The big university guide

As Salamanca is a university city, it is time to show you how many good opportunities you will have as a student, how many different things you can study. As I wrote it before, the University of Salamanca (or Universidad de Salamanca – USAL) was founded in 1218, which makes it one of the oldest in Europe. The directorate is already preparing for the 800. anniversary celebration. USAL currently has about 30000 students, and quite a big proportion of this student body is rotating year by year, as the university attracts alumni from all over the world. There are many exchange students from Latin American countries, mostly from Brazil and Colombia, but, for example, German students as well are prone to choose USAL as their Erasmus destination.

Mostly, I would like to inform you about the many faculties you can study at if you choose to apply for USAL. The truth is that in Salamanca about every fifth building in the city is a faculty or one way or another belongs to USAL. So here you can find all the degrees and masters you can study with some additional information about each faculty.

Faculties

Faculty of Fine Arts and Psychology

This faculty can be found the furthest from the centre. Here, you can choose from the degrees of Fine Arts, Psychology and Occupational Therapy, and the masters of Applied Anthropology, Advanced Studies of Language, Disability research, Neuropsychology, Psychogerontology, General Health Psychology and Communication Disorders. Some people in Salamanca hold that there was an underlying reason behind housing them in the same campus. Namely, the students of Fine Arts are weird people living in their own reality, which gives to the Psychology alumni individuals to study under their very nose. Of course, it is just a silly theory… Another interesting detail is that most walls around the campus are full of paintings and graffiti and this is a commonly accepted form of expression by the citizens of Salamanca. The address of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Psychology is: Avenida Merced, 109-131., 37005, Salamanca.

Faculty of Translation and Documentation

The youngest faculty of USAL is located just opposite of the Cathedral of Salamanca and offers the following degrees: Information and Documentation and Translation and Interpretation; and the following masters: Systems of Digital Information and Intercultural Translation and Mediation. The building is considerably small, but students can admire the Cathedral on a daily basis as a compensation. Also, it is a big advantage that it is situated in the middle of the Old Town. Official address: Calle Francisco Vitoria, 6, 37008, Salamanca.

Faculty of Law

Located in the Miguel de Unamuno Campus, outside if the Old City, but close to the centre, under the address of Paseo de Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 37007, Salamanca. It is a nice area, along with a number of other faculties. Here you can study degrees of Political Science and Public Administration, Criminology and Law, and masters of Economic Analysis of Law and Public Policy, Political Science, Corruption and Rule of Law, International Cooperation for Development, Democracy and Good Governance, Labour Law and Relations, Criminal Law, Patrimonial Private Law, European Union Studies, Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, Latin-American Studies. As you can see, the Faculty of Law offers a wide range of specializations in order to make sure to cover all areas and to provide opportunities for everyone.

Faculty of Economics and Business

Another faculty that belongs to the Miguel de Unamuno Campus. If you continue to walk from the Faculty of Law, this is going to be the next building, separated with a huge green area, where numerous students spend their breaks and free time when the weather gets better in Salamanca. At the Faculty Economics and Business you can choose to study from the following degrees: Business Administration and Management, Economics, Management of Small and Medium Enterprises. If you finished your Bachelor, you can continue your formation at the master of Research in Management and Business Economics. The address: Paseo de Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 37007, Salamanca.

Faculty of Social Sciences

This is the third faculty joining the Miguel de Unamuno Campus with the same address as the previous ones. This one can be found at the end of the road, next to the Faculty of Economics and Business. It offers a number of degrees: Audiovisual Communication, Labour Relations and Human Resources, Sociology and Social Work. Afterwards, you can continue studying Latin American Anthropology, Brazilian Studies, Asian Studies, Research in Communication or Public Services and Social Policy.

Faculty of Philosophy

Being the last member of the Miguel de Unamuno Campus, offers one single degree, Philosophy and three masters: Advanced Studies in Philosophy, Social Studies of Science and Technology and Logic and Philosophy of Science.

My personal opinion is that it can be cool to study at one of the faculties of the Unamuno Campus, as it is a really nice green area with thousands of bars and cafés and with also many copy places. You can also find here one of the many university libraries. It is definitely one of the university centres of Salamanca.

