The Universidad de Navarra was founded in 1952 by St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. Its chief goal is, in the words of its rector, Ángel J. Gómez-Montoro, “to train good professionals, responsible citizens, and clear-thinking, loyal individuals, who are prepared to put the challenges of building a more just society before the satisfaction of their own individual interests”.

The University came into being on 17 October 1952, as the Estudio General de Navarra, and comprised a Law School with eight faculty members and forty-eight students. On 6 August 1960 it was formally endowed as a University, and on 25 October the first stone of the present-day campus was laid. On 8 September 1962, the Ministry of State officially recognized the courses taught at the University of Navarre. Today, fifty-seven years after its foundation, more than 127,000 students have passed through the University’s lecture halls.

The close relationship built between the University’s academic teaching staff and its students means that the latter are encouraged to play an active role in their own learning. Indeed, the changes introduced following the creation of the new European Higher Education Area closely mirror the University’s own objectives of ensuring that students take control of their own learning process. The University strives above all to educate students who wish to improve their knowledge, skills and attitudes while growing individually, developing their personality and critical skills as well as their desire to be of service.

The University has set in motion an ambitious research plan in all its Faculties and Schools. At the same time, it runs a number of centres whose exclusive task is to conduct research. They include the Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), which employs more 1,700 research staff. The University’s research work has been the spring board for eight new technology firms and 59 inventions that have generated 325 patents around the world.

The Cultural Activities Service, the Students Social Support Group (UAS) and the Club of Business Entrepreneurs, among many others, organize parallel activities designed to complement the students’ academic commitments. Students are encouraged to act in the theatre group, participate in various art competitions, perform in concerts, join in the Stock Market game and to volunteer on various student programs.

The number of foreign students at the University has grown by 37% in the last five years. During the 2007-08 academic year, 1,661 international students from many different countries registered at the campus. The university has signed 195 agreements with foreign universities.

The University has excellent facilities. These include a sports hall, where students are encouraged to play basketball, handball, five-a-side football, tennis, Basque pelota, paddle tennis and rugby), the Language Institute, which runs a multimedia room for studying English, French, Basque, German, Italian, Russian and Chinese, and libraries with 3,085 work places for its student libraries. The University is currently planning a Centre of Contemporary Art, which will put on exhibitions of internationally famous artists, promote research in the field of the fine arts and organize cultural activities for the wider community.

Students attending the Universidad de Navarra will find themselves in a university with a marked international atmosphere. Fourteen per cent of its undergraduate and postgraduate students are foreign, coming from more than 70 different countries. The only requirements for success at the University are academic effort, professional ambition and a desire to improve society. To encourage students to apply, the University has increased the number of scholarships available so as to ensure that all students who so wish do not miss out on the opportunity of studying on its campus owing to financial hardship. The University offers an environment where students can be educated so that in their role as citizen and professional they can demonstrate the human virtues that help create a society built on tolerance and respect. The spirit of the Opus Dei imbues the life and work of the University with Christian inspiration, fostering freedom and encouraging intensive study and service to others.

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