Pontifical Catholic University of Chile has a strong and long-standing rivalry with Universidad de Chile, as they are both widely recognized as the most traditional and prestigious in the country, and one is Catholic and the other, secular. This rivalry also translates to sports, especially football.[3]
Campuses
UC Chile has four campuses in Santiago and one campus in Villarrica. The campuses in Santiago are:
Lo Contador ( in Providencia Commune of Greater Santiago)
These four campuses have a total of 223,326.06 m2 constructed in a 614,569.92 m2 area. The Villarrica campus has 1,664 m2 constructed in a 2,362.5 m2 area.
History
UC Chile was founded on June 21, 1888, by the Archbishop of Santiago, to offer training in traditional professions (law) and in technological and practical fields such as business, accounting, chemistry, and electricity. Its first chancellor was MonsignorJoaquín Larraín Gandarillas, and at the very beginning, the university only taught two subjects, law and mathematics. Since it is a Pontifical University, it has always had a strong and very close relationship with the Vatican. On February 11, 1930, Pope Pius XI declared it a pontifical university, and in 1931 it was granted full academic autonomy by the Chilean government.
UC Chile is a private, urban, multi-campus university. It is one of the eleven Chilean Catholic universities, and one of the twenty-five institutions within the Rectors' Council (Consejo de Rectores), the Chilean state-sponsored university system. It is part of the Universities of the Rectors' Council of Chilean Universities, and although it is not state-owned, a substantial part of its budget is given by state transfers under different programs.
UC Chile's 18 faculties are distributed through four campuses in Santiago and one regional campus located in southern Chile. The technical training centers affiliated with the university are: Duoc UC, the Rural Life Foundations, the Baviera Foundation, the Catechetical Home and the San Fidel Seminary. These centers carry out technical-academic extension activities in rural and agricultural areas. Other UC activities are a Sports Club, and a Clinical Hospital dependent on the Faculty of Medicine.
UC Chile's Graduates of the School of Architecture (one of the most prominent in Latin America) have also made important contributions to the country with such work as the Central Building ("Casa Central") of UC, and the National Library.
In 2017 the university faced what has been called a "wave of suicide" among its students. During 2017 a total of four students have taken their lives up to October, the previous year two students committed suicide.[4] Critics, including alumni, have written about the university's "lack of concern" for the suicide of students, an attitude they contrast to the university's staunch opposition to abortion.[5] The student union of the university issued a communique expressing feelings of guilt over the issue and the need to take charge.[5]
Collaborations
The Department of Industry and System Engineering is engaging Stanford Technology Venture Program of Stanford University on a collaboration on innovation and technology ventures.
In December 2011, the schools of engineering of PUC and the University of Notre Dame signed an agreement to establish a dual graduate degree in civil engineering and the geological sciences,[6] which now extends to other departments in both schools.
In April 2013, UC Chile and the University of Notre Dame also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scholarly engagement and expand their long-standing relationships.[7] The agreement establishes an exchange program in which faculty, doctoral students and university representatives from each institution will visit, work, study and collaborate with the other institution.
World rankings
UC ranks among the first 10 Latin-American Universities according to the Shanghai ranking,[17] UC appears top in two subject rankings: it ranks around 101–150 in Economics and Management and around 151–200 in Mathematics[18]
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile has been ranked as the best university in Latin America by two of the world's most prestigious University rankings, the QS World University Rankings (in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023)[19][20] and the Times Higher Education University Rankings (2019 and 2020).[21]
Faculties, institutes, centers and subjects offered
College UC
Bachelor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Bachelor of Social Science
Bachelor of Arts and Humanities
Faculty of Agronomy & Forest Engineering
Agronomy
Forest Engineering
Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies
DICTUC SA (a group of 40+ consultancies leading in engineering, management and innovation) [1]
Salud Clinica UC [2]
Hospital of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Mega UC Health Centres (maternity)
References
^Renato Pacheco. "Hechos y cifras - Destacados". Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^Administrator. "Información General - Drai UC". Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^"¿Por qué el clásico U-UC es tan importante en el fútbol chileno?". AS Chile (in Spanish). 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
^García Lorca, Macarena (October 9, 2017). "El suicidio que remece a la PUC: El fin del sueño universitario de Joselyn Lavados". The Clinic (in Spanish). Retrieved October 21, 2017.
^ a b"Alumnos critican a la PUC tras suicidio de compañera de Ingeniería Comercial". Radio Cooperativa. September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
^"Notre Dame Signs Historic Agreement For Graduate Studies in Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences". AgencyND // University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
^"Notre Dame to expand exchange with Chile's Pontifical Catholic University // News // Notre Dame International // University of Notre Dame". international.nd.edu. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^"Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2022". Shanghai Jiaotong University. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
^"CWUR World University Rankings - 2023". CWUR. Retrieved 31 July 2023.