Universidad de Murcia

The University of Murcia (UM) is a Spanish public university located in the Region of Murcia (Spain). Its centers are distributed across five campuses. It was originally founded in 1272 under the Crown of Castile and later in 1915. It has more than 34,000 students and is a nationally and internationally recognized university. It belongs to the International Campus of Excellence program in the “Campus Mare Nostrum” project together with the Polytechnic University of Cartagena.

The origins of the University of Murcia have always been traced back to various medieval educational institutions that were founded after the conquest of Murcia, such as the School of Murcia, a studium arabicum directed by Al-Ricotí and founded by Alfonso X of Castile in 1269, or the studium solemne of the Dominicans, a conventual school dedicated to the study of Eastern languages, scriptures, and theology after the founding of the Convent of Santo Domingo in 1272, which is considered the predecessor of a studium generale.

Later, the most important educational institutions in the city and the Kingdom of Murcia were the Colegio de San Esteban (founded in 1555 by Bishop Esteban de Almeyda) and the Seminario Mayor de San Fulgencio, founded in 1592 by Bishop Sancho Dávila Toledo, where important figures such as the Count of Floridablanca and Diego Clemencín studied. In addition, prominent scholars such as Salvador Jacinto Polo de Medina and Francisco Cascales became teachers. During the episcopate of Rubín de Celis (1773-1784), this institution obtained from the state the privilege of awarding higher degrees based on the absence of a university in the Kingdom of Murcia, thus opening it up to lay people.

However, the first attempts to establish the University of Murcia as such date back to the 19th century. The first was the Literary University, created in 1840. This higher education center, which included studies in law, medicine, and philosophy (with auxiliary sciences), barely functioned for one academic year. The next attempt was the so-called Free University of Murcia, which was active for four academic years (from 1869-1870 to 1873-1874) and offered courses in law, philosophy, and science. These universities were always dependent on the Provincial Council of Murcia but were academically supervised at all times by the Provincial Institute, whose building served as their headquarters.

The University of Murcia was finally founded at the end of 1914, and its first headquarters were inaugurated at the Provincial Institute in 1915. In 1920, it moved to the building of the Escuelas Graduadas del Carmen, at which time Jorge Guillén, María Moliner, and Mariano Ruiz-Funes were professors at the center. In 1935, it moved to the Colegio de los Maristas, a former convent of La Merced, which was the origin of the La Merced Campus.

After the war, Enrique Tierno Galván, Manuel Muñoz Cortés, and Dictinio de Castillo were teachers there.