| University of Salamanca | |
|---|---|
| Universidad de Salamanca | |
Seal of the University of Salamanca |
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| Latin: Universitas Studii Salamanticensis | |
| Motto | Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat (Latin) |
| Motto in English | What Nature doesn't give, Salamanca won't provide |
| Established | Unknown; teaching existed since at least 1130. It was chartered by the pope in 1218.[1] |
| Type | Public |
| Rector | Daniel Hernández Ruipérez |
| Academic staff | 2,453 [2] |
| Admin. staff | 1,252 [2] |
| Students | ca. 28,000 [3] |
| Doctoral students | 2,240 [3] |
| Location | Salamanca, Spain |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | EUA, Coimbra Group |
| Website | www.usal.es |
The University of Salamanca (Spanish: Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European university in continuous operations. It was the first European institution to receive the formal title of "University" as such; it was granted by King Alfonso X in 1254 and recognized by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.
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The university was founded in 1134 and recognized as a "General School of the Kingdom" by the Leonese King Alfonso IX in 1218. Granted Royal Chart by King Alfonso X, dated 8 May 1254, as the University of Salamanca this established the rules for organization and financial endowment.
On the basis of a papal bull by Alexander IV in 1255, which confirmed the Royal Charter of Alfonso X, the school obtained the title of University, the first in Europe.[4]
The historical phrases Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat (what nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend, in Latin) and Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet (many and very versed Salamanca has) give an idea of the prestige the institution rapidly acquired.[5]
In the reign of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, the Spanish government was revamped. Contemporary with the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews, and the conquest of Granada, there was a certain professionalization of the apparatus of the state. This involved the massive employment of "letrados", i.e., bureaucrats and lawyers, who were "licenciados" (university graduates), particularly, of Salamanca, and the newly founded University of Alcalá. 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.
While Columbus was lobbying the King and Queen for a contract to seek out a western route to the Indies, he made his case to a council of geographers at the University of Salamanca. In the next century, the morality of colonization in the Indies was debated by the School of Salamanca, along with questions of economics, philosophy and theology.
By the end of the Spanish Golden Age (c. 1550–1650), the quality of academics in Spanish universities declined. The frequency of the awarding of degrees dropped, the range of studies shrank, and there was a sharp decline in the number of its students. The centuries old European wide prestige of Salamanca declined.
Like Oxford and Cambridge, Salamanca had a number of colleges (Colegios Mayores). These were founded as charitable institutions to enable poor scholars to attend the University. By the eighteenth century they had become closed corporations controlled by the families of their founders, and dominated the university between them. Most were destroyed by Napoleon's troops. Today some have been turned into faculty buildings while others survive as halls of residence.
In the 19th century, the Spanish government dissolved the university's faculties of canon law and theology. They were later reestablished in the 1940s as part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.
Salamanca draws undergraduate and graduate students from across Spain; it is the top-ranked university in Spain based on the number of students coming from other regions.[6] It is also known for its Spanish courses for non-native speakers, which attract more than two thousand foreign students each year.[7]
Today the University of Salamanca is an important center for the study of humanities and is particularly noted for its language studies, and too in laws and economics. Scientific research is carried out in the university and research centers associated with it, such as at the Centro de Investigación del Cáncer,[8] Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León,[9] Centro de Láseres Pulsados Ultracortos Ultraintensos.
In conjunction with the University of Cambridge, the University of Salamanca co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) in 1989.
In 2009, preparations were being made for the celebration of the institution's eighth centennial.[10]
The library holds about 906,000 volumes.[11]
Other notable students and academic teachers include:
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