 Later she went on a lecture tour of the United States, Great Britain, Argentina, Cuba and other Spanish cities including University of Salamanca, where she became a disciple of Miguel de Unamuno, and the Complutense University of Madrid where she met Ortega y Gasset.In 1915 María backed by the "Junta para Ampliación de Estudios" (Board for Advanced Studies) founded the Residencia de Señoritas in Madrid.Governed by the same rules as the Residencia de Estudiantes that had opened in 1910 for men, it became the first official center in Spain whose main objective was to encourage women's participation in advanced education, by providing accommodation for female students.