University of Zaragoza

University of Zaragoza

Universidad de Zaragoza
Type	Public University
Established	Known as the School of Zaragoza in 7th century; officially became the University of Zaragoza in 1542.[1]
Rector	Prof Manuel José López Pérez
Academic staff	3,911 (2013 - 2014)
Administrative staff	1,806 (2013 - 2014)
Students	36,492 including self-study and international participants (2013 - 2014)
Undergraduates	30,415 (2013 - 2014)
Postgraduates	3,528 (2013 - 2014)
Location	Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
Campus	Jaca, Huesca, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Zaragoza, Teruel
Website	www.unizar.es

The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University (in Spanish: Universidad de Zaragoza) is a university located in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain. Founded in 1542, it is one of the oldest universities in Spain, with a history dating back to the Roman period. The university has over 40,000 students in its 22 faculties. The university is the only public university in the region. Its activity is spread along the three provinces of Aragon, with teaching campuses and research centres in Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza.

The University of Zaragoza began with what were known as the Ecclesiastical Schools. These schools were later consolidated into the School of Zaragoza, led by Bishop Braulio during the 7th century (who would later be made the patron saint of the University). References from 1335 indicate there was a School of Arts (known as liberal arts, since the classics included in the "trivium and "quadrivium" were taught there). Between 1474 and 1476 the School of Arts earned the category of General School of Arts before officially becoming a university in 1542.

The cultural activities and endeavours of the leaders of Zaragoza during the last third of the 15th century had obtained authorization from Pope Sixtus IV in 1474 and, at the petition of Fernando, the future King of Aragon, it was made a General School of Arts. Coinciding with the introduction of the printing press, evidence of an interest in knowledge, ratification of the General School of Arts was obtained from King Juan in 1476. Thus the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon could now grant the degree of “Bachiller” in Arts. In 1477, the Rector Pedro de la Cabra and a representative of the town council prepared its first bylaws. Petitions to enable it to grant the full degrees of “Licenciado” and “Doctor en Facultad” continued until 1542, the date on which one can speak of the University of Zaragoza as existing "de jure", since it did not exist as such “de facto” until 1583, its official founding date.

As was to be expected in the 16th century, this University arose in a very simple society if we judge it using only material criteria, but in reality in a very complex and diverse one, if we take into account both the material and the spiritual. It is said that two worlds existed then, the rural and the urban. In Aragon this classification is valid, but it must be understood that with regard to legal relations in the feudal production system in the rural world, a distinction must certainly be made between the estates of the Church, widows and the Crown –without "absolute power", the right that allowed them starve the serfs without a fair trial– and the secular estates –which had "absolute power"-, a distinctive criterion that may serve the occasion. As for the urban world, all belonging to the Crown, we must make a distinction between the capital, Zaragoza, seat of the government of the monarchy and the king himself, with a singular council and several high-level courts of justice, which gave its people (although they did not enjoy privileges) considerable freedom of action in comparison to other towns, and the other urban areas of the Crown distributed throughout Aragon, whose freedom was more limited by their lower concentration of population and limited contact with the outside world. It was certainly a society in which, given its complexity, we can observe the presence of the poor and alienated, as well as a noteworthy number of immigrants, especially French, who in 1577 constituted a fifth of the population and lived throughout Aragon, becoming a part of the web of Aragonese society or living temporarily or seasonally in the area. From a qualitative perspective, neither should the important contribution of Catalonian and Genovese merchants to the area’s economy be overlooked.