The Faculty of Sciences ( es, Facultad de Ciencias) at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

(UNAM) is the entity where natural and exact science-based majors are taught. It has both undergraduate and graduate studies, some of the former in joint teaching with other faculties, most commonly the

Faculty of Engineering Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

. The Faculty of Sciences is the most important science school in the country by the number of students and the quality of its research. Together with the research institutes that surround it, it is considered one of the biggest research complexes of the UNAM.

History

The history of this faculty is rather different from that of other schools that have their origins in former national schools. The study plan for this faculty was initially given in the Philosophy Faculty of the UNAM. The Biology major was the first one to have a structured study plan, originating around 1930. It was not until 1933 that the majors of Physics and Mathematics were founded. Formerly, the faculty was located in a small building between the

and

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

. Due to the increasing number of students, the Faculty had to construct new buildings, conveniently located among the research science institutes of Mathematics, Biology and Physics. This faculty, along with Philosophy, is notable for its history of activism during the 1999 strike; these two faculties alone kept the strike going longer than any other school.

Organization & Departments

The faculty is run by the Faculty Dean, currently Catalina Stern. Has 3 main divisions: *Biology: ** This area covers the bachelor's degree in Biology, Environmental Sciences, and currently researches over

Evolutionary Biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...

, Comparative Biology,

Cell Biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

and

Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

& Natural Resources * Physics ** This area is in charge of the bachelor's degree of

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, Biomedical Physics and

Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

. Further research is done in the Physics Institute * Mathematics **This area currently offers bachelor's degrees in Applied Mathematics,

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 ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

and Actuarial Science

Location and facilities

The Faculty is located in Ciudad Universitaria in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, across the street from the

and the Faculty of Administration. Its premises are located next to the Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy research institutes. The Faculty occupies various buildings: Buildings, "O" and "P", composed only of classrooms, in addition to four other buildings lodging the Faculty's respective departments and their faculty. The newer part of the complex consists of two buildings, one called ''Amoxcalli'', which holds the Faculty's library and the Computing Center. The newest one is called ''Tlahuizcalpan'' which hosts various labs and research premises, as well as classrooms. In recent years, an interdisciplinary extension of the Faculty was inaugurated in the port of Sisal, Yucatán, devoted to the research of coastal ecosystems and their species. Th
National Herbarium of Mexico at UNAM
in Mexico City houses the largest collection of plant specimens in all of Latin America and is one of the 10 most active herbaria in the world.

Graduate programs

The Faculty of Sciences offers graduate programs on computer science, material science, astronomy, biology, earth science, ocean science, physics, mathematics, statistics & actuarial science, history and philosophy of science and science education,
/ref> although most of these are run in collaboration with the nearby institutes, like Physics, Mathematics and IIMAS (Institute for applied mathematics and systems). Some programs are offered in conjunction with other faculties and institutes nationwide.

References

External links

http://www.fciencias.unam.mx/
official website
National Herbarium of Mexico at UNAM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faculty Of Sciences (Unam) National Autonomous University of Mexico