Faculty of Geography and History

You will find this faculty a little bit hidden in Calle Cervantes (37001, Salamanca) but in the company of a very nice milkshake place. To its degree selection belongs Geography, History, History of Art, History and Science of Music and Humanities, while you can choose among Advanced Studies and Research in History, Advanced Studies in History of Art, Evaluation and Management of Cultural Heritage and Hispanic Music as a master. Once when visiting the faculty, I came across here a very interesting exhibition on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Faculty of Languages

It is the other neighbour of the Cathedral of Salamanca, more or less opposite to the Faculty of Translation and Documentation. Here, you can study various different languages: German, Arabic and Islamic, Asian Languages, French, Hebrew and Aramaic, English, Italian, Portuguese and Brazilian, Spanish. As an extra opportunity, you can choose Classical Philology and Romanic Languages, Literature and Culture. As a master you can study English Advanced Studies, Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, Hispanic Language and Culture, Spanish and Spanish American Literature, Textual Heritage and Digital Humanities and Texts of Classical Antiquity and their Survival.

Faculty of Chemical Sciences

Being the faculty of my boyfriend, I have been there quite many times. Honestly, it is probably not the nicest faculty based on its appearance, but it is equipped with modern equipment – and that is what matters. Its two degrees are Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, while Chemical Engineering and Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling are offered as masters. The building has two advantages. First of all, right next to it, you can find a huge parking garage, where as a student you can leave your car for not more than 20 cents per hour. The other advantage is that there is a beautiful park behind the faculty with a fascinating view over the river, Tormes. Additionally, the library for all the science faculties is a 5-minute-walk away. And last but not least, it is said that there are surprisingly many hot chicks in this faculty. The address of the faculty: Plaza Caídos, 37008, Salamanca.

Faculty of Sciences

Although it is a separate faculty, many classes are held in the building of Chemical Sciences. The degrees offered are Statistics, Physics, Geology, Geological Engineering, Computer Engineering and Mathematics. And if you want to study a master here, you can choose from Applied and Environmental Geology, Nuclear Physics, Physics and Mathematics, Physics and Technology Lasers, Computer Engineering and Intelligent System. They also have very advanced technology.

Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

I have never seen this faculty, but I know that it is a little bit outside of the central area on Avenida Filiberto de Villalobos, 119 (37007, Salamanca). It offers two degrees: Environmental Sciences and Agricultural Engineering. It masters are the following: Environmental Sciences and Agronomic Engeneering.

Faculty of Pharmacy, Biology and Medicine

Similarly to the Faculty of Law, Social Sciences, Economics and Business and Philosophy, these faculties as well are officially part of the Unamuno Campus, however located a little bit further away, on another road called Calle Lic. Méndez, Nieto. So this is also a district full of university buildings and students.

Within the Faculty of Pharmacy you can choose a degree called Pharmacy and four different masters: Tropical Diseases, Drug Development and Evaluation, Pathophysiology and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry and Pharmacy of Natural Products.

The Faculty of Biology offers the degrees of Biology and Biotechnology, and the masters of Agrobiotechnology, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biology and Conservation of Biodiversity. This building of this faculty is one of the newest in Salamanca, so it looks very modern.

Finally, the Faculty of Medicine has Medicine and Dentistry as bachelor degrees and Advanced Analysis of Multivariate Data, Biology and Clinic of Cancer, Intervention for People with Alzheimer’s Disease, Neurosciences and Supportive Care and Palliative Care in Cancer Treatment as masters to choose from. I also know that the above mentioned degrees are one of the hardest to get in among all the USAL degrees and masters.

Faculty of Education

Last but not least, there is a separate faculty devoted to education. You can study Social Education, Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Pedagogy at a first level, and Advanced Studies in Learning Disabilities and Advanced Studies in Education in the Global Society, Secondary School Teaching and ICT in Education. The address is: Paseo de Canalejas, 169, 37008, Salamanca.

As you can see above, there are thousands of degrees and masters to choose from if you want to study in Salamanca. However, you have to be aware that most of the degrees require a good level of Spanish, which you have to prove with certification.

Furthermore, you have to know that although the application period usually starts in March, you can apply as long as the new term has not started and as long as there are open places.

Last but not least, all degrees and masters has to be financed by the student, however there are a great deal of scholarships available for the ones with a good average.

I hope you found this post useful.

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