The National Distance Education University, known in Spanish as ''Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia'' (UNED), is a public research university of national scope. The university was founded in 1972 under the Ministry of Universities. It has headquarters in Madrid, Spain, with

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

es in all Spanish autonomous communities. In addition, there are 14 study centres and 3 exam points in 13 countries in Europe,

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

and Africa. The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

s, as well as non-degree qualifications such as

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

s and

certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...

s, or

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...

units. Focused on distance learning combined with traditional classroom instruction (called hybrid or

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). With over 150.000 students, UNED is the largest university in Spain and the second largest in Europe.

Origins and methodology

Founded in 1972 with the stated purpose of providing education opportunities via a distance education system - in which students are taught while not being physically present - UNED awards the same qualifications as other Spanish universities and has the same entry requirements.

International presence

UNED currently has 61 study centres in Spain and - with the co-operation of local institutions - 14 international centres. These locations provide face-to-face sessions with professors once a week. The international centres are located in Bata,

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, Brussels, Buenos Aires,

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, Frankfurt, Lima, London,

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, Mexico City, Paris and São Paulo. Additionally, there are exam points in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, Berlin,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Rome and Santiago de Chile.

Affiliation

In 2012 the Spanish newspaper

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

featured an article about the launch of UNX, an online platform for teaching entrepreneurship through building mobile apps with App Inventor. UNED is a collaborating partner in this project, along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Mobile Learning. The UNX online courses are intended to bring technology and entrepreneurship education about to the entire Spanish-speaking world.

Academic profile

A number of factors have been cited to justify the public prestige of UNED: * All of UNED exams are supervised * Exams must encompass the entirety of the program * Students are objectively graded based on a strictly uniform test * Distance learning requires additional self-teaching effort and discipline, highly regarded by employers * Students from UNED are more likely to continue their education and research after graduation day, applying the self-teaching methodologies learned during their studies In the last 30 years, UNED has awarded almost 2,000

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degrees. Its international reputation is indicated in that it has held the UNESCO chair in distance education since 1997. This chair promotes research, development and documentation in the field of distance education.

Organisation

Undergraduate

Today, UNED comprises 11 faculties and the following bachelor's degree studies: * Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering at UNED: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering, Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Information Technology * College of Industrial Engineering: Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Technologies Engineering, Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor's Degree in Engineering in Industrial Electronics and Automation * Faculty of Sciences: Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science, Bachelor's Degree in Physics, Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics, Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry * Faculty of Economics and Business Administration: Bachelor's Degree in Economics, Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management, Bachelor's Degree in Tourism * Faculty of Political Science and Sociology: Bachelor's Degree in Sociology, Bachelor's Degree in Political Science & Public Administration * Faculty of Law: Bachelor's Degree in Law, Bachelor's Degree in Social Work, Bachelor's Degree in Juridical Science of Public Administration * Faculty of Education: Bachelor's Degree in Social Education, Bachelor's Degree in Pedagogy * Faculty of Philology: Bachelor's Degree in Spanish Language and Literature, Bachelor's Degree in English Studies: Language, Literature and Culture * Faculty of Philosophy: Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Bachelor's Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology * Faculty of Geography and History: Bachelor's Degree in Geography and History, Bachelor's Degree in Art History * Faculty of Psychology: Bachelor's Degree in Psychology

Postgraduate

* Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering at UNED: Computer Systems and Languages, Advanced Artificial Intelligence: Principles, Methods and Applications, Communication, Networks and Content Management, Systems and Control Engineering * College of Industrial Engineering: Research in Industrial Technology, Research in Electrical, Electronic and Industrial Control Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering * Faculty of Sciences: Chemical Science and Technology, Polymer Science and Technology, Advanced Mathematics, Medical Physics, Physics of Complex Systems * Faculty of Economics and Business Administration: Corporate Sustainability and Social, Responsibility * Faculty of Political Science and Sociology, Social Problems, Politics and Democracy, * Faculty of Law: Government Intervention in Society, European Union, Fundamental Rights, Security, Insurance Law, Human Rights, Public Management, Public Finance, Public Policy and Taxation * Faculty of Education Educational Treatment of Diversity, Communication and Education on the Internet: From the Information Society to the Knowledge Society, Innovation and Research in Education, Training of E.S.O., Bachillerato, F.P. and Language Secondary Teachers, Strategies and Technologies for the Teaching Function in the Multicultural Society * Faculty of Philology English Literature and Culture and their Social Impact, Literary and Theatre Training and Research in the European Context, The Classical World and its Influence on Western Culture, Applied English Linguistics, Hispanic Literatures (Catalan, Galician and Basque) in the European Context, Language Science and Hispanic Linguistics, Grammatical and Stylistic Analysis of Spanish, Dictionary Development and Quality Control of the Spanish Lexicon, French and Francophone Studies, Information Technologies and Communication in Language Education and Processing * Faculty of Philosophy :Theoretical and Practical Philosophy * Faculty of Geography and History : Advanced Methods and Techniques of Historical, Artistic and Geographic Research, Contemporary Spain in the International Context * Faculty of Psychology :Methodology of Behavioral Sciences and Health, Research in Psychology, Psychological Intervention in Development and Education

People

Notable current and former academics

Ana María Vázquez Hoys Ana María Vázquez Hoys (born 8 October 1945) is a Spanish ancient history professor and book author. She collaborates in educational radio and television programs and gives talks at conferences on Ancient History. She studied at the Universida ...

