The UNED is the largest public university in Spain both in number of students and in academic offer, as well as the largest campus in Europe, and has been dedicated, for 50 years, to universalizing quality Higher Education through a model of online and blended teaching leader in its sector.
The more than 200,000 students who trust the UNED each year endorse an innovative learning system that combines online teaching and face-to-face support supported by a constantly evolving technological platform that allows it to offer a flexible model adapted to the individual needs of each of its students. students. An active system that applies to all the studies of its wide academic offer , in which the student becomes the protagonist of their own learning, as established by the European Higher Education System. All this, moreover, without court notes and adapting the study to your working hours, personal situation, family and professional obligations.
Study in a flexible way and at your own pace
The UNED , in line with the essence of the European Higher Education Area, places the student at the center of their own learning process, favoring the training of professionals capable of facing the challenges of the Knowledge Society. To do this, it makes available to its students a leading online and blended methodology in its sector that allows it to adapt to each of their personal and work situations, thus making one of its founding objectives possible: the universalization of quality Higher Education without geographical boundaries or individual barriers.
The flexibility of the UNED methodology is based on the largest university technological infrastructure in the country and a network of national and international offices that make training and exams possible anywhere in the world.
Mission, Vision, Values
Guaranteeing access to the University under conditions of equity and equality has been the mission of the UNED since its creation in 1972. From this spirit is born its vision as a reference university, open to the world and to society, as well as its values for the sake of excellence, scientific rigor and a vocation for public service.
With Equality as its hallmark, the UNED has especially promoted the incorporation of women into the university and into the job market. It is no coincidence that in 1982 Elisa Pérez Vera was elected rector of the UNED , the first woman to hold such a position at a Spanish university. Likewise, it was the first public university with two rectors to its credit. The UNED is a university of all and for all, with specific adaptation programs for people with disabilities and the most disadvantaged groups.
Our history
The UNED was born in 1972 through decree law 2310/1972 of August 18, which created the National University of Distance Education. Then, only three offices in the center of Madrid made up the structure of what was called to be the largest university in Spain.
The history of the UNED is marked by continued growth in geographical expansion, technological innovation and training offer.
Geographic expansion
Moved by its vocation to universalize Higher Education and facilitate access to the University to anyone regardless of their location or their work and family situation, the UNED begins its geographical expansion with the aim of bringing its offer closer to the most away from the big metropolises.
Thus, the UNED Centers are born, which will establish the peculiar teaching method of the university together with the exclusive figure of the professor-tutors. Immediately, the UNED puts the focus outside its borders and begins its international journey both in Europe and in America, exporting its educational model.
Technological innovation
From its origins, in which teaching materials were sent to students' homes by regular mail, to the current platform that supports its hundreds of thousands of students by hosting an innumerable corpus of multimedia content, through the commitment to use of radio and television in the first decades of its existence, the UNED has experienced a true technological revolution that has currently reached its peak with the development, through its technology centers, of its own resources with which not only supports its own needs, but is trusted by numerous national and international institutions
Educative offer
Undoubtedly, one of the fastest growing areas of the UNED has been its academic offer, which increases every year with new degrees, adapting to the demands of the Knowledge Society with the creation, to cite a few examples, of the Combined Degrees or the recent Microtitles, pioneers in Spain and that respond to the European commitment to the Short Learning Programmes.
Structure
The peculiar characteristics of the UNED are reflected in its structure, adapted to its essence, function and needs. The central headquarters of the university is located in Madrid and is spread over four campuses. The Rector's Office, in the center of the city, the Ciudad Universitaria campus, which it shares with important Madrid universities, the Senda del Rey campus and the Las Rozas technology campus. All the Faculties and Schools are located here, in addition to other central services, such as the Library. The extensive staff of Teaching and Research Staff centralizes all the teaching and evaluation tasks of the university in these locations.
The UNED also has a network of Associated Centers in Spain and Centers Abroad that allows its students to study from anywhere in the world. The UNED Centers deal with the face-to-face part of their methodology, with online or face-to-face tutorials given by professors-tutors, an exclusive UNED figure, as well as administrative support. The UNED Centers also play an important social role in the towns where they are based, where they organize activities of various kinds and promote local development and employability in the area.
With a presence in 17 countries and an outstanding internationalization vocation, UNED students can take exams in more than 75 different cities.
