The University of Granada is a public university situated in the historical city of Granada, which lies just 35km from the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range and 65km from the tropical Mediterranean coast. It was founded by the Emperor Charles V in the year 1531 and is one of the most significant universities in Europe in terms of its historical importance. We also have campuses in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Northern Africa, making the UGR the only European university with campuses on two continents.
In the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the most prestigious and influential international ranking of its kind, the UGR has consistently improved its position over the last ten years, rising a total of 200 positions. It now occupies its highest position ever since the ARWU was launched and is ranked among the top 300 universities in the world (ARWU 2016). Furthermore, the UGR is ranked second in Spain in the ARWU 2016.
Moreover, in terms of student satisfaction, the UGR has been voted the number one study destination in Spain by international students, obtaining the prestigious International Student Satisfaction Gold Award from StudyPortals in 2013.
Approximately 80,000 individuals – students, researchers, lecturers, and administrative and service staff are directly linked to the UGR, making it the 4th largest university in the country. This university community has turned Granada, with its 240,000 inhabitants, into a lively, vivacious and culturally rich city. Approximately 6,000+ international undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students undertake studies at the UGR every year, making it a truly multicultural study destination.
Furthermore, every year the University of Granada receives more than 2000 Erasmus students. As such, it is the most popular Erasmus destination in Europe. We also send more Erasmus students to foreign universities than any other European higher education institution. We are a founding member of the international Coimbra Group, an association of European universities at the forefront of higher-level education.
At the UGR, we are firmly committed to investing in innovation and excelling in research. Thanks to this commitment, the BioTIC Campus, which excels in the areas of Biohealth, ICTs, Earth System Sciences, and Heritage and Culture, has been designated an International Campus of Excellence by the Spanish Government.
The University contributes to regional, national and international socio-economic development by means of world-class education, high-quality research, providing top-class services, and by collaborating closely with the local administration and businesses. Our institution’s commitment to improving training and research techniques, knowledge transfer, and socio-economic engagement, has enabled us to create over 82 spin-offs, set up over 580 active research projects, and patent over 230 products in recent years. All of these advances have been achieved in line with the highest standards of corporate social responsibility.
Since its founding, the UGR has expanded on a par with the city, with educational centres distributed throughout the metropolitan area. Indeed, given its increasingly growing role in the life of the city over the last 500 years, the University has come to define the city architecturally, culturally and economically.
In the following video, students and doctoral candidates from across the globe talk about their experiences at the UGR.