University of Santiago de Compostela
| Universidade de Santiago de Compostela - USC | |
 |
|
| Type | public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1495 |
| Endowment | 228 million € (2011) |
| Rector | Prof. Dr. Juan Viaño Rey |
| Undergraduates | 23,835 |
| Postgraduates | 1,716 |
| 2,697 | |
| Location | Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain |
| Campus | Santiago de Compostela and Lugo (both urban) |
| Faculty | 2,149 |
| Affiliations | Leading member and founder of Compostela Group of Universities |
| Website | www.usc.gal |
 |
|
The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC (Galician: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela - USC, Spanish: Universidad de Santiago de Compostela - USC) is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia. It is one of the world's oldest universities in continuous operation.
The university traces its roots back to 1495, when a school was opened in Santiago. In 1504, Pope Julius II approved the foundation of a university in Santiago but "the bull for its creation was not granted by Clement VII until 1526". In 1555 the institute began to separate itself from strictly religious instruction with the help of Cardinal Juan Álvarez de Toledo and started to work towards developing other academic fields, including the emerging science fields.
Today the university's facilities cover more than 1,300,000 square meters (~320 acres). In terms of human resources, the university has more than 2,000 teachers involved in study and research, over 42,000 students, and more than 1,000 people working in administration and services. Moreover, in 2009, the University received the accreditation of Campus of International Excellence by the Ministry of Education (Spain), recognising USC as one of the most prestigious universities in Spain.
The university ranks 5th in Spain's best universities ranking by Complutense University of Madrid and IAIF and 4th amongst public universities.
The roots of the University go back to 1495, when the Santiago de Compostela solicitor López Gómez de Mazoa founded, with the help of the abbot of San Martiño Pinario, a school for the poor known as "Grammatic Academy" in the monastery of San Paio de Antealtares. Early on, the success of the school was in doubt due to a lack of economic resources. But in the year 1504, Pope Julius II issued a Papal Bull recognizing the institution and allowing for the institution of higher learning in the "Gramatic Academy".
...
Wikipedia