The chief aim of the Universidad de Alcalá is to serve as a public centre of higher education by providing high quality teaching and research and by disseminating the best of today’s culture throughout the community. The University’s priority is the education of its students – its aim being to help them develop as individuals and not solely to instruct them in their chosen field of study. The graduates of Alcalá are both good professionals and good citizens.

The University was founded in 1499 by Cardinal Cisneros. It formed part of a highly innovative educational project that years later would see the city establish itself as home to the university which helped pave the way for Spain’s Golden Age. The University was transferred to Madrid in the middle of the nineteenth century as part of the expropriation and confiscation of monastic properties, but the hopes of restoring the University to the city of Alcalá were kept alive and in 1977 it opened up its lecture theatres once more. The uniqueness of the University, its historical contribution to the arts and sciences, and the wealth and beauty of its buildings meant that on 2 December 1998, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. In addition to the traditional courses in the humanities and the social sciences, the University has incorporated modern degree subjects in all areas of science including the health sciences and engineering, taught today on its various campuses. These constitute, together with the Science and Technology Park, a key factor in the University’s international projection and an important element in fostering the economic development of the region.

The University offers 45 official degree courses, 15 of which now adhere to the new system of European education, it also offers 21 official master’s degrees, 70 PhD programs and 70 continuing education programs. For teaching these programs, the University can call upon: - A highly dedicated teaching staff whose teaching is considered excellent in the surveys conducted among its students. The academic staff are currently undergoing training in order to facilitate the introduction of the new European system of higher education. - A highly innovative teaching program in the world of university education, incorporating University Bridging Courses to facilitate the adaptation of new undergraduates, tutorials for every student, modern teaching facilities, limited number of students in each year, 14 libraries, numerous laboratories and a full network of firms and institution in which to gain work experience. The students of the University can complement their studies by taking advantage of a range of grants and scholarships. These include the opportunity to study abroad (International Exchange Programs) or at universities elsewhere in Spain (Séneca Grants), as well as a range of grants to study on master’s programs, PhD courses and Post-doctorate programs.

The University is well aware that the size of its research capital has a direct impact on the quality of its overall educational offer, since the high standards expected from all the research work being conducted at the University means faculty members are constantly having to up date and enhance their skills. The resources allocated to research, joint undertakings with firms and institutions and the creation of two University Research Institutes and a Science and Technology Park have established the University as a point of reference in research excellence.

Together with its commitment to the local community, the University organizes many activities for the university community and its students to encourage them to participate actively in university life. In fulfilling this objective a whole range of training and cultural activities are organized through the year and students can obtain free-option credits by participating on some of these programs. They include Summer and Autumn Courses and Occupational Training Courses, the Science Week, the literary event of the Festival de la Palabra, the Cinema Club, the University Choir, the University Tuna or troubadours, the Stage and Audiovisual Media School, the Dance School, the School of Flamenco Culture, the Music School and the School of Fine Arts.

Strengthening its international profile is one of the University’s key strategies for improving its ranking among the world’s universities. This means the internationalization of both its student body and teaching faculty, as well as that of its degree programs and overall image, while it seeks at the same time to create a more flexible working environment. The University has to this end increased the number of students participating on Erasmus programs and other bilateral agreements by 16%. Since October 2009, fifty new agreements have been signed and the University has welcomed numerous foreign delegations and university faculty members. The University today is home to almost 7,500 foreign students, a figure that makes it one of the leading universities in the country in terms of its international standing. Under the management of the Vice-Rector for International Relations, the number of Erasmus exchange programs continues to grow rapidly, totalling today some 300 agreements. In the last two terms alone 368 students have gone abroad, while 482 European students have been welcomed to Alcalá. To these numbers, we should add 34 academic staff members and 20 students on work experience programs at foreign universities. The University also forms part of a consortium that is applying to participate in a number of Erasmus Mundus projects. Further evidence of the University’s growing international commitment includes the fact that the University has expanded its network of foreign language assistants to include Cairo and San Diego (California). It has doubled the number of summer scholarships available for studying foreign languages and culture, introducing new destinations in Germany, Portugal and Ireland and it has sent 61 students to various universities in Latin America and the US with Bancaja scholarships. During the current academic year the University has strengthened its links with the leading universities in Russia via an agreement signed with the Santander Bank. The University has welcomed 25 undergraduates and signed four dual degree agreements with universities in four different regions of Russia. The University is still fully committed to a cooperation program signed with Cuba (bringing some ten postgraduate students this year to Alcalá), an agreement signed with SEESCyT, the department of higher education in the Dominican Republic, attracting 79 postgraduates, an agreement with the Politécnico de Medellín bringing six students, and an agreement with the SISU and Xian universities in Shanghai, which should bring more than thirty students a year to study on dual degree programs. These programs are already up and running for the bachelor’s degrees in Tourism, Business Management and Administration and Economics. To all these we should add the scholarship holders of AECID, the Fundación Carolina, and several other institutions, who have chosen Alcalá as their study centre. All in all, the international student body is growing rapidly in Alcalá helping to raise its profile abroad.

To support the students’ education, the University provides many other services and facilities. The University organizes the following services to support students’ learning: University Bridging Courses, personal academic tutorials, computer rooms and language classes (English, French and German), a study support program and Careers Advisory Service. Yet going to university should mean much more than just time spent studying. The University also runs two halls of residence and sports facilities where a wide range of activities can be enjoyed. The students themselves, via student representative bodies and associations, are active participants in many other activities: Volunteer Groups, National University Debating League, the Spring Festival, to mention just a few.

The Universidad de Alcalá boasts one of the richest histories of all the universities on the European continent and is the only university to be recognized as a World Heritage Site for its contribution to the development of our civilization. Today the University is seeking to establish itself as a model of efficiency and service to its 26,000 students, to offer teaching and research of excellence in a community that is fully committed to the University while continuing to be a point of reference for tertiary education throughout Latin America, to enhance the quality of the local environment and to further its commitment to the construction of the Europe of Knowledge through the European harmonization programs and Erasmus. http://www.uah.es - rector@uah.es

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