Autonomous University of Madrid

Autonomous University of Madrid
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Escudo UAM.jpg
Motto: Quid Ultra Faciam?
Established: 1968
Type: public
Rector: Angel Gabilondo Pujol
Undergraduates: 29,206
Postgraduates: 3,912
Location: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Campus: Rural
Faculty: 2,262
Affiliations: UNICA, EUA, CRUE, CRUMA
Website: www.uam.es

The Autonomous University of Madrid (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) commonly known by its Spanish initials UAM or as "la Autónoma" is a Spanish Public University established in 1968, along with the Autonomous Universities of Barcelona and Bilbao (now University of the Basque Country) in the frame of one of Spain’s most ambitious educational reforms, which took place during the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Since 1971, the university's main campus has been located in Cantoblanco, a rural area in the northern outskirts of Madrid, and, despite of being part of the Municipality of Madrid, the campus is nearer the towns of Alcobendas and Tres Cantos. Throughout its history, UAM has become one of Spain’s most prominent Higher Education Institutions, being ranked first amongst Spanish Universities by the El Mundo University Supplement (known as "Campus"), The Times Higher Education Supplement and the Academic Ranking of World Universities elaborated by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Contents

Facilities

Cantoblanco Campus

UAM's Cantoblanco Campus holds most of the university’s facilities. It is located 15km north of Madrid and has an extension of over 2,200,000 m², of which nearly 770,000 are urbanised and about a third of them garden areas. The campus was projected as a university town that was to be self sufficient but also away from Madrid in order to keep student activity against the Francoist dictatorship away from the city. Initially the campus held the faculties of Philosophy and Liberal Arts; Law; Economics; Business Management and Science, as well as the rectorate, several other service buildings and sports facilities. Remaining are the Faculty of Medicine and the Teacher Training School “Santa Maria” in downtown Madrid, as well as two other Teacher Training Schools in Segovia and Cuenca. Over the years, the Faculty of Psychology, the Biology Building of the Faculty of Sciences, the New Faculty of Law (that allowed the transfer of the Teacher Training School to the main Campus, later transformed in Faculty of Education and Teacher Training) along with its Political Science annex building, The Superior Polytechnic School (initially Superior Technical School of Computing Engineers), the libraries of Humanities and Sciences and the Erasmus of Rotterdam Dormitory have been built on the campus.

Superior Polytechnic School Building

The original faculties were built in interconnected buildings, with several patios in between them. Characteristic of the building is the large number of stairs in its corridors, initially designed to prevent students from running in case of police raids. Currently, this fact has been considered by many university officials as a setback in the integration of handicapped students. The newest facilities are built in a contemporary style, being more accessible and allowing more free movement to students.

Sporting facilities include two swimming pools (an indoor one and an outdoor one); two multiple use pavilions; and outdoor tennis, football, basketball, paddle tennis, rugby, and futsal and beach volleyball courts.

Other services on campus include 16 cafeterias and other eating facilities, medical services, a pharmacy with optic care, a foreign languages pavilion and a bookstore.

The campus also houses several research facilities partnered with The Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC).

Cantoblanco Campus is accessible by train in Renfe Cercanias Commuter service (station Cantoblanco-Universidad), or by the Madrid Region Commuter Bus service. The campus is located in the B1 area of the Madrid Transports Consortium.

Madrid Facilities

UAM Faculty of Medicine is located north of Madrid near La Paz Teaching Hospital (that acts as the Faculty’s main, but not only, teaching hospital). It was inaugurated in 1970. Juan Luis Vives Residence Hall was UAM’s first residential facility. It is located in the Plaza Castilla area, in northern Madrid. It has 130 residents and holds several cultural activities of the university.

La Cristalera Residence

“La Cristalera” Residence is located in Miraflores de la Sierra, a village north of Madrid that was acquired by the University in 1989. It is used for conferences and meetings and is the main centre of UAM’s summer courses.

Academic Organisation

World University Rankings
2005
Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings
World 153-202
Europe 57-79
Spain 1
Times Higher World University Rankings
World 183
Europe 73
Spain 1
Economics and Buissines Management Faculty

The UAM is divided into eight faculties and superior schools that support and coordinate most of the University's academic and administrative activity. Each faculty is divided into departments that coordinate the teaching and research of the different subjects. Researchers can organise into research institutes in order to coordinate their activities in a specific research field. The University totals up to 59 departments and eight research institutes. In addition to these, the UAM has seven associate schools, which are not completely part of UAM’s administrative structure but issue UAM-recognised titles and are under UAM’s academic regulations. UAMs Centres are: Faculties and Superior Schools:

Associate Schools are:

Administrative Organisation

Rectorate Building

UAM administration is established according to the 2001’s Organic Law of Universities (LOU). The Senior Academic and Administrative Officer of the Autonomous University of Madrid is the Rector, who must be, by law, a Chair Professor serving in the university, elected every four years with a two term limit by Universal Graded Suffrage. The current Rector is Prof. Ángel Gabilondo, chair of metaphysics, first elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006. To aid the rector in the management of the university, the rector appoints an indefinite number of Vicerectors that lead different administrative departments of the university (such as Student Affairs or Graduate Academic Affairs) and a Secretary General, that coordinates the Rector’s team and oversees the legal procedures of the university, as well as university protocol. The rector, in accordance with the universities Social Board, also designates the manager as part of his team, which oversees the university’s economic and administrative activity. The grades assigned to each sector for rectoral elections in UAM according to its Charter are:

UAM’s collective government bodies are the University Assembly, The Board of Governors and The Social Board.

