Founded in 1972 in response to the Andalusian coastal resort’s unwanted status as the largest European city without a university, the University of Malaga has made up for its late start with rapid growth since.
Calling itself "a young, growing university which has made quality teaching, cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer its hallmark", it approaches its half-century as one of the largest universities in Spain, with 35,900 students in 2017.
It has retained the central El Ejido campus where it was formed following the merger of the Polytechnic University of Malaga, the Normal School and the Faculty of Economics along with newly-formed faculties of economics and business and of medicine. It has also strengthened its city centre presence by acquiring the iconic Post and Telegraphs building as the Rectorate in 1993.
El Ejido remains the centre for economics, fine arts and architecture, but the bulk of expansion and current activity of an institution with 19 schools and faculties is the suburban Teatinos campus, on the west of the city. There are also satellite centres at Ronda, which hosts the school of nursing, and Antequera.
Since 2012 UMA has been allied with the University of Sevilla in the Andalusia Tech project, which has more than 150 international links, and is a partner in the Andalusia Technology Park.
It has strong links with South Korea, with significant library holdings, language classes and significant student exchanges. The IAMUS research group produced a classical music CD through computer algorithms, while the golf programme founded in 2016 offers a master's in golf management and won the 2017 European collegiate championship.
