Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505,[6] in 2022 it has a student body of 57,214,[7] and is ranked 6th among Spanish universities.

In the 16th century (1505), a Bull of Pope Julius II granted the college the faculty to teach degrees in Theology, Philosophy, Law, Medicine and Arts.

[6] Its antecedents date back to the middle of the 13th century, the Dominicans, in order to prepare missionaries for work among the Moors and Jews, organised schools for the teaching of Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek.

[8] Alexander IV recognized this foundation as a generale litterarum studium by the Papal Bull of 21 June 1260 and granted its members certain dispensations in the matter of residence.

Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella, archdeacon of the cathedral and commonly known as Maese Rodrigo, began the construction of a building for a university in 1472; in 1502 the Catholic Monarchs published the royal decree creating the university, and in 1505 Julius II granted the Bull of authorization.

[10] The Catholic Monarchs and the pope granted the power to confer degrees in logic, philosophy, theology, and canon and civil law.

[11] The colegio mayor de Maese Rodrigo and the university proper, although housed in the same building, never lost their separate identities, as is shown by the fact that, in the 18th century, the university was moved to the College of San Hermenegildo, while that of Maese Rodrigo remained independent, although languishing.

The report proposed the end of the centers of theology studies, which were organized by different religious orders; the secularization of the chairs and their duration so that they would not be for life; the elaboration of new texts for the faculties of Theology, Arts or Philosophy, Canons and Law and Medicine, as well as a new course in Mathematics; and greater independence of the university with respect to the college.

The seminary was moved to the palace of San Telmo in 1901 and the school building was sold to the real estate developer Juan Bautista Calvi.

The transformation of the building was a work of great significance, carried out by the architects Alberto Balbontín de Orta, Delgado Roig and Toro Buiza.

Renowned alumni include Sebastián Antonio de Cortés, Riquelme, Rioja, Luis Germán y Ribón, founder of the Horatian Academy, Martín Alberto Carbajal, Cardinal Belluga, Cardinal Francisco Solís Folch,[29] Marcelo Doye y Pelarte,[30] Bernardo de Torrijos,[31] Francisco Aguilar Ribón,[32] the Abate Marchena, Alberto Lista, and many others who shone in the magistracy, or were distinguished ecclesiastics.

During the period of secularization and sequestration (1845–57) the University of Seville passed into the control of the State and received a new organization.

Here, the Catholic Monarchs established the Casa de Contratación by a royal decree of 1503, with classes for pilots and seamen, and courses in cosmography, mathematics, military tactics, and artillery.

This form of polytechnic school, which, according to Eden, Bourné, and Alexander von Humboldt, had taught a great deal to Europe, fell into decay in the 17th century, following the fortunes of Spanish science.

[33] The university enjoys the independence afforded by self-governance, which gives it a certain flexibility that may work to advantage in the hiring of professors and lecturers.

[citation needed] The university's stated mission is to educate students who will do the research and development necessary to scientific and technological innovation.