* José Mira Mira *

Ramon Sainero Ramon Sainero (born May 25, 1944) is the director of the Institute of Celtic Studies (IEC) of Spain and Associate Professor and Professor at :es:Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, UNED during the last 37 years. Studies Ramon Saine ...

Paco Vidarte Francisco "Paco" Javier Vidarte Fernández (1 March 1970 – 29 January 2008 in Madrid) was a Spanish philosopher, writer and LGBT activist. Biography After studying philosophy at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (UPC) in Madrid/Spain, as wel ...

* César Alierta *

Javier Paniagua Fuentes Javier Paniagua Fuentes (born 1946 in Ceuta, Spain) is a Spanish writer and politician for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Career After qualifying in philosophy, Paniagua received a doctorate in history with a thesis on Spanish anar ...

Juan Manuel Rozas Juan Manuel Rozas (1936 – January 14, 1986) was a Spanish writer. After her died the ''Juan Manuel Rozas Prize'' was set up in his memory and it was won by the Spanish poet Ada Salas in 1988. Works *The Count of Villamediana. Bibliography and co ...

Vicenç Mateu Zamora Vicenç Mateu Zamora (born 3 December 1961) is an Andorran diplomat and politician. He was the General Syndic (speaker) of General Council (Andorra), General Council, Andorra's unicameral legislative body. He has a doctoral degree in Philosophy, ...

Enrique Fuentes Quintana Enrique Fuentes Quintana (1924 – 2007) was a Spanish economist, academic and politician, who served as deputy prime minister of Spain between 1977 and 1979 in the first cabinet after the Francoist State. Early life and education Quintana ...

Alfonso Vallejo Alfonso Rodríguez Vallejo (19 August 1943 – 3 December 2021) was a Spanish playwright, poet, Painting, painter and neurologist. He had published 34 plays and 25 poetry books. Vallejo was awarded the Lope de Vega prize in 1976 for his play "E ...

José María Moreno José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

Ángel Ballesteros Gallardo Ángel Ballesteros Gallardo, Spanish poet and historian ( Gálvez 1940- ), lives in Talavera de la Reina, graduated with degrees in philosophy and linguistics. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Historic Sciences and Fine Arts of Toledo. B ...

Gustavo Fuertes Gustavo Adolfo Fuertes Talavera is a screenwriter and director of Spanish cinema born November 14, 1959 on Madrid Spain. Among his main works it highlights the short film El Juicio Final (US Title: The Final Judgement(1992) which won a Silver P ...

Emilio Lledó Emilio Lledó Íñigo (Seville, 5 November 1927) is a Spanish philosopher. He has been a professor at several universities and is a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. Career He took his bachelor's degree at the Instituto de Bachillerato Cerva ...

Domingo Vega de la Rosa Domingo Vega de la Rosa (born 1953, in Tenerife) is a painter from the Canary Islands, Spain. He lives and works in Los Realejos. Biography Early life Dominga Vega de la Rosa is born in Puerto de la Cruz, a town at the north coast of ...

* Trinidad Jiménez

Notable alumni

* Nadia Calviño *

Ramiro Villapadierna Ramiro Villapadierna (Madrid, Spain, 1964) is a culture manager and journalist, and is currently Director of the Chair Vargas Llosa (Cátedra Vargas Llosa), which showcases and world-wide promotes the cultural and political legacy of the Spanish Li ...

* Christina Ochoa * Xavi Valero * Tomás Marco *

Amaia Montero Amaia Montero Saldías (; born 26 August 1976) is a Spanish singer and songwriter mainly known as the former vocalist of the Spanish pop-band La Oreja de Van Gogh between 1996 and 2007. Amaia has sung in a variety of languages, including Basqu ...

* David Janer * Mónica Naranjo *

Maria Verónica Reina Maria Verónica Reina (15 June 1964 – 27 October 2017) was an Argentine educational psychologist and activist who campaigned internationally for Disability rights movement, disability rights. Representing the International Disability and Developm ...

, disability activist *

Paloma García Ovejero Paloma García Ovejero (born 12 August 1975) is a Spanish journalist. She began her career as a news editor and broadcast journalist for Cadena COPE and Radio Nacional de España. In 2016 she became the first woman to serve as Vice Director of th ...