University of Salamanca

The University of Salamanca (Universidad de Salamanca) is a public research university in Salamanca, in the Castile and Leon region of Spain, founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX of Leon as a studium generale.萨拉曼卡大学（Universidad de Salamanca）是位于西班牙卡斯蒂利亚-莱昂自治区萨拉曼卡的一所公立研究型大学，1218 年由莱昂国王阿方索九世创办，最初为一所「总学馆」。

It is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest university in the world still in continuous operation, with a royal charter of 1254 and a papal bull of 1255, and in the QS World University Rankings 2027 it was placed 560th.它是西班牙语世界历史最悠久的大学，也是世界上仍在持续办学的第四古老大学，拥有 1254 年的皇家特许状与 1255 年的教宗诏书；在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位列第 560 位。

In the 2025-26 academic year the university enrolled 28,360 students in official programmes, taught by 2,609 teaching and research staff out of a total institutional staff of roughly 9,700, and its library holds about 906,000 volumes, one of the largest university collections in Spain.2025-26 学年，该校正式学位项目注册学生 28,360 人，由 2,609 名教学与研究人员授课，机构员工总数约 9,700 人；其图书馆藏书约 906,000 册，为西班牙规模最大的大学馆藏之一。

History

• Before the university was founded, Salamanca was home to a cathedral school attached to the old cathedral and already known to have been in existence by 1130, when the town was a major stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.在大学创办之前，萨拉曼卡已有一所附设于老教堂的大教堂学校，已知其至迟在 1130 年即已存在；当时萨拉曼卡是通往圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉朝圣路上的重镇。
• The university was founded as a studium generale by the Leonese king Alfonso IX in 1218, as the scholas Salamanticae.该大学由莱昂国王阿方索九世于 1218 年创办为一所「总学馆」，时称「scholas Salamanticae」。
• A further royal charter from King Alfonso X, dated 8 May 1254, established rules for the organisation and financial endowment of the university and referred to it by the name university for the first time.1254 年 5 月 8 日，国王阿方索十世颁布新的皇家特许状，规定了大学的组织与财政基金，并首次以「大学」之名相称。
• A papal bull of Alexander IV in 1255 confirmed the royal charter of Alfonso X and granted universal recognition to the university's degrees.1255 年，教宗亚历山大四世颁布诏书，确认阿方索十世的皇家特许状，并给予该校学位普世承认。
• The historical phrases Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat and Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet give an idea of the prestige the institution rapidly acquired.历史上的名言「凡自然所予皆授之」（Quod natura non dat Salmantica non praestat）与「广博众长」（Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet）折射出该校迅速赢得的声望。
• In the reign of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, the state employed large numbers of letrados, university-trained lawyers and bureaucrats, many of them graduates of Salamanca and the newly founded Alcala University.在阿拉贡国王斐迪南二世与卡斯蒂利亚女王伊莎贝拉一世统治时期，国家大量聘用受过大学教育的「letrado」（律师与文官），其中许多人毕业于萨拉曼卡大学与新成立的阿尔卡拉大学。
• These graduates staffed the councils of state, including the Consejo de Indias and the Casa de Contratacion, the two highest bodies for governing the Spanish Empire in the New World.这些毕业生任职于国家各委员会，包括「西印度事务委员会」与「贸易署」——治理西班牙帝国美洲殖民地的两个最高机构。
• While Columbus was lobbying the King and Queen for a contract to seek a western route to the Indies, he made his case to a council of geographers at the University of Salamanca, which was then the leading centre of geographical learning in Spain, though the scholars were sceptical of his calculations.当哥伦布向国王与女王游说以获得探寻通往印度西行航路的契约时，他曾在萨拉曼卡大学向一个地理学者委员会陈述其主张；该校当时是西班牙地理学问的中心，但学者们对其测算心存疑虑。
• The university defended the theory of unknown territories to the west and supported Columbus, and in the next century the morality and laws of colonization in the Indies were debated by the School of Salamanca.该校支持「西方存在未知陆地」的学说并支持哥伦布；此后一个世纪里，殖民美洲的道德与法律问题由「萨拉曼卡学派」持续论辩。
