SPAINUniversidad Complutense, Madrid

The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) traces its origins back to 1293, thus making it one of the world's oldest universities.

It is also the largest university in Spain, with about 90 000 students and over 6000 Professors.This top public university in Spain is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid. Over its long History, students and faculty at the Complutense were traditionally involved in political debates. During the Franco Regime, the UCM was at the forefront of the resistance movements; the politically-active university students came to be ranked, along with the labor and nationalist movements, as one of the chief threats to the stability of the dictatorship. Today, this tradition helps instill to the UCM a lively intellectual atmosphere. The Complutense University publishes a bi-monthly newspaper, the Gaceta Complutense, and also has a fully-operational radio station, Radio Complutense (107.5 FM) which broadcasts for 12 hours daily; both are run from the School of Communications. The public transportation to and from the UCM is well served by frequent buses and the metro line 6 (station Ciudad Universitaria) Most of the exchange students live in apartments around Madrid. Although the University in general has a strong support group for exchange students, it does not routinely provide housing for incoming students. An application form for housing can be found at http://www.ucm.es/info/ucmp/cont/descargas/documento3982.doc For additional hints about housing, see student comments.