The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six

Catholic Universities Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical uni ...

existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two

pontifical universities A pontifical university is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. These academic institute ...

in the country, along with the

Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso The Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso ( es, link=no, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso) (PUCV), also known as ''Universidad Católica de Valparaíso'' (UCV), is one of six Catholic universities in Chile and one of th ...

. Founded in 1888, it is also one of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

's oldest universities and one of the most recognized educational institutions in Latin America. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile has a strong and long-standing rivalry with

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, 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.

Campuses

UC Chile has four campuses in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and one campus in Villarrica. The campuses in Santiago are: * Casa Central (in downtown

) * San Joaquín (in

Macul Macul ( Quechua: "to stretch out right hand") is a commune (smallest administrative subdivision in Chile) of Chile located in the central-eastern part of the Greater Santiago area, bordered by the communes of Ñuñoa to the north, San Joaquín ...

Commune of Greater Santiago) * Oriente (in

Ñuñoa Ñuñoa (; from Mapudungun ''Ñuñohue'', "place of yellow flowers") is a commune of the Northeastern zone of Santiago, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile. According to the 2021 Urban Life Quality Index (ICVU), it is considered the fou ...

Commune of Greater Santiago) * 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 In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, to offer training in traditional professions (law) and in technological and practical fields such as business, accounting, chemistry, and electricity. Its first chancellor was

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Joaquín Larraín Gandarillas Joaquín Larraín Gandarillas (October 13, 1822 - September 26, 1897) was a Chilean priest, Roman Catholic bishop of Santiago, professor, writer and first president of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Early life He was born in Santiag ...

, and at the very beginning, the university only taught two subjects,

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. Since it is a Pontifical University, it has always had a strong and very close relationship with the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. On February 11, 1930,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

declared it a

pontifical university A pontifical university is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and canon law (Catholic Church), Canon Law) and at least one other facu ...

, 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 State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...

, 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

and one regional campus located in southern Chile. The technical training centers affiliated with the university are:

Duoc UC Duoc UC is an accredited, non-profit private institute of higher education in Chile. It was founded under the umbrella of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 1968, which provides technical and professional degrees through practical ...

, 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. Two of its most important alumni are the Jesuit

Saint Alberto Hurtado Alberto Hurtado (; born Luis Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga on January 22, 1901 in Viña del Mar, Chile – August 18, 1952 in Santiago, Chile), popularly known in Chile as Padre Hurtado (Spanish for "Father Hurtado"), was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawye ...

and

Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the ...

, a Chilean president. Both of them studied in the School of Laws.

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, former Chilean president, graduated from the university's School of Economics. 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. Critics, including

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

, 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. The student union of the university issued a communique expressing feelings of guilt over the issue and the need to take charge.

Collaborations

The Department of Industry and System Engineering is engaging Stanford Technology Venture Program of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

on a collaboration on innovation and technology ventures. In December 2011, the schools of engineering of PUC and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

signed an agreement to establish a dual graduate degree in civil engineering and the geological sciences, which now extends to other departments in both schools. In April 2013, UC Chile and the

also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scholarly engagement and expand their long-standing relationships. 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 The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

, UC appears top in two subject rankings: it ranks around 101–150 in Economics and Management and around 151–200 in Mathematics 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 ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

(in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and the Times Higher Education University Rankings (2019 and 2020).

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 ** School of Architecture *** Architecture ** School of Design *** Design ** Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies *** Urban Planning * Faculty of Arts ** School of Visual Art *** Visual Art ** School of Theater *** Acting ** Institute of Music *** Music * Faculty of Biological Sciences ** Biology (with an

