Higher education in Spain


Higher education in Spain comprises a wide range of institutions, including 89 universities, the majority of which are publicly funded. Thirty-nine universities are private, with seven affiliated with the Catholic Church. The Spanish higher education system traces its origins to medieval and Islamic educational institutions, notably with the foundation of the University of Salamanca in 1218, one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in Europe. During the Spanish Empire, universities and schools played a central role in administrative and missionary efforts across Spain and its colonies.
Following the reforms associated with the European Higher Education Area, Spain transitioned from traditional degrees such as the Licenciatura and Diplomatura to a system based on the título de grado and título de máster. Admission to Spanish universities is competitive and based on academic performance and entrance examinations. Spanish universities are regularly featured in global and national rankings, with institutions such as the Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid consistently placing highly.

History

The origins of higher education in Spain date back to Al-Andalus, the period of Islamic rule. Madrasahs were established in the Andalusian cities of Córdoba, Seville, Toledo, Granada, Murcia, Almería, Valencia and Cádiz during the Caliphate of Córdoba.
Problems of definition make it difficult to date the origins of universities. The first medieval European universities were simply groups of scholars, the word "university" being derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation. Nonetheless, the University of Palencia appears to have been the first high education institution in Spain, while the University of Salamanca is the oldest existing Spanish university. Founded in 1218, during a period of expansion that had begun in the 11th century, this University is considered to be one of the oldest in Western Europe. The university was founded as a "General School of the kingdom" by King Alfonso IX of León in 1218 so that the Leonese people could study at home without having to leave for Castile.
The reign of Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella I, Queen of Castile, saw a professionalisation of the apparatus of government in Spain, which led to a demand for men of letters who were university graduates, of Salamanca, Valladolid and Alcalá de Henares. These men staffed the various councils of state, including, eventually, the Consejo de Indias and Casa de Contratacion, the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the Spanish Empire in the New World.
Many of the medieval universities in Western Europe were born under the aegis of the Catholic Church, usually as cathedral schools or by papal bull as Studia Generali. In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries.
File:University of Salamanca Fray Luis de Leon edited.jpg|left|thumb|University of Salamanca is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and one of the oldest in the world in continuous operation.
In Europe, young men proceeded to university when they had completed their study of the trivium-the preparatory arts of grammar, rhetoric, and logic-and the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy..
Several of the world's oldest universities are located in Spain or were founded by Spanish scholars across the world at the time of the Spanish Empire.
The University of Salamanca, founded by King Alfonso IX of Leon in 1218 is the world's 8th oldest university. The oldest existing universities both in Asia and the Americas were founded by Spanish religious orders in the 16th century.
File:Edificio neogótico y monumental.... Colegio el Pilar.jpg|thumb|El Pilar is a school with a long list of old boys, including one Prime Minister.
The creation of the Spanish Empire brought a significant expansion in royal positions for university-trained lawyer-bureaucrats who were not nobles and were dependent on and loyal to the crown. The multiple royal councils needed university-trained men, as did royal government in the Indies. These were men who had studied Roman Law. "The law schools of universities were the training ground of the Crown's advisers." The first medieval European universities were simply groups of scholars, the word "university" being derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation. The University of Palencia appears to have been the first high education institution in Spain and the third in the world, after Bologna and Oxford, while the University of Salamanca is the oldest existing Spanish university. Founded in 1218, during a period of expansion that had begun in the 11th century, Salamanca is considered to be the third oldest in Western Europe. The university was founded as a "General School of the kingdom" by Alfonso IX in 1218 so that the Leonese people could study at home without having to leave for Castile.
From the Imperial School to St. Bartholomew's College or Our Lady of Mount Zion, the Spanish set up a solid educational system as well as one of the first prominent fee-paying schools in Europe. Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, was one of the many English boarding schools founded by Spanish Jesuits under the Empire, and was originally established in the Spanish Netherlands in 1593. The aim of these schools was to provide English boys with a Roman Catholic education during the rule of Elizabeth I.
High-ranking army men and senior administrators of the empire usually pursued a rigorous education for their sons in Spain. The aim was to continue producing future leaders to serve the Spanish Empire and its interests, often resulting in a well-developed final product of colonial governors. Most of these schools were established by Catholic orders such as the Jesuits, with the intention of emphasizing catholic values at heart, since the Catholic Church was arguably the greatest promoter of the Spanish Empire.
Before the new European Higher Education Area, degrees included
  • Licenciatura or ingeniería, can last four, five or six years.
  • Diplomatura or ingeniería técnica, degree courses of shorter duration, 3 years.

    Admission

Admission to the Spanish university system is determined by the nota de corte that is achieved at the end of the two-year Bachillerato, an optional course that students can take from the age of 16 when the period of obligatory secondary education comes to an end. A number between 1 and 10, the nota de corte is a combination of the grade achieved from the Bachillerato exams which the students take at school, and the average grade obtained from the university selection exam that the students will take at the local university. International students need a .
The most popular courses at public universities demand the highest nota de corte, while for private universities cost is normally the factor that determines which course a student will follow.

Ranking

There are several rankings for Spanish Universities. The best known ones are the Shanghai Jiao Tong, QS and THE Ranking. These are international rankings, however, there are also some national rankings comprising the "50 carreras" from the "El Mundo" newspaper, the CSIC or the IAIF ranking of the UCM.
Spain's Higher Educations system has been ranked top-5th by the Spanish CSIC only after the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.

National Rankings

U-Ranking 2020

It was published in 2020 and done by the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria and Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas.
NºUniversidadScore
1Universidad Pompeu Fabra1.5
2-5Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona1.4
2-5Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña1.4
2-5Universidad Carlos III1.4
2-5Universitat Politècnica de València1.4
6-10Universitat de Barcelona1.3
6-10Universidad de Navarra1.3
6-10Universidad de Cantabria1.3
6-10Universitat Rovira i Virgili 1.3
6-10Universidad Autónoma de Madrid1.3

50 Carreras (El Mundo)

It is a well known ranking in Spain and it is published every year by the national newspaper "El Mundo".

International Rankings

The Times Higher Education Ranking

QS Ranking

Published annually since 2004, QS World University Rankings® is one of the most complete and trusted university ranking in the world.

Shanghai Ranking

The Academic Ranking of World Universities is first published in June 2003 by the Center for World-Class Universities, Graduate School of Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and updated on an annual basis. Despite its prestige, many people criticize them because they don't take into account the size of the universities for their rankings.

Round University Ranking

List of public universities