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The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
in
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
. It is the largest campus in the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
system in terms of student population and it was Puerto Rico's first public university campus. The university serves more than 18,000 students, 20% of whom are graduate students, and grants an average of over 3,000 degrees a year. Its academic offerings range from the bachelor to the doctoral level with 70 undergraduate programs and 19 graduate degrees including 71 specializations in the basic disciplines and professional fields. UPR‐RP has consistently granted the largest number of doctorate degrees to Hispanic students under the United States jurisdiction.


History

In the year 1900 the ''Escuela Normal Industrial'' ( Normal Industrial School) was established in
Fajardo, Puerto Rico Fajardo () is a town and a municipality part of the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of much of the recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and ...
, as the first institution of higher education in Puerto Rico dedicated to train those who would become teachers and educators. At the time it only had 20 students and 5 professors. A year later (1901) the institution was moved to an area previously occupied by farmland immediately north of the town of
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...
, today part of the municipality of
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
. The Normal School was established in ''La Convalecencia'', which was one of the residences of the former Spanish Governors. The school enrolled 273 students on its first year, and its first bachelor's degrees were granted four years later in 1907. On March 12, 1903, under the administration of the Public Instruction Commissioner, Samuel McCune Lindsay, the 2nd Legislative Assembly approved a law creating the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
in Río Piedras, transferring all the funding of the Insular Normal School there. This school became the first department of the university, what is now the Faculty of Education, becoming the nucleus of the University of Puerto Rico. Now legally established, the University of Puerto Rico started its first academic year (1903–1904) with an enrollment of 173 students. Due to the scarcity of teachers in the island, most of these students were appointed by the Department of Public Instruction to teach at schools without having finished four years of college. The first graduating class (June 1907) consisted of 13 students. In 1907, the first class graduated from the normal course of four years after the university was legally established. Among the students in that class were Carlota Matienzo, Isabel Andréu, Loaíza Cordero, Marina Roviro, and Juan Herrero. On September 22, 1913, the departments of Law and Pharmacology were established. The university at the time required only an eighth grade diploma, but with the expansion of its courses, this requirement changed. After 1917, the departments of Normal Education, Liberal Arts, Pharmacology, and Law required a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
diploma for admission. On February 21, 1931, Dr. Carlos E. Chardón was appointed as chancellor of the university. During his tenure the university experienced significant growth in endowments. These were used in the expansion of the physical facilities at the Río Piedras and Mayagüez Campuses. This helped turn the university into a respected educational center. Chardón resigned from the post of
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
in 1936, being succeeded by Juan B. Soto. The most important part of this period was the expansion of the buildings of the university as part of a plan for the rehabilitation of Puerto Rico.


History of student protests

The university was the site of social upheaval during the 1960s and 1970s, when nationalist students protested for
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
, against the war in Vietnam, for the independence of Puerto Rico, and to expel the
ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
from the campus. In 1970 Antonia Martínez was murdered by the
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
during the anti-education reform and Vietnam War protests of that year. As the shouting started in the street, everyone in the building she was in, on Ponce de León Avenue, went to the balconies to see what was happening. She was, like many others, watching the events, saw policemen attacking at the students, and allegedly shouted at the police ''¡Asesinos!'' (Assassins!). A policeman turned and shot her in the head, killing her and injuring a roommate. A mural of her and her story existed on the College of Humanities, until administrative personnel covered it with paint. Other stories claim that she was shot by mistake. The students of the university also had a strike in the Spring of 2017 during which the school was shut down for several months.


Campus and academic facilities

The Río Piedras Campus is located in the northern end of the
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
area of
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...
, a former town but now a district ( ''barrio'') of
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
. The campus is easily accessible via public transportation by means of the
Tren Urbano The ''Tren Urbano'' (English language, English: Urban Train) is a List of automated urban metro subway systems, automated rapid transit system serving the San Juan–Bayamón–Caguas metropolitan area, main metropolitan area of Puerto Rico ...
metro system with a station ( Universidad) located in campus, and the public bus system of San Juan ( AMA). The campus is home to a rich diversity in architecture and urban planning with old and modern buildings that showcase the architectural development of the past 120 years in Puerto Rican architecture.


