The National Distance Education University (, UNED) is a distance learning and

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

founded in 1972 and is the only university run by the

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. The headquarters is located in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, with campuses in all Spanish autonomous communities. There are 14 study centers and 3 exam points in 13 countries in

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and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, 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 offi ...

s and certificates, or

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

units. UNED is focused on distance learning combined with traditional classroom instruction (called hybrid or blended) and supports over 150,000 students.

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

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

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Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 northern p ...

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Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

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, Malabo,

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and

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. There are exam points in

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, New York,

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and

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

Affiliation

In 2012 the Spanish newspaper El País 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 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

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 PhD degrees. Its international reputation is indicated in that it has held the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

chair in distance education since 1997. This chair promotes research, development and documentation in the field of distance education.

Organization

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 Literary and Cultural studies 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 * José Mira Mira * Ramon Sainero * Paco Vidarte * César Alierta * Javier Paniagua Fuentes * Juan Manuel Rozas * Vicenç Mateu Zamora * Enrique Fuentes 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 * Ángel Ballesteros Gallardo * Gustavo Fuertes * Emilio Lledó * Edith Checa * Domingo Vega de la Rosa * Trinidad Jiménez

Notable alumni

* Nadia Calviño * Ana Estrella Santos * Ramiro Villapadierna * Christina Ochoa * Xavi Valero * Tomás Marco * Amaia Montero * David Janer * Mónica Naranjo * Maria Verónica Reina, disability activist * Paloma García Ovejero * Lucas Platero Spanish

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

Honorary doctors

Educational media

Radio programs (selected)

UNED hosted several educational

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

s, broadcast internationally on Radio 3 of RNE. Edith Checa was the director and announcer of the following from 1989 to 2005: * ''Rincón literario: tus poemas por las ondas'' - Weekly poetry radio show * ''Informativo Universitario''

Television (selected)

Educational documentaries were broadcast internationally on La 2 on TVE and on TVE Internacional. Edith Checa was a presenter and writer. Recordings of the shows are hosted on th
UNED Documentos YouTube channel
* ''Literary Rincón'' * ''Ayer y hoy en la poesía'' - bi-weekly television program about poetry

References

External links

UNED Documentaries and Video Archive
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Official website