The University Assembly is made out of 153 full professors, 84 students, 27 hired, associate, or emeritus professors, 27 members of the non teaching personnel, 9 research or teaching trainees, The Rector, The Secretary General and the Manager. It is the highest representative body of the university. It elaborates the universities general guidelines, changes or passes a new University Charter, elects twenty members of the Board of Governors and elects the University Ombudsman.

The Board Of Governors is the ordinary governmental body of the university. It controls and passes regulations on most of the university’s academic, personnel and administrative issues. It is composed of the Rector, the General Secretary, the Manager, 20 members elected by the Assembly according to its composition, all the Deans and the Head of The Polytechnic School, 7 Heads of Department, a Head of Research Institute, 15 members designated by the Rector and 3 members of the Social Board.

The Social Board is the body responsible for the relations of the University and Society. Its members are designated by Trade Unions, the Municipality of Madrid, Employers Unions, Companies related to the University, the Madrid Assembly and the Board of Governors of the university. It also oversees the universities financial activities and passes the university budget. Its current Chairman is José María Fluxa.

Faculties are headed by a Dean, whilst the responsible of the Polytechnic School is called Head. They are elected in the same way as the rector and have also a limit of two four-year terms. They are aided by Vicedeans or Deputy Heads. They are overseen by a Faculty or School Board. Departments are led by the Head of Department an overseen by the Department Council.

Studies

Faculty of law building

Undergraduate

UAM offers Spanish Undergraduate fully recognised degrees. There are the “Diplomatura” and “Ingenierías Técnicas” (technical engineering), which are 3 year studies equivalent to an Associate Degree. “Licenciaturas” and “Ingenierías Superiores ” are 4-5 years studies equivalent to a bachelors Degree. Along with that, UAM offers 2nd level “licenciaturas”, which allow people who have a diplomatura to obtain a “licenciatura” by taking courses. In other case, they must have at least the first 2 or 3 years of a licenciatura and combined degree, which are very popular among Spanish students.

Diplomaturas and Ingienierías Técnicas:

Faculty of Sciences:

Faculty of Economics and Business Management

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education

LaSalle Higher Education Institute

Associate Nursing Schools

ONCE school of physiotherapy

Licenciaturas:

Faculty of Sciences

Faculty of Economical Science and Business Management

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Psychology

Faculty of Philosophy and Liberal Arts

Faculty of Medicine

Superior Polytechnic School

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education

2nd level licenciaturas

Faculty of Philosophy

Faculty of Sciences

Faculty of Economical Science and Business Management

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Teacher Training and Education

LaSalle

Combined Degrees

Faculty of Law

Superior Polytechnic School

Graduate

UAM offers 94 PhD programs in all of the universities programs. It also offers 72 unrecognised Masters Degrees, with the implementation of the Bologna Process 16 recognised Master degrees for 2006-2007 academic year [1]

Student Life

Panel Debate at UAM

Societies and compromise

The Autonomous University of Madrid has a historically active student body. Having organised in 1976 one of the Spain’s most important events against the dictatorship, the Iberian Peoples Festival that had an attendance of over 70,000. UAM has over a hundred student societies, that cover activities ranging from student unionism to Theatre and Music. The oldest living Association in UAM is the Law Students Association (AED in Spanish) a left leaning student union established in 1981. UAM does not have a formal Student Government body, as it has been rejected by students in several occasions, and instead students elect different student unions (usually with difference on political issues) to the different university government bodies. In the last years UAM Students have organised massively: to Protest Against Terrorism, after the assassination by ETA of Prof. Francisco Tomas y Valiente in 1995, Against the Organic Law of Universities in 2001, to clean Spain’s northern coast after the Prestige oil spill in 2002, Against the War in Iraq in 2003, To assist to the II European Social Forum also in 2003 and in solidarity with the victims of the 11th March 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Festivals and parties

UAM is also a festive campus, holding several festivals during the Spring period. The most important was the Spring festival held until 1993, but halted due to massification. Since then minor festivals have been held by student associations, these festivals usually consist in rock concerts by amateur or starting rock bands (many of which have members that are UAM) from midday until dusk. According to university regulations Festival profits have to be destined to charities or to the organisation of cultural events. In 2005 due to massification of the festivals that led to several problems University Officials suspended further festivals until a more convenient place for their celebration was found. Thus, no festivals were held in 2006.

Saint Canute

In the early 1980s a group of students noticed the presence in the Catholic Calendar of the day of Saint Canute in the month of January whose translation in Spanish (canuto) is also one of the various names used for a spliff. They decided to celebrate an anti-prohibitionist festival. Throughout the years the festival consisted of anti-prohibitionist lectures, film projections, and a central activity consisting of a procession of Saint Canute mocking Spanish Holy Week imagery, that was held the third Thursday of June. Over the last year, due to the proximity of the Autumn-Winter semester exams, most of the activities were abandoned, leaving over a massive gathering. At the same time more people, especially from outside the university, were attending; this led to University authorities having to find a way to halt the festival.

Noted Alumni

Royalty

Politics

Media

Noted Faculty and Researchers

See also

External links

Institutional Network of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA)

Tirana (TU) · Tirana (PUT) · Wien · Brussels (VUB) · Brussels (ULB) · Sofia · Zagreb · Nicosia · Prague · Copenhagen · Tallinn (TU) · Tallinn (TUT) · Helsinki · Paris I · Paris III · Paris VI · Paris-Dauphine · Berlin (FUB) · Berlin (HUB) · Athens · Budapest · Dublin (UCD) · Rome-La Sapienza · Rome-Tor Vergata · Rome-Tre · Riga · Vilnius · Skopje · Amsterdam · Oslo · Warsaw · Lisboa · Bucharest · Moscow · Bratislava · Ljubljana · Madrid (UAM) · Madrid (UCM) · Stockholm · Lausanne · London (UCL)