''La Torre'' and the Quadrangle

In 1936, architect Rafael Carmoega, working under the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA), designed the distinctive University of Puerto Rico clock tower based on the 1924 Parsons Plan. The iconic university
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...
was built in 1937 and christened as the
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
tower, in honor of the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
and his interest in the building of the university. ''La Torre'' (as ''The Tower'' is nicknamed in Spanish) is located at the entrance of the
Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was a leading Puerto Rican  Abolitionism, abolitionist and spokesman for the right to self-determination of Puerto Rico. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Ge ...
Building. Right below the tower there is a monument to the nations of the Americas portraying the
coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...
of all American states within a bronze circle, as a symbol of the Panamerican Union. Under the supervision of architect Rafael Carmoega, a group of local architects designed what is known as ''El Cuadrángulo'' ( The Quadrangle), a plaza-like quadrangle. The campus's central quadrangle and tower were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984.


Campus architecture

The University of Puerto Rico was established in Río Piedras in 1903. The first buildings were th
Normal School
(1902), the Model School (1903), and the Principal's Residence (1903), next to the Central Road (today Ponce de Leon Avenue). Over the years, the development of the university occurred somewhat spontaneously. In 1908 the architectural firm of ''Clark, Howe and Homer'' designed a new façade for the Model School in the California Mission Style. In 1909 a milk processing building was constructed in an agricultural area, east of the academic center. Arts and Crafts' Workshop buildings, a Library and a Gymnasium were planned, as well as the grandstand and the fence (all demolished now). In 1912 construction began for the Memorial Hall (Baldorioty Building) and buildings for the Law School and the School of Pharmacy were in the works in 1918. In 1924 the Chicago firm of urbanists '' Bennett, Parsons and Frost'' were contacted to design a master plan for the future development of the university. It was not until 1935, with the establishment of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) and the large sum of federal funds that it invested for public works in Puerto Rico, that the partial design and construction of the so-called ''Parson Plan'' began. However, from the 1940s onward a new architectural paradigm, which discarded historical vocabularies and incorporated attitudes learned from Germany and from the studio of
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, stemmed from German émigré Henry Klumb. For 20 years Klumb was sole architect for the University of Puerto Rico, designing buildings for the campuses at Río Piedras and Mayagüez until in 1966. At that time chancellor Jaime Benítez assigned the design of the General Studies Building to the architectural firm of Toro & Ferrer. Other buildings for the university have been designed by architects Antonio Marqués Carrión (sports facilities, 1971); José Firpi (student residence ''Torre Norte'', 1971); the firm of Reed, Torres, Beauchamp & Marvel (new Education Faculty Building, 1974 and the first expansion to the Faculty of Natural Sciences Building, 1978); the firm of García & Landray (second expansion the Faculty of Natural Sciences Building, 1989); GDO Arquitectos (School of Architecture Building, 2001) and Toro Ferrer (new General Studies Building, 2007). In addition to ''La Torre'' and The Quagrangle, several buildings in the UPR-RP campus have been added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, such as the former female residence hall " Residencia de Señoritas" building which now houses administrative offices.


Library system

The university library serves the research and teaching needs of the university community. It also extends its services to the Puerto Rican community at large. The system comprises eighteen specialized and general libraries, with holdings totaling more than 4,000,000 items, access to which may be gained through the university's online catalog. Of special interest are the Caribbean and Latin American Studies Library and the Puerto Rican Collection, both located in the José M. Lázaro Building. In addition to the traditional library services, such as reference, circulation, reserves, photocopying, local interlibrary loan, and the compilation of bibliographies and acquisition lists, the Library System also participates in on-line interlibrary loans with many libraries worldwide. Other services include Dial Order, DIALOG, microfilming, reproduction of photographs, library instruction and orientation, lectures, and exhibits. The Integration of the Information Competencies to the Curriculum Projects promotes the development of information competencies around the campus. The Library System offers facilities for the blind and physically handicapped. The graduate and special collections in the Business Administration, Planning, Public Administration, Social Work, and Library Science programs are integral parts of the Library System, but the libraries of the School of Law, Natural Sciences Faculty, and the School of Architecture, also located on the university campus, operate independently.


