The University of Alcalá is especially renowned in the Spanish-speaking world for its annual presentation of the highly prestigious Cervantes Prize.

The university currently enrolls 28,336 students, 17,252 of whom are studying for undergraduate degrees, who are taught by a teaching staff of 2,608 professors, lecturers and researchers belonging to 24 departments.

On July 17, 1459 Pope Pius II granted a bull, requested by the archbishop Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, "for the erection of three Cathedras of Arts and Grammar in this study of Alcalá".

In 1975, after years of the buildings passing between various businesses, Complutense University opened its Alcalá branch as a means to decongest its growing student population.

[17][18][19][20][21] Today's University of Alcalá preserves its traditional humanities faculties, a testimony to the university's special efforts, past and present, to promote and diffuse the Spanish language through both its studies and the Cervantes Prize, which is awarded annually by the King and Queen of Spain in the elegant sixteenth-century Paraninfo (Great Hall).

The University of Alcalá, together with EDUESPAÑA, grants the CEELE, Certificado de Calidad en la Enseñanza del Español como Lengua Extranjera (Quality Certificate for Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language).

It includes the main administration building, the Faculties of Philosophy and Arts, Law, Economics and Business, and Documentation, as well as the Technical School of Architecture and Geodesy.

The Faculty of Education offers degrees in Audiovisual Communication and Modern Languages and Translation (the latter can also be studied at the historical campus in Alcalá).

The university also offers a wide range of sporting activities, including aikido, archery, badminton, fencing, rugby and yoga.