Saint Thomas University () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

located in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. It is the oldest Colombian university, founded in 1580 by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. It has campuses in

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander Department, Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and is the ninth most populous city i ...

Tunja Tunja () is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of B ...

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, and

Villavicencio Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. The capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The municipality had a population of 531,275 in 2018. The city is located at 4°08'N, 73°40'W, 75 km (about 45 ...

, and offers distance education.

Symbols

The Flag: It is composed of five horizontal stripes, three green and two white interspersed, the shield of the University in the central part. The Seal: It was elaborated to affirm the pontifical origin of the institution with the founding bull "Romanux Pontifex" of 1580, authentic mandate of the Pope Gregorio XIII and is used in certificates and diplomas issued by the University. Shield: It is formed by the Cross of Calatrava in black and white in the center sixteen golden circular rays, symbol of the sun of Aquino, on a circular blue background and the Latin motto ''Facientes Veritatem'', doers of the truth, in a red band. The Hymn: It consists of eight verses, makes clear allusion to the humanist and vocational education of the university.

History

Notable alumni

* Isabel del Carmen Agatón Santander ( es), Colombian feminist poet, lawyer, writer and teacher * Héctor Javier Alarcón Granobles, magistrate of the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice *

Rafael María Baralt Rafael María Baralt y Pérez (3 July 1810 - 4 January 1860) was a Venezuelan diplomat and one of the country's most famed writers, philologists, and historians. He was the first Latin American to occupy a chair at the Real Academia Española. ...

, Venezuelan politician *

Francisco José de Caldas Francisco José de Caldas (October 4, 1768 – October 28, 1816) was a Neogranadine lawyer, military engineer, self-taught naturalist, mathematician, geographer and inventor (he created the first hypsometer), who was executed by orders of Gene ...

, hero of the independence of Colombia * Doctor Fernando Castillo Cadena, magistrate of the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice *

Santiago Castro-Gómez Santiago Castro-Gómez (born 1958, Bogotá, Colombia) is a Colombian philosopher, a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and the former director of the Pensar Institute in Bogotá. Career and Work Castro-Gómez began studying phi ...

, Colombian philosopher, professor at the

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its ...

and the director of the Pensar Institute in Bogotá * Helga Díaz, Colombian actress *

Jorge García Usta Jorge García Usta (January 13, 1960 – December 25, 2005) was a Colombian novelist, poet, essayist and journalist. Biography García was born in the San Jerónimo hospital of Montería as grandson of Syro-Lebanese immigrants, and was son of t ...

, Colombian poet and writer *

Atanasio Girardot Manuel Atanasio Girardot Díaz (2 May 1791 – 30 September 1813) was a Neogranadine military officer and one of the heroes of the Colombian War of Independence, Colombian and Venezuelan War of Independence, Venezuelan wars of Independence. H ...

, hero of the independence of Colombia *

Luis Miguel Bermúdez Gutiérrez Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

, Grand Teacher award 2017 * Mirtha Patricia Linares Prieto, president of the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP) *

Pablo Montoya Pablo Montoya (also known as Jose Pablo Montoya) (July 1, 1792– February 7, 1847) was a New Mexican politician who was active both in the 1837 revolt against the Mexican government, and in the Taos Revolt of 1847 against the United States, dur ...

, Colombian writer * Pablo José Montoya Campuzano, Colombian novelist, poet, essayist, translator, critic and professor of literature. *

Alexandra Moreno Piraquive Alexandra Moreno Piraquive (born 23 August 1969) is a Colombian lawyer and politician, who served as Senator of Colombia from 2002 to 2014. Moreno is a co-founder of the Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation (MIRA), a conservative soci ...

, Colombian lawyer and politician *

Alejandro Ordoñez Maldonado Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (R ...

( es), ambassador of Colombia to the OAS *

César Augusto Reyes Medina Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

, magistrate of the Colombian Supreme Court of Justice *

Andrés Rosillo y Meruelo Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

( es), hero of the independence of Colombia. * José María Samper, Colombian politician *

Francisco de Paula Santander Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792 – May 6, 1840) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who served as Vice-President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and was later elected by Congress as the President ...

, hero of the independence of Colombia * Didier Alberto Tavera Amado, Colombian lawyer and politician *

Camilo Torres Tenorio José Camilo Clemente de Torres Tenorio (November 22, 1766 – October 5, 1816) was a Neogranadine independence leader and lawyer who also served as president of the United Provinces of New Granada. He is credited as being an early founder ...

, hero of the independence of Colombia * Tomás Alfonso Zuleta Díaz, Colombian singer and songwriter

References

External links

Saint Thomas University Saint Thomas University Saint Thomas University Catholic universities and colleges in Colombia Universities and colleges in Medellín {{Catholic-university-stub