The University of Salamanca is one of Spain's oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning that has been the site of some of the nation's crucial historical events. Christopher Columbus once presented his proposal for a voyage west to geographers at Salamanca. Salamanca is a western Spanish town of approximately 200,000 residents and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university campus includes well preserved buildings, classrooms and a library that date back to the school's founding in the early 13th century and that are still in use. The university confers both undergraduate and graduate degrees and supports over 60 departments including pharmacy, biology, geography, medicine, mathematics, sociology, education and chemistry. Known primarily as a center for Humanities and language study, the university welcomes many foreign students who come to study Spanish in courses developed for non native speakers.
University of Salamanca
Secretaría General
Patio de Escuelas Mayores, 1
37008 Salamanca, Espana
+34-923-294-426
usal.es/webusal
The Complutense University of Madrid is a large and sprawling campus in Madrid, Spain's centrally located capital city. Founded in 1499, the university grew from five areas of study to an institution that grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in over 80 fields. Total student enrollment was more than 86,000 during the 2008 to 2009 academic year. The Complutense University of Madrid has produced some of the nation's most important cultural and political luminaries including poet Federico Garcia Lorca, filmaker Luis Bunuel and former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar. During Spain's civil war (1936 to 1939) the university became a major war front occupied by the International Brigades. Much of the school's campus and intellectual patrimony were lost during the fighting. The university has since been rebuilt and has reaffirmed its importance in Spanish and European academia. The Complutense University of Madrid was ranked 38th in Europe and first in Spain by Webometrics in 2010.
Complutense University of Madrid
University Services General Information Office
Rectorado
Avda. de Séneca 2
28040 Madrid, Espana
+34-914-520-400
ucm.es/centros/webs/en
The University of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain was ranked as one of the world's best universities in 2009 by the "Times Higher Education" magazine and QS. Located in one of Spain's most architecturally diverse cities, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs and enrolled over 90,000 students in the 2009 to 2010 academic year. Bachelor degree programs include art history, design, medicine, modern languages and literature, social work, nursing, law and linguistics. The University of Barcelona also offers doctoral programs, such as biotechnology, economic history, aquaculture, statistics and plant biology. Classes are taught in Spanish and Catalan. Students have the opportunity to complete their degrees while experiencing Barcelona's city center.
University of Barcelona
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585
08007 Barcelona, Espana
+34-934-021-000
ub.edu/web/ub/en