The Autonomous University of Madrid (; UAM), commonly known as simply la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 alongside the Autonomous University of Barcelona, in Barcelona. UAM is widely respected as one of the most prestigious universities in Europe. According to the highly regarded QS World University Rankings 2022, UAM is ranked as the top university in Spain. The campus of the university spans a rural tract of , mostly around metropolitan Madrid. Founded in 1968, its main campus, Cantoblanco, is located near the cities of Alcobendas, San Sebastián de los Reyes and Tres Cantos. UAM's Cantoblanco Campus holds most of the university's facilities. It is located north of Madrid and has an extension of over . Of these, nearly are urbanised and about a third of them garden areas. UAM offers 94 doctorate programs in all of the universities studies. It also offers 88 master's degrees. According to a study carried out by the newspaper El Mundo, in 2021, UAM was the best university in the country to study Biology, Nursing, Medicine, Physics and Law, within the 50 careers with the highest demand. History The Stabilization Plan of 1959 and the development plans of the 1960s boosted the Spanish economy after years of austerity and the self-sufficiency-based economy. The end of diplomatic and economic isolation led to an economic boom in Spain that resulted in the consolidation of a middle class similar to that of other Western European nations. The demand of higher education increased, and the Spanish university system grew increasingly congested. The Autonomous University of Madrid was established by the 5-1968 Decree approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers during the Francoist dictatorship along with the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Bilbao. This decree was sponsored by the then-Minister of Science and Education, José Luis Villar Palasí, in order to restructure the Spanish university system. The name Universidad Autónoma de Madrid first appeared in an executive order by the Ministry which was published on 13 August 1968. On 8 June 2018 the Autonomous University of Madrid celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a series of commemorative events, starting with a debate on university autonomy (after the scandal of the former president of the Community of Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes and her master's degree in the University Juan Carlos I). In the debate, called "Past, present and