• The School of Salamanca renovated theology, laid the foundation for modern-day international law and economic science, and actively participated in the Council of Trent.萨拉曼卡学派革新了神学，为现代国际法与经济学奠定基础，并积极参与特利腾大公会议。
• The university's mathematicians studied the calendar reform commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII, and the solution they proposed was the one later implemented.该校数学家研究了教宗格列高利十三世委托的历法改革，其提出的方案最终得到采纳。
• Salamanca's colleges, the Colegios Mayores, were founded as charitable institutions to enable poor scholars to attend the university.该校的书院——「大书院」（Colegios Mayores）——最初是作为慈善机构设立，以资助贫寒学子入学。
• By the eighteenth century those colleges had become closed corporations controlled by the families of their founders and dominated the university between them.到 18 世纪，这些书院已成为由创办者家族掌控的封闭团体，并共同把持了大学。
• In the Peninsular War of 1808 to 1814 Napoleon's troops destroyed most of the colleges, and today the surviving college buildings serve partly as teaching rooms and partly as student residences.在 1808 至 1814 年的半岛战争中，拿破仑的军队毁坏了多数书院；如今幸存的院舍一部分用作教室，一部分用作学生宿舍。
• In the 19th century the Spanish government dissolved the university's faculties of canon law and theology, and they were re-established in 1940 as part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.19 世纪，西班牙政府解散了该校的教会法系与神学系；这些院系后于 1940 年作为宗座萨拉曼卡大学的一部分恢复建制。
• By 1580, some 6,500 new students were arriving at Salamanca each year, and among its graduates were state officials of the Spanish monarchy administration.至 1580 年，每年约有 6,500 名新生进入萨拉曼卡大学就读，其毕业生中不乏西班牙王室行政机构的官员。
• It was also during this period when the first female university students were probably admitted, Beatriz Galindo and Luisa de Medrano, the latter possibly being the first woman ever to give classes at a university.也正是在这一时期，该校很可能录取了最早的女性学生 Beatriz Galindo 与 Luisa de Medrano，后者可能是历史上首位在大学授课的女性。
• In 1989 the University of Salamanca, together with the University of Cambridge, co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE).1989 年，萨拉曼卡大学与剑桥大学共同创办了「欧洲语言测试协会」（ALTE）。
• It is one of only two Hispanophone universities in the world that have a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations to train language professionals for the organisation.它是世界上仅有的两所与联合国签署谅解备忘录、为其培训语言专业人员的西班牙语大学之一。
• In 2018 the institution celebrated its eighth centennial, marking 800 years since its foundation in 1218.2018 年，该校迎来八百周年校庆，纪念其 1218 年创办以来的八百年历程。
• Scientific research is carried out at university centres and associated institutes, including the Centro de Investigacion del Cancer, the Institute of Neuroscience of Castile and Leon and the Centro de Laseres Pulsados Ultracortos Ultraintensos.该校的科研在大学中心与附属研究所开展，包括癌症研究中心、卡斯蒂利亚-莱昂神经科学研究所，以及超短超强脉冲激光中心。
• Today the university operates campuses in Salamanca, Avila, Bejar and Zamora, offering 70 bachelor's degrees, 27 double degrees, 79 official master's degrees and 41 doctoral programmes.如今该校在萨拉曼卡、阿维拉、贝哈尔与萨莫拉设有校区，开设 70 个本科专业、27 个双学位、79 个官方硕士项目与 41 个博士项目。
• In 1492 Antonio de Nebrija, a scholar of Salamanca, published the first grammar of the Spanish language, in the same year that Granada fell to the Catholic Monarchs and Columbus reached the Americas.1492 年，萨拉曼卡学者安东尼奥·德·内夫里哈出版了首部西班牙语语法著作，同年格拉纳达被天主教双王攻陷，哥伦布抵达美洲。
• In 1527 Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, studied at Salamanca before continuing his education in Paris, and the Jesuits were formally approved in 1540.1527 年，耶稣会创始人依纳爵·罗耀拉曾在萨拉曼卡求学，随后赴巴黎继续深造，耶稣会于 1540 年正式获批成立。
• In 2024 the computer scientist Juan Manuel Corchado was elected rector of the University of Salamanca and took office as the head of the institution.2024 年，计算机科学家 Juan Manuel Corchado 当选萨拉曼卡大学校长并就任。