academic major An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

in "Natural Resources & Environment" or " Bioprocesses") ** Biochemistry ** Marine Biology * Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences ** Commercial Engineering ** Economics Institute ** School of Administration * Faculty of Social Sciences ** Institute of Sociology *** Sociology *** Anthropology ** School of Psychology *** Psychology ** School of Social Work *** Social Work * Faculty of Communications ** School of Journalism *** Journalism *** Audiovisual Direction Program *** Advertising ** Institute of Media Studies * Faculty of Law ** Law * Faculty of Language and Literature ** English Language and Literature ** Hispanic American Linguistics and Literature ** Center for the Study of Chilean Literature (CELICH) * Faculty of Education ** Early Childhood Education ** General Education ** High School Education * Faculty of Engineering ** School of Engineering *** Dept. of Computer Science *** Dept. of Engineering and Construction Management *** Dept. of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering *** Dept. of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering *** Dept. of Transportation and Logistics Engineering *** Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering *** Dept. of Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering *** Dept. of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering *** Dept. of Electrical Engineering *** Dept. of Mining Engineering ** School of Construction *** Construction * Faculty of Philosophy ** Institute of Philosophy *** Philosophy ** Institute of Aesthetics *** Aesthetics * Faculty of Physics ** Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics *** Astronomy ** Department of Physics *** Physics * Faculty of History, Geography, and Political Science ** Institute of History *** History ** Institute of Geography *** Geography ** Institute of Political Science *** Political Science * Faculty of Mathematics ** Mathematics ** Statistics * Faculty of Medicine ** School of Medicine *** Medicine ***Odontology ***Phonoaudiology ***Kinesiology ***Nutrition and dietetics ** School of Nursing *** Nursing and Obstretics * Faculty of Chemistry ** Chemistry ** Chemistry and Pharmacy * Faculty of Theology ** Theology * Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering ** Biomedical Engineering * Institute for Mathematical and Computational Engineering ** Data Science Engineering

Notable institutes and centers

* Center of Studies of Social Undertakings * Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad – MIDAP * Núcleo Milenio Research Center in Entrepreneurial Strategy Under Uncertainty

Notable alumni

Architecture

Alejandro Aravena Alejandro Gastón Aravena Mori (born 22 June 1967) is a Chilean architect and executive director of the firm Elemental S.A. He won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2016, and was the director and curator of the Architecture Section of the 201 ...

(2016

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...

winner) * Smiljan Radic * Emilio Duhart * Fernando Castillo Velasco *

Juan Grimm Juan Grimm Moroni (born 7 April 1952) is a Chilean landscape architect. He has designed and built nearly 1000 hectares of gardens, in addition to public and private parks in Chile, Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. His name has become synonymous wit ...

, Landscape architect

Art and literature

Egon Wolff Egon Wolff (April 13, 1926 – November 2, 2016) was a Chilean playwright and author. Born in Santiago, he was educated in Chile and the United States. Early life Egon Wolff was born into a middle-class family of German immigrants, to parents w ...

(playwright) *

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

(Surrealist painter) * Jorge Díaz (playwright) *

Diamela Eltit Diamela Eltit in Santiago de Chile) is a Chilean writer and university professor. She is a recipient of the National Prize for Literature. Life Diamela Eltit graduated from college from Universidad Católica de Chile and pursued graduate stu ...

(author) * Paula Escobar (journalist and academic) *

Laila Havilio Laila Havilio (born 1960) is a sculptor from Santiago, Chile. She is a Chilean sculptor working in wood, stone, bronze, cement, and ceramic. Born in Recoleta, Chile in April 1960, she moved to Buenos Aires Argentina at the age of 10. From 1980 to ...

(sculptor)

Economy

* Miguel Kast (former governor of the Central Bank of Chile. Member of the Chicago Boys group) *

José Piñera José Piñera Echenique (born October 6, 1948) is a Chilean economist, one of the famous Chicago Boys, who served as minister of Labor and Social Security, and of Mining, in the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He is the architect of Ch ...

Joaquín Lavín Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiago ...

Sebastián Edwards Sebastián Edwards (born 16 August 1953, Santiago, Chile) a member of the Edwards family is a Chilean economist, professor, speaker, and consultant. He is currently the Henry Ford II Professor of International Business Economics at the UCLA Anders ...

(professor,

UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...

