Canary Islands approve the University of La Laguna having a Faculty of Medicine

The Government of the Canary Islands has agreed to change the name of the Faculty of Health Sciences to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of La Laguna. The decision is formalized in Decree 146/2026, of September 15, published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 190, of September 22, 2026, in section III. Other Resolutions, starting on page 35064. The center maintains its RUCT code 38012381, and the modification does not imply any alteration of its nature, functions, or structure.

The decree is issued at the proposal of the Minister of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture and following the deliberation of the Government in its meeting on September 15, 2026. The regulation is based on Organic Law 2/2023, of March 22, on the University System, whose article 41.1 reserves the creation, modification, and suppression of faculties and schools to the autonomous community, at the initiative of the university through a proposal and approval by its Governing Council. Additionally, Law 11/2003, of April 4, on Social Councils and Coordination of the University System of the Canary Islands is applied, which requires a decree from the Government of the Canary Islands and a prior favorable report from the Social Council.

The origin: a 2014 merger

The Faculty of Health Sciences was created by Decree 61/2014, of June 5, which agreed on the creation of various centers through merger at the University of La Laguna. The center resulted from the integration of the faculties of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Psychology and the University School of Nursing and Physiotherapy, as published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands no. 112, of June 12, 2014.

According to the explanatory memorandum of the file, the change responds to the administrative and denominative evolution of the faculties in that field of knowledge, as Nursing, Pharmacy, Psychology, and Speech Therapy have recovered their own entity. The proposal claims the preeminent role of medicine in teaching, research, and social projection, and seeks to align the University of La Laguna with the majority practice of the Spanish university system.

Favorable reports and processing

The file accumulates the following pronouncements and procedures:

• September 18, 2025: the Plenary of the Social Council of the University of La Laguna provides a prior favorable report.
• October 9, 2025: the Governing Council of the university approves the change by absolute majority.
• October 13, 2025: the University of La Laguna requests administrative processing from the Government of the Canary Islands.
• July 16, 2026: the Canarian Agency for University Quality and Educational Evaluation (ACCUEE) issues a favorable report.
• July 22, 2026: the University Council of the Canary Islands is informed of the proposal.

The ACCUEE concluded that the new name aligns the center’s identification with its academic, teaching, and research reality, without altering its nature or functions, and that the report proves its convenience.

At no cost and with a right of appeal

The case documentation indicates that the modification of the name entails no cost for the administration of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. The decree exhausts administrative remedies, therefore an optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the Government within one month from the day following its publication, or directly a contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands within two months.

The text is signed by the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo Batlle, and by the counselor of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture, Nieves Lady Barreto Hernández, who signs by substitution as counselor of Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security in accordance with Decree 95/2026, of September 15.

The name change closes a process started nearly a year ago and gives the Medicine degree its own institutional identity within the Canarian university map. For students, faculty, and future graduates, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of La Laguna will now be identified with the field of knowledge that concentrates its teaching and research activity, without this modifying its RUCT 38012381 code or its administrative affiliation.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 190, of September 22, 2026, section III. Other Resolutions, page 35064 (official reference: Decree 146/2026).