Academics

• Highly regarded for its humanities, the University of Salamanca is especially strong in linguistics, economics and law, it retains the intellectual legacy of the School of Salamanca, and it is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe.该校以人文学科著称，在语言学、经济学与法学方面尤为突出，延续着萨拉曼卡学派的学术传统，也是欧洲历史最悠久、最具声望的大学之一。
• For the 2024-25 academic year its offer comprised 69 to 70 bachelor's degrees, 27 double degrees, 76 to 79 official master's degrees and 41 doctoral programmes.2024-25 学年，其专业设置包括 69 至 70 个本科学位、27 个双学位、76 至 79 个官方硕士学位以及 41 个博士项目。
• Across its four campuses in Salamanca, Avila, Bejar and Zamora it offers a total of 107 degree qualifications in all branches of knowledge.该校在萨拉曼卡、阿维拉、贝哈尔与萨莫拉四个校区共计提供 107 个学位项目，覆盖各大学科门类。
• As of the 2025-26 academic year the university's teaching and research staff numbered 2,609, an increase of more than 200 posts over five years, and the total institutional staff was roughly 3.7 times that figure.截至 2025-26 学年，该校教学与研究人员为 2,609 人，五年间增加 200 多个岗位；机构员工总数约为该数字的 3.7 倍。
• For 2026 the university approved a budget of more than 310 million euros, one of the largest for any Spanish public university, supporting its teaching, research and heritage commitments.该校为 2026 年批准了超过 3.1 亿欧元的预算，在西班牙公立大学中属于规模最大之列，用于支持其教学、科研与遗产保护事务。
• The Salamanca University Library holds about 906,000 volumes, making it one of the richest university collections in Spain.其历史悠久的图书馆藏书约 906,000 册，是西班牙馆藏最丰富的大学图书馆之一。
• The university maintains research centres in cancer research, neuroscience and ultrafast lasers, and receives competitive research funding of about 17 million euros over the last fifteen years.该校设有癌症研究、神经科学与超快激光等研究中心，并在过去十五年间获得约 1,700 万欧元的竞争性科研经费。
• It runs Spanish-language courses for non-native speakers that attract more than two thousand foreign students each year, and it draws students from across Spain and the world.该校为非母语者开设西班牙语课程，每年吸引两千多名外国学生；其生源来自西班牙各地乃至全球。
• It is one of only two Hispanophone universities with a United Nations memorandum of understanding to train language professionals, and it co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe in 1989 with Cambridge.它是仅有的两所与联合国签署谅解备忘录、为其培训语言专业人员的西班牙语大学之一，并于 1989 年与剑桥大学共同创办欧洲语言测试协会。
• Historically the university was renowned for theology, canon law and civil law, and it was the first institution to develop the study of economic analysis.历史上该校以神学、教会法与民法闻名，并且是最早开展经济分析研究的学府。
• The university operates a doctoral school named Studii Salamantini, delivering 41 doctoral programmes.该校设有名为「Studii Salamantini」的博士学院，开设 41 个博士项目。
• Its graduates have long filled the upper ranks of the Spanish state, and in the early modern period its letrados staffed the empire's highest councils.其毕业生长期充任西班牙国家高层职务；在近代早期，出身该校的「letrado」曾任职于帝国最高委员会。
• The university contributes to the training of language professionals for international organisations such as the United Nations.该校为联合国等国际组织培养语言专业人员。
• Research at the university spans the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences, with strong groups in the biomedical sciences.该校的研究横跨人文学科、社会科学与自然科学，在生物医学领域拥有实力雄厚的团队。
• The university's academic year and degrees follow the Spanish national framework, with official bachelor's, master's and doctoral qualifications.该校的学年与学位遵循西班牙国家框架，设有官方本科学位、硕士学位与博士学位。
• As the oldest university in the Spanish-speaking world, it plays a leading role in the teaching and certification of Spanish as a foreign language.作为西班牙语世界最古老的大学，它在西班牙语作为外语的教学与测评方面发挥引领作用。
• The university collaborates with Cambridge University and other leading institutions, and its Spanish courses are widely used in the certification of Spanish as a foreign language.该校与 Cambridge University 等机构合作，其西班牙语课程在西班牙语作为外语的认证中被广泛采用。

