About Us

The University of Deusto (Spanish: Universidad de Deusto; Basque: Deustuko Unibertsitatea) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The University of Deusto is the oldest private university in Spain.

The University of Deusto first opened in 1886, having been founded because of the Basque Country's desire to have its own university and the Society of Jesus's wish to move its School of Higher Studies in Laguardia to a more central place. To that effect a huge building was designed by architect Francisco de Cubas, which was the largest building in Bilbao at the time. Now it is the main building of the Bilbao campus, opposite to the Guggenheim Museum, in the district of Deusto, which gives its name to the university. The Universidad Comercial (Business College), founded in 1916, was the first business school in Spain, and the only one for nearly 50 years.