Complutense University of Madrid
![Complutense University of Madrid](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Escudo_de_la_Universidad_Complutense_de_Madrid.svg)
The
Complutense University of Madrid (, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; ) is a
public research university located in
Madrid. Founded in
Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the
oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's most prestigious institutions of higher learning. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the
Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of
Pozuelo de Alarcón. It is named after the ancient Roman settlement of
Complutum, now an archeological site in
Alcalá de Henares, just east of Madrid.
It enrolls over 86,000 students, making it the eighth
largest non-distance European university by enrollment. By Royal Decree of 1857, the Central University was the first and only institution in Spain authorized to grant
doctorate degrees throughout the
Spanish Empire. In 1909, the Central University became one of the first universities in the world to grant a doctorate degree to a woman. It was renamed as ('University of Madrid') in 1943.
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