The University of Alicante was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was founded in 1968. The University main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant Vicent del Raspeig, bordering the city of Alicante to the north. Currently the number of students is nearly 33,000, turning the University of Alicante into the university with the highest proportional growth of students among all of the Spanish universities.

 

The University of Alicante offers courses in more than fifty degrees. It comprises over seventy departments and research groups in areas of Social Science and Law, Experimental science, Technology, Liberal Arts, Education and Health Sciences, and five research institutes. Almost all classes are taught in Spanish language, some are in English, in particular, in computer science and in business degrees, and a few are in Valencian language. Spanish language courses are offered for foreign students throughout the year and during the summer. The University offers English Language versions to PhD level including religion. 

 

The Department of Economics runs a well-known in Europe Graduate Program in Economics which is an American style full-time program taught entirely in English. The program provides students with a thorough theoretical and practical training in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics, as well as specialization in applied fields. The aim of the program is to prepare students for professional careers in universities, public and private research organizations, international institutions, consultancy and business.

 

The University has a modern campus of one square kilometer. La Rabassa airfield was located on these lands until the opening of El Altet Airport in 1967.

 

University of Alicante is part of European University Association, Compostela Group of Universities, Spanish La Conferencia de Rectores de las Universidades Españolas, and Catalan network Xarxa Vives d'Universitats.

 

The University hosts Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. It is the largest open-access repository of digitised Spanish-language historical texts and literature from the Ibero-American world.