) *

* Felipe Larraín

Politics

* Past President of Chile

Adolfo Zaldívar Miguel Adolfo Gerardo Zaldívar Larraín (September 13, 1943 – February 27, 2013) was a Chilean politician and lawyer. He was senator for Aisén and from March 2008 until his death in February 2013 he had been President of the Chilean Senate ...

Arturo Frei Bolívar Erwin Arturo Frei Bolívar (18 November 1939 – January 2022) was a Chilean politician who was a senator and presidential candidate in the 1999 election. Life and career Arturo Frei was born in Santiago on 18 November 1939, as the son of ...

Ena von Baer Ena Anglein von Baer Jahn (born 28 November 1974 sge in Temuco) is a Chilean journalist, political scientist and senator. In December 2009, von Baer lost a very tight race for a seat in the Senate of Chile, Senate. In March 2010 she became Minis ...

* Fernando Castillo Velasco *

Hernán Larraín Hernán Larraín Fernández (born September 21, 1947) is a conservative Chilean lawyer, university lecturer, and politician; he served as the Chilean Minister of Justice and Human rights, appointed by president Sebastián Piñera, between 2018 ...

Fernando Flores Carlos Fernando Flores Labra (born January 9, 1943) is a Chilean engineer, entrepreneur and politician. He is a former cabinet minister of president Salvador Allende and was senator for the Arica and Parinacota and Tarapacá regions between 20 ...

Jaime Guzmán Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz (June 28, 1946 – April 1, 1991) was a Chilean constitutional law professor, speechwriter and member and doctrinal founder of the conservative Independent Democrat Union party. In the 1960s he opposed the Universit ...

* Osvaldo Andrade * Radomiro Tomic * Tomás Jocelyn-Holt *

José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. Kast ran for president in 2021, winning the first round and losing in the second round run-off to Gabriel Boric. Part of the ...

Giorgio Jackson Kenneth Giorgio Jackson Drago (born 6 February 1987) is a Chilean politician and engineer who has been serving as Chile's Minister of Social Development since 6 September 2022. He previously served as Ministry General Secretariat of the Presiden ...

Religion

Alberto Hurtado Alberto Hurtado (; born Luis Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga on January 22, 1901 in Viña del Mar, Chile – August 18, 1952 in Santiago, Chile), popularly known in Chile as Padre Hurtado (Spanish for "Father Hurtado"), was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawye ...

(Jesuit. Chile's second saint) *

Raúl Silva Henríquez Raúl Silva Henríquez SDB (27 September 1907 – 9 April 1999) was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal from 1962. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1961 to 1983 and as Bishop of Valparaíso from 1959 to 1961. ...

(Archbishop of Santiago de Chile) Both studied law at the university.

Science

* Francisco Claro Huneeus * Héctor Croxatto Rezzio (member of the

Pontifical Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences ( it, Pontificia accademia delle scienze, la, Pontificia Academia Scientiarum) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the ...

) * Joaquín Luco Valenzuela (first Chilean to specialize in neuroscience) * Juan de Dios Vial Correa (former

Pontifical Academy for Life The Pontifical Academy for Life or Pontificia Accademia per la Vita is a Pontifical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to promoting the Church's consistent life ethic. It also does related research on bioethics and Catholic moral the ...

president) * Juan Carlos Castilla (marine life expert) * Leopoldo Soto Norambuena (former President of the Chilean Physics Society and Fellow of the Institute of Physics, UK) * Nibaldo Inestrosa Cantin (neurobiologist) * Neva Milicic Müller (psychologist) * Rafael Vicuña Errázuriz

Knowledge transfer, service and consultancy

* DICTUC SA (a group of 40+ consultancies leading in engineering, management and innovation

* Salud Clinica U

* Hospital of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile * Mega UC Health Centres (maternity)

References

External links

Official web prospectus

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontifical Catholic University Of Chile Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Catholic Church in South America Pontifical universities Universities in Chile Nursing schools in Chile Educational institutions established in 1888 Catholic universities and colleges in Chile

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

1888 establishments in Chile