Complutense University of Madrid

The Complutense University of Madrid (Spanish: Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, Universidad de Madrid, Universidad Central de Madrid; Latin: Universitas Complutensis Matritensis) 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 Universidad de Madrid ('University of Madrid') in 1943.