University of Granada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Latin: Universitatis Granatensis |
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| Established | 1531 |
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| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | David Aguilar Peña |
| Faculty | 3,400 |
| Undergraduates | 56,715 |
| Postgraduates | 3,059 |
| Location | Granada, Spain |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | Coimbra Group |
| Website | www.ugr.es/ |
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The University of Granada (Spanish Universidad de Granada, UGR), is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Spain. It was founded in 1531 under the initiative of the Emperor Carlos V, by means of a Papal Bull from Pope Clement VII. In this way, Granada asserted its vocation as a university city which was open to different cultures, people and beliefs. As a result, the University of Granada continued the tradition of the Arab University of Yusuf I (Madraza, 14th century).
With 475 years of tradition, the University of Granada has been an exceptional witness to history, as its influence in the city's social and cultural environment grew until it was to become, over a period of almost five centuries, an intellectual and cultural nucleus in Southern Spain in its own right.
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[edit] A Historic University
Before the conquest of Granada paved the way for the discovery of a new world, and with it the meeting of American and European cultures, the city had already been Iberian, Roman and later Jewish and Islamic. Capital of the former Nazari Kingdom, Granada was the last city on the Iberian Peninsula to be conquered from the Muslims in 1492, an event which was to mark the formation of Spain.
The Christian conquest did not rob the city of its splendour as a cultural centre, in which sciences and humanities found the best way to develop. The University of Granada was founded in 1531, under the initiative of the Emperor Carlos V, by means of a Papal Bull from Pope Clement VII. In this way, Granada asserted its vocation as a university city which was open to different cultures, people and beliefs. As a result, the University of Granada continued the tradition of the Arab University of Yusuf I (Madraza, 14th century).
It is currently a committed institution which is deeply involved in its setting, as shown in the University Reform Law (LRU), which defines universities as centres at the service of society, by means of teaching, research and the provision of services. In recent years, the University of Granada has faced, under the protection of the LRU and university autonomy, the greatest growth in its history, placing it among the top Spanish universities. Some 80,000 people are directly linked with the University of Granada, among them students, teachers and administrative and service staff.
[edit] The Cities (Granada, Ceuta & Melilla)
The university centres and buildings are located in various places in the urban area of Granada, giving the city its particular university style, since of the 270,000 inhabitants of the capital, 60,000 are university students. But Granada also fulfils other special requirements: historically it is the last redoubt of Islam in Western Europe (the Alhambra and the Generalife are samples of the splendour of this civilisation); Granada is also a Renaissance city (the Hospital Real or the Cathedral are only two examples of Granada's well-preserved historical heritage).
To speak of Granada is, therefore, to speak of an exceptional geography, midway between the warm sea and the high mountains: 60 minutes by car from the province of Granada's beaches, 75 minutes from Malaga, and 30 minutes from the Sierra Nevada ski resort (at a height of 3,400 metres).
The University of Granada also has University Campuses in the Spanish cities of Ceuta (with more than 70,000 inhabitants) and Melilla (with more than 60,000 inhabitants), located in North Africa, which have a special cultural importance by virtue of the coexistence of the different cultures making up their populations.
[edit] University and Research
The University of Granada has made a strong commitment to its future by means of the development of quality research. To stress traditional lines of research, to resolutely support those which, although less developed, may be of interest to a changing society and to forge bonds with firms and institutions are the criteria behind research activity. These ideas offer advantages which have enabled funds allocated to research to be increased, and real future perspectives to be opened which had never existed before. As a result of the growth in scientific production, the University of Granada is among the top three Spanish universities. Growing relations with private and public companies in the country, through research contracts and the provision of services, are guarantees for the future.
- OTRI (Oficina de Transferencia de Resultados de Investigación)
The University of Granada's Research Transfer Office is responsible for promoting and managing University relations with the corporate world. The agency is a public service which specialises in channelling the demands of the Firm towards the University and transferring innovative knowledge towards the productive sector of the economy. Among its services we should highlight: the Oficina de Proyectos y Financiación Europea (Office for Projects and European Financing), the Centro de Enlace del Sur de Europa-Andalucía (Southern Europe-Andalucia Relay Centre - CESEAND), Propiedad Industrial (Patent Rights).
- Research Institutes (Research Institutes)
The University of Granada carries out research work through eleven Institutes involved in the study of different subjects: Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (Earth Sciences) (CSIC-University of Granada), Instituto Andaluz de Geofísica y Prevención de Desastres Sísmicos (Geophysics and the Prevention of Seismic Disasters), Instituto Andaluz Interuniversitario de Criminología (Criminology), Instituto de Biotecnología (Biotechnology), Instituto "Carlos I" de Física Teórica y Computacional (Theoretical and Computational Physics), Instituto del Agua (Water), Instituto de Desarrollo Regional (Regional Development), Instituto de Neurociencias "Federico Olóriz" (Neurosciences), Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de Alimentos (Nutrition and Food Technology), Instituto Universitario de Estudios de la Mujer (Women's Studies), Instituto Universitario de la Paz y los Conflictos (Peace and Conflicts), University Institute for Research in Biopathology and Regenerative Medicine.