Campus

• The historic university buildings stand in the centre of Salamanca, the best known being the Escuelas Mayores, whose richly carved Plateresque facade faces the Patio de Escuelas and is one of the landmarks of the city.该校的历史建筑坐落于萨拉曼卡市中心，最著名的是「大学主校舍」（Escuelas Mayores），其雕饰繁复的银匠式立面朝向「学校庭院」，是这座城市的地标之一。
• A carved frog on the Plateresque facade of the Escuelas Mayores is the object of a well-known student tradition, in which students seek the small figure hidden among the ornament.主校舍银匠式立面上有一只雕刻的青蛙，衍生出一项著名的学生传统——学生在繁复的装饰中寻找这只小蛙。
• The Escuelas Menores, or lesser schools, form a second historic quadrangle used for teaching and now housing the university museum.「小校舍」（Escuelas Menores）构成第二座历史方院，曾用于教学，现设校博物馆。
• The university's historic library preserves thousands of manuscripts and early printed books and stands among the oldest university libraries in Europe, and it holds about 906,000 volumes.该校的历史图书馆保存着数千份手稿与早期印本书，是欧洲最古老的大学图书馆之一，藏书约 906,000 册。
• The university's degrees are taught on four campuses, in Salamanca, Avila, Bejar and Zamora, and the Salamanca campus contains the historic Escuelas Mayores and the old library.该校的学位课程在萨拉曼卡、阿维拉、贝哈尔与萨莫拉四个校区授课，其中萨拉曼卡校区包含历史悠久的大学主校舍与老图书馆。
• Surviving buildings of the old Colegios Mayores, such as those of the former colleges, are now used partly as teaching rooms and partly as student residences.旧「大书院」的幸存建筑如今一部分用作教室，一部分用作学生宿舍。
• The university's main historic site lies at coordinates 40.96882 north and 5.66388 west, in the old town of Salamanca.该校的主要历史校址位于北纬 40.96882、西经 5.66388，坐落在萨拉曼卡老城之中。
• Salamanca is a historic university city in Castile and Leon whose old town, with its sandstone architecture, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.萨拉曼卡是卡斯蒂利亚-莱昂的一座历史悠久的大学城，其以砂岩建筑著称的老城区为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。
• The university also maintains associated research institutes across the region, including the Cancer Research Institute and the Neuroscience Institute of Castile and Leon.该校还在本地区设有多个附属研究所，包括癌症研究所与卡斯蒂利亚-莱昂神经科学研究所。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027 the University of Salamanca was placed 560th in the world, and it remains the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest still operating in Europe.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，萨拉曼卡大学位列世界第 560 位；至今它仍是西班牙历史最悠久的大学，也是欧洲仍在办学的最古老大学之一。
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 place it in the 801-1000 band, and the U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026-2027 ranks it 806th.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将其列入 801-1000 区间；《美国新闻与世界报道》2026-2027 最佳全球大学排名列第 806 位。
• The Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026 places it in the 801-900 band.2026 年软科世界大学学术排名将其列入 801-900 区间。
• As the oldest university in the Hispanic world, Salamanca ranks first in Spain by the number of students coming from other regions, and its international profile is reinforced by the thousands of foreign students who come to learn Spanish each year.作为西班牙语世界最古老的大学，萨拉曼卡大学吸引的外地学生数量居西班牙之首，其国际形象也因每年数千名前来学习西班牙语的外国学生而得以加强。
• The university is internationally recognised for its humanities, and its linguistics, economics and law programmes are regarded as among its strongest.该校在人文学科领域享誉国际，其语言学、经济学与法学项目被视为实力最强之列。
• The School of Salamanca's scholars laid the foundations of modern international law and modern economic science, a legacy that remains central to its academic reputation.萨拉曼卡学派学者为现代国际法与现代经济学奠定基础，这一遗产至今仍是其学术声誉的核心。
• OpenAlex credits the University of Salamanca with 66,332 scholarly works and 3,044,493 citations.OpenAlex 收录萨拉曼卡大学的学术成果 66,332 篇，被引 3,044,493 次。
• The university co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe in 1989 and is one of only two Hispanophone universities with a United Nations agreement to train language professionals.该校于 1989 年共同创办欧洲语言测试协会，并且是仅有的两所与联合国签约培训语言专业人员的西班牙语大学之一。
• Its Spanish courses for non-native speakers attract more than two thousand foreign students each year, reinforcing its position as a global centre for teaching Spanish.其为非母语者开设的西班牙语课程每年吸引两千多名外国学生，巩固了其作为全球西班牙语教学重镇的地位。
• In 2018 the university marked its eighth centennial, a milestone celebrated as proof of eight centuries of continuous teaching.2018 年该校庆祝八百周年校庆，这一里程碑被视为其八百年不间断办学的明证。
• Scholars of the Salamanca School of economic thought analysed prices, money and value centuries before classical economics, and the university remains closely identified with that intellectual tradition.萨拉曼卡学派经济学家对价格、货币与价值的分析早于古典经济学数百年，该校至今仍与这一思想传统紧密相关。

