The University of Oviedo was established under the terms and conditions of the will of Archbishop Fernando de Valdés Salas (1483–1568), who was the General Inquisitor under Philip II of Spain, and funded by his estate. In 1574 Pope Gregory XIII granted the papal bull to create the university and in 1604 Philip III issued its charter. It first opened for the teaching of classes on September 21, 1608.
The ancient university had three faculties: the Faculty of Arts, which every student had to graduate from in order to continue his training in one of the other; and the Faculties of Theology and Law, sometimes known as the higher faculties.
After the French invasion of Spain the Historical Building of the university was occupied by invading troops and lectures were suspended until the War ended in 1812.
Sign commemorating the extension programme.
During the 19th century, a group of liberal professors tried to bring the university closer to the working class with the Extensión Universitaria (a popular education programme sponsored by the institution). However, this goal was not fully achieved, and on October 13, 1934, during the leftist miners revolt in Asturias, the university (including its Library and the Art Gallery) was set fire either by the revolutionaries or the government bomber airplanes.[5]
It was rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).
The number of faculties has multiplied in the modern university, both through subdivisions of the traditional four faculties, and through the absorption of academic disciplines which have developed within originally vocational schools, in areas such as engineering or nursing.
Nowadays, the university has 31 faculties and professional schools, offering degrees and diplomas in over 150 fields of study.
Schools and colleges
School of Law (since 1608), Teaching and Education (1845), Chemistry (1848), Polytechnic School of Mieres (1855), Jovellanos Faculty of Commerce, Tourism and Social Sciences (1866), Gijón Polytechnic School of Engineering (1888), Philosophy and Letters (1892), Economy and Business (1908), Teaching and Geology (1958), Mining Engineering (1959), Biology (1961), Medicine and Health Sciences (1968), Merchant Marine (1979), School of Computer Engineering (1982), Sciences (1990), Psychology (1991)
Departments
Experimental Sciences: Analytic and Physical-Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Environment Technologies, Mathematics, Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Physics, Statistics and Operations Research and Mathematics Education.
Health Sciences: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology of Organisms and Systems, Functional Biology, Medicine, Morphology and Cellular Biology, Surgery and Medical-Surgical Specialities.
Engineering: Telecommunication, Computer Sciences, Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, Electrical, Electronical, Computers and Systems Engineering, Energy, Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Mining Working and Prospecting, Nautical Science and Technologies.
Social Sciences and Law: Accounting, Applied Economy, Basic Legal Sciences, Business Administration, Education Sciences, Economy, Private and Companies Law, Psychology, Public Law, Quantitative Economy, Sociology.
Humanities: Anglo-German and French Philology, Art and Music History, Classical and Romance Philology, Geography, History, Philosophy, Spanish Philology.
Facilities
The school has a large number of places in different classrooms, total counted 6 classrooms in the building, with spaces ranging from the 171 seats in the classroom with greater capacity, up to 75 seats in the lower-capacity classroom. In addition to these classrooms, there is a room hold up to 112 places, which are usually done lectures and presentations both subjects, as final projects.
Special mention also the different laboratories that school has a total of 15 laboratories. Included in this equipment of various kinds, both PC and MAC.
Torcuato Fernández-Miranda, politician, president of the Spanish Cortes (1975–1977), interim prime minister (1974), vice-prime minister (1973–1974), General Secretary of the National Movement (Movimiento Nacional) (1969–1974)
^Ruiz, David (13 February 2016). "Los revolucionarios volaron la Catedral, pero no la Universidad" [The revolutionaries blew up the Cathedral, but not the University]. Atlántica XXII (in Spanish) (41). Retrieved 9 October 2024. a día de hoy ya no hay plena constancia de que el trágico episodio tenga la firma de los revolucionarios que combatieron en la capital.
![A stone rectangle on a white wall with red letters reading: "LAS UNIVERSIDADES ESPAÑOLAS REUNIDAS EN OVIEDO ACORDARON RENDIR HOMENAJE DE GRATITUD Y ADMIRACION A LOS PROFESORES DE ESTA UNIVERSIDAD QUE CREARON E INICIARON LA EXTENSION [sic] UNIVERSITARIA COMO INSTRUMENTO PERMANENTE DE LAS RELACIONES SOCIEDAD-UNIVERSIDAD Y COMO EXPRESIÓN DE LA VOCACIÓN DE SERVICIO QUE DEBE PRESIDIR LA LABOR UNIVERSITARIA. OVIEDO 15 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1898-25 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1992"](File:Placa_conmemorativa._Universid%C3%A1_d%27Uvi%C3%A9u.jpg)
