businesses, Complutense University opened its Alcalá branch as a means to decongest its growing student population. In 1977, the university was re-founded as "the University of Alcalá de Henares," which later was shortened to "the University of Alcalá" in 1996. In 1998 Unesco named it a World Heritage site.
Today's University of Alcalá preserves its traditional humanities faculties, a testimony to the university's special efforts, past and present, to promote and diffuse the Spanish language through both its studies and the Cervantes Prize, which is awarded annually by the King and Queen of Spain in the elegant sixteenth-century Paraninfo. The University has added to its time-honoured education in the humanities and social sciences new degree subjects in scientific fields such as health sciences or engineering, spread out across its different sites, all of which, together with the Science and Technology Park, are a key factor in its projection abroad, while also acting as a dynamo for activities in its local region.

Spanish language programs

Because of its rich tradition in the humanities, the University of Alcalá offers several programs in Spanish language and literature. Alcalingua, a Department of the University of Alcalá, offers Spanish language and culture courses to foreigners and develops materials for teaching Spanish as a foreign language. The University of Alcalá, together with EDUESPAÑA, grants the CEELE, Certificado de Calidad en la Enseñanza del Español como Lengua Extranjera.

International agreements

The University of Alcalá is a party to various bilateral agreements with institutions in non-European countries, above all with universities in Latin America and the USA. Some of these agreements stipulate exchanges for first and second stage students. Like Erasmus Programme students, foreign students who take advantage of these exchange schemes are exempt of payment of tuition fees to the University of Alcalá, though they must meet their own costs of travel, accommodation and upkeep.
Application to take part in these exchanges should be carried out in the university of origin. Once selected, the university of origin will inform the University of Alcalá.

Undergraduate studies

The University of Alcalá offers degrees in five branches of knowledge: Arts and Humanities, Law and Social Sciences, Sciences, Health Sciences, and Engineering and Architecture. Its approximately 20,000 undergraduate students are spread across its three campuses:

Arts & Humanities

The University of Alcalá has three campuses:

The historical campus in the city center

This campus occupies, among others, the buildings formerly used by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid when it was itself the Universidad de Alcalá. It includes the main administration building, the Faculties of Philosophy and Arts, Law, Economics and Business, and Documentation, as well as the Technical School of Architecture and Geodesy. Also located in the historical campus are Alcalingua, the Benjamin Franklin North American Studies University Research Institute, the Research Institute of Economic and Social Analysis, the Police Sciences University Research Institute, the Postgraduate School, the Institute of Educational Sciences, the Cisneros International Center for Historical Studies, the Cervantes Research Center, the Foreign Languages Center, the Institute of Business Organization and Management, the International Financial Training Center Foundation and the General Foundation of the University.

The Science and Technology Campus

This campus includes the Faculties of Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing and Physiotherapy, as well as the School of Computer Engineering and the Polytechnic School. The students’ Residence Halls are also located in this campus, as well as sports facilities, the Botanical Garden, Computer Services, numerous research centers and the Science and Technology Park.

Guadalajara Campus

The "Multidepartamental" building is home to the Faculties of Tourism and Nursing, and the Schools of Business Studies and Architecture. The Faculty of Education offers degrees in
Audiovisual Communication and Modern Languages and Translation.

Doctor Honoris Causa

The University of Alcalá is spread across three main sites:
The University of Alcalá has a network of 14 libraries spread across its three campuses. They offer extended hours year-round and during exam periods they never close.
The university also offers a wide range of sporting activities, including aikido, archery, badminton, fencing, rugby and yoga. There are also courses in snorkelling, horseriding and mountaineering, as well as other popular sports such as football.
The university has a hall for music, dance, theatre or flamenco, as well as the university choir, "La Tuna", and the Film Club.

Architecture

Many buildings on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas borrow architectural elements from those found at the University of Alcalá.