Student life

• The university's motto is Quod natura non dat, Salmantica non praestat, meaning that what nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend, an expression of the ideal that study can supply what nature withholds.该校校训为「Quod natura non dat Salmantica non praestat」，意为「凡自然所不给予者，萨拉曼卡亦不贷与」，表达了「勤学可补天赋之不足」的理想。
• A second traditional phrase, Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet, meaning many and very learned men Salamanca has, is also associated with the institution.另一句传统格言「Multos et doctissimos Salmantica habet」——意为「萨拉曼卡人才济济」——也常与该校相联系。
• Students hunt for the carved frog on the Plateresque facade of the Escuelas Mayores, a tradition said to bring luck in examinations to the finder.学生在主校舍银匠式立面上寻找雕刻的青蛙，据传找到者能在考试中获得好运。
• The Colegios Mayores gave Salamanca a residential college tradition comparable to that of Oxford and Cambridge, originally housing poor scholars.「大书院」使萨拉曼卡拥有与牛津、剑桥类似的住宿书院传统，最初用于安置贫寒学子。
• Because of the large number of students from elsewhere, the university ranks first in Spain for students coming from other regions.由于外地学生众多，该校在西班牙接收外地学生方面位列第一。
• Its Spanish courses for non-native speakers draw more than two thousand foreign students each year, and its students come from some fifty nationalities.其为非母语者开设的西班牙语课程每年吸引两千多名外国学生，学生来自约五十个国家和地区。
• Student life is closely tied to the historic centre of Salamanca, whose old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.学生生活与萨拉曼卡历史中心紧密相连，该老城区为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。
• In 2018 the university's eighth centenary was marked with academic ceremonies and the V Centenary of the School of Salamanca programme.2018 年，该校以学术庆典及「萨拉曼卡学派五百周年」计划纪念建校八百周年。

Notable people

• King Alfonso IX of Leon founded the University of Salamanca as a studium generale in 1218.莱昂国王阿方索九世于 1218 年创办萨拉曼卡大学，定其为一所「总学馆」。
• King Alfonso X granted the university its royal charter on 8 May 1254, establishing its organisation and endowment and giving it its name.国王阿方索十世于 1254 年 5 月 8 日授予该校皇家特许状，确立其组织与基金，并赋予其「大学」之名。
• Francisco de Vitoria, a theologian and jurist at Salamanca, is regarded as a founder of modern international law.萨拉曼卡的神学家与法学家弗朗西斯科·德·维多利亚被视为现代国际法的奠基人之一。
• Antonio de Nebrija, a Salamanca scholar, published the first grammar of the Spanish language.萨拉曼卡学者安东尼奥·德·内夫里哈出版了首部西班牙语语法著作。
• Miguel de Unamuno, the writer and philosopher, served as rector of the university and is one of its best-known figures.作家与哲学家米格尔·德·乌纳穆诺曾任该校校长，是该校最著名的人物之一。
• Beatriz Galindo, a professor of Latin and rhetoric and tutor to Queen Isabella, and Luisa de Medrano, possibly the first woman to teach at a university, are among its early women scholars.拉丁语与修辞学教授、女王伊莎贝拉的导师 Beatriz Galindo，以及可能是首位在大学授课的女性 Luisa de Medrano，都是该校早期的女性学者。
• Gonzalo Torrente Ballester, a novelist who won the Premio Cervantes in 1985 and was elected to the Royal Spanish Academy in 1977, taught and lived in Salamanca.1985 年塞万提斯奖得主、1977 年当选西班牙皇家学院院士的小说家 Gonzalo Torrente Ballester 曾在萨拉曼卡任教与生活。
• Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, is traditionally counted among the university's students, though the claim is disputed by some historians.《堂吉诃德》作者米格尔·德·塞万提斯按传统被列为该校学生，但这一说法受到部分史家质疑。
• Adolfo Suarez, the first Prime Minister of Spain after the death of Franco, serving from 1976 to 1981, studied law at Salamanca.佛朗哥去世后西班牙首任首相阿道弗·苏亚雷斯（1976 至 1981 年在任）曾在萨拉曼卡攻读法律。
• Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, and Aristides Royo, a former President of Panama, are among its Latin American alumni.哥伦比亚总统古斯塔沃·佩特罗与巴拿马前总统阿里斯蒂德斯·罗约都是该校的拉丁美洲校友。
• Francisco J. Ayala, a biologist and philosopher who received the Templeton Prize in 2010, studied at Salamanca before continuing his research career abroad, where he became a leading evolutionary geneticist in the United States.2010 年坦普尔顿奖得主、生物学家与哲学家 Francisco J. Ayala 曾在萨拉曼卡求学，后赴海外继续其研究生涯，并成为美国知名的演化遗传学家。