Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) is considering asking the Community of Madrid for a loan of around €40 million, according to a report by El País. The university’s rector raised the possibility at a meeting of its governing council last Friday, saying he was weighing whether to request the funds.
If approved, URJC would become the second public university in the region to seek financial support of this kind. Complutense University requested a €34.5 million loan last year, as the regional government prepared assistance to help it address what the university described as a “deficit financial situation.” Complutense attributed the financial strain affecting Madrid’s public universities to years of underfunding dating back to the 2008 crisis.
In October 2025, then regional education minister Emilio Viciana said URJC was also in deficit and that the government would support it if needed, as it had with Complutense. The article reports that URJC is Spain’s least-funded university and that tuition fees account for a third of its income.
The possible loan was not included in the summary of decisions from the latest governing council meeting sent to university staff. The listed financial measures concerned updated prices for sports facilities, a budget change related to the Erasmus project and individual payments for incentives for additional teaching.
Public universities across the Madrid region are also due to join a faculty strike on November 4 and 5 over a lack of resources. The strike began on October 14, and demonstrations have continued as staff call for quality public education.
Sources: elDiario.es.