The Autonomous University of Madrid (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) commonly known by its Spanish initials UAM or as "la Autónoma" is a Spanish Public University established in 1968, along with the Autonomous Universities of Barcelona and Bilbao (now University of the Basque Country) during of one of Spain's most ambitious educational reforms, which took place during the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Since 1971, the university's main campus has been located in Cantoblanco, a rural area in the northern outskirts of Madrid. Despite of being part of the municipality of Madrid, the campus is nearer the towns of Alcobendas and Tres Cantos. Throughout its history, UAM has been one of Spain's most prominent higher education institutions, being ranked first amongst Spanish universities by the El Mundo University Supplement (known as "Campus"), The Times Higher Education Supplement, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities elaborated by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Its Faculty of Law is the most prestigious one in Spain. UAM's Cantoblanco Campus holds most of the university's facilities. It is located 15 km north of Madrid and has an extension of over 2,200,000 m².