The history of Spain’s universities dates back to the beginning
of the thirteenth century when the first university institutions
were founded in the kingdoms of Castile and Leon, under the
auspices of the cathedral schools of Palencia (between 1208 and
1214) and Salamanca (1218). During that century, many of the
kingdoms in the Peninsula created their own studia generale.
Institutions of this kind were established in Valladolid towards
the middle of the century, in Lleida between 1279 and 1300, and
in Alcalá in 1293. The greatest expansion took place between
1450 and 1625, with the opening of universities in Barcelona
(1450), Santiago de Compostela (1495), Valencia (1499), Granada
(1531) and Oviedo (1608). In modern times, the Spanish
university boom coincided with the process of decentralization
following the ratification of the Constitution in 1978, as many
sectors of society began to demand access to higher education
for the first time. In 1984, Spain had 34 universities and
700,000 students. By 1995, almo