- El Centro de Instrumentación Científica (Centre for Scientific Instrumentation)
The Centre for Scientific Instrumentation offers various research support services, aimed at experimental, technical and health subjects in particular: Experimental animal services, Radiometric and isotopic geology, Structure determination, Microscopy, Image processing, Fundamental biology, etc.
[edit] The University Modern Language Centre
The University Modern Language Centre, Centro de Lenguas Modernas (CLM) is located in the central and typically "granadino" district of the "Realejo", is housed in the old palace of Santa Cruz (16th century) which has been specially restored for teaching purposes. Since restoration was completed in 1992, the new Centro de Lenguas Modernas offers not only its now renowned Spanish Courses for Foreigners (Hispanic Studies Course, Studies in Spanish Language and Culture Course and Intensive Spanish Language Courses) but also a variety of Foreign Language Courses (English, French, Italian, German, Arabic, Modern Greek, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish). It is the combination of the two that make the centre such an original venture; here foreign students can share their daily lives with those of Spanish students, thus stimulating a mutual interest in their different languages and cultures. This contact is strengthened through a language exchange service, which gives students the opportunity to practise their Spanish outside the classroom, and by cultural visits and activities.
In addition to the aforementioned courses, the Centro de Lenguas Modernas also offers courses in Teaching Spanish, German, French, English or Italian as a Foreign Language, exams for those who wish to certify their level of Spanish (D.E.L.E. - Diploma in Spanish as a Foreign language - organised by the Instituto Cervantes). Teaching Business Spanish and other types of language courses for special purposes, including those specially designed in conjunction with different academic and professional institutions are also available.
The Centro de Lenguas Modernas and the University de Granada do their best to make the students' stay as pleasant and advantageous as possible: the Language Exchange Service, the Accommodation Service, and organisation of cultural and sports activities are just a few examples.
On the academic side, the highly qualified teaching staff are specialised in language teaching, and include University of Granada professors and lecturers. The Centre is fully equipped with a library, the most up-to-date audio-visual aids both in classrooms and in language laboratories set up for multimedia and audio-video activities. Furthermore, students have access to electronic mail.
With a firm commitment to constant improvement always in mind, the Centre carries out external surveys periodically, which assess the teaching staff, the contents of the different courses offered, and the quality of the Centre’s management and infrastructure.
[edit] Rankings
According to the second largest Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the University of Granada ranks ninth nationally in the number of undergraduate and graduate programs, before the University of Salamanca which ranks twelfth, and after the Complutense University of Madrid (Spanish: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, UCM) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Catalan: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, UAB) which rank first and second respectively.
Granada has achieved this outstanding position thanks to its scientific and humanistic research which has helped to reassert the university as the main intellectual and cultural center in the South of Spain. The 76% of its staff possesses a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy or Philosophiæ Doctor) and its college admissions is perennially the most selective in the whole Spanish system, which confirms its high reputation.
[edit] International Relations
The University of Granada takes an active part in the European Union's university programmes, both in the mobility of teachers and students as well as research. Programmes are coordinated from the Office of International Relations, and aimed at EU countries and other geographical areas (Latin America, Eastern Europe, North Africa, etc.). By way of bilateral or specific agreements between groups of universities, it has traditionally collaborated with universities from these geographical areas as well as with the USA, Japan, China, Israel, Canada, Australia, Benin, Asian countries from the former USSR, Palestine, Australia, etc., university associations such as the Coimbra Group, the AUIP, ISTEC, ATEI, etc. These are some of the examples of the collaboration initiatives.
Although the three most intense areas of cooperation, as might be expected for a country such as Spain and a University with the tradition of Granada, are the European Union, Latin America and the Magreb, of no lesser importance are the lines of collaboration which exist with the countries mentioned above.
As a result of this cooperation, the University of Granada receives more than 8,000 lecturers, students and university administrators each year from all over the world, who attend Spanish classes, regular courses (around 5% of registration numbers), teach, collaborate with research groups, etc.
[edit] Facts of the Universty of Granada
- Degree courses: 75
- Departments: 112
- Professors and lecturers: 3,400
- Degree and Diploma students: 56,715
- Post-graduate and Doctoral students: 3,059
- Research Groups: 417
- First University of Europe in reception of the Erasmus programme Students
- First Spanish University in Graduation prizes
- First Andalusian University in scientific production and sixth in Spain
[edit] Organization
These are the 17 faculties in which the university is divided into:
- Faculty of Fine Arts
- Faculty of Library Studies and Documentation
- Faculty of Sciences
- Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Science
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Economics and Business Studies
- Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Education and Humanities - Ceuta
- Faculty of Education and Humanities - Melilla
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Faculty of Humanities
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Dentistry
- Faculty of Psychology
- Faculty of Translation and Interpreting
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- University of Granada Website (Spanish) (English) (French)
- 50 Carreras | ElMundo.es
| Coimbra Group (of European research universities) |
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