Information system

The Information Systems Office serves the educational, research and administrative efforts of the institution. As a member of Internet2 and the Internet, the university enjoys instant communication with institutions all over the world for the purposes of correspondence and information access. Improvements to existing telecommunications infrastructure include the installation of structured cabling in campus buildings and fiber optics as a means of interconnecting them. Currently, campus buildings are configured to ATM (155Mbits / s) and Gigabit Ethernet interfacing equipment, providing greater capacity to transfer video, voice and data. The campus is capable of offering video conferencing over ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), or via the Internet in H.323 format.


University museums

The ''Museum of Art, History, and Anthropology'' (MAHA) was created in 1951 by legislative act to "complete and preserve our art, history, and anthropological heritage," as a means to educate and enrich our culture. The current building, designed by the architect Henry Klumb, was inaugurated in 1959. Since its establishment, the museum has actively contributed to the growth of Puerto Rican cultural life by holding art, historical, and anthropological exhibits and sponsoring lectures, seminars, publications, and workshops–to the benefit of both the academic and the general communities.


Housing

The Río Piedras campus provides housing in three residence halls: * ''Torre del Norte (Currently Closed)''; a 22-story building located within a block of the campus. It has capacity to house 437 students in double and single units. * ''ResiCampus''; located within the campus consists of a structure of nine floors and have a capacity to house 354 students. * ''Plaza Universitaria Residence Hall''; administered by a private company in consortium to UPR; offers housing to undergraduate and graduate students. There is also a Guest House within the Student Center, with rooms at affordable rates for visitors to the university, faculty, or students. 10% of first-year and 4% of all undergraduates live in college housing. No married student housing is available. Also, private housing is available in surrounding areas of the university.


Organization

The Río Piedras Campus is a
collegiate university A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Coll ...
. The Chancellor of the Campus is the top academic and administrative officer and presides over its two deliberative bodies: the Administrative Board and the Academic Senate.


Administrative Board

The ''Administrative Board'', composed of the deans, two senators representing the faculty, and one student senator, advises the Chancellor in matters pertaining to the university program. The Board makes recommendations on leaves and faculty aid applications, and grants promotions and tenures.


Academic Senate

The ''Academic Senate'', in turn, is the official academic forum. It is composed of the deans, the director of the library system, elected faculty representatives from all the colleges and schools, student senators, and representatives from the staff of academic advisors. Its members participate on the institutional processes, establishing academic rules and collaborating with other organisms of the University of Puerto Rico system.


Student Councils

The ''General Student Council'' (''Consejo General de Estudiantes'' or CGE in Spanish) of the UPRRP is the elected student government of the campus. The council is composed of several representatives to the student council, elected by each School or College, the number of representatives varies depending on the number of students enrolled in the School or College, and the President and Senator of each School and College, for a total of around 50 members. Elections are held in April and representatives are elected for one year, from July 1 to June 30. Having its origins in the 1920s, the Student Council was dissolved in 1948 while Jaime Benitez was chancellor, and under the council presidency of
Juan Mari Brás Juan Mari Brás (December 2, 1927 – September 10, 2010) was a Puerto Rican politician who advocated for Puerto Rican independence. He also founded the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. On October 25, 2006, he became the first person to recei ...
and it was not until 1968 that the Student Council was re-installed under the name General Student Council and under the council presidency of David Noriega. The General Student Council is governed by the Board of Directors, which is elected from among the council's members and is composed of: * President * Vice President * Executive Secretary * Press Secretary * Public Relations Secretary * Records Clerk Additionally, they select Representatives to the Campus' Administrative Board and the university's University Board, both of them with an Alternate Representative. They are members of the board of directors. Every College and School has a student council of its own, composed by a President, Vice President, Executive Secretary, Treasurer, Records Clerk, Public Relations Chair, the college or School's Student Senator (and, if available for the college/school, an alternate senator), Representatives to the General Student Council (up to four), and representatives of each department or subdivision present in the School or College.


Colleges organization

Colleges have a dean, an associate dean, assistant deans, department chairs, and other administrative directors. In August 2019, the president-elect of the College of Business Administration Student Council, Alberto J. Lebrón, established the university's first independent college board, founding the UPRRP College of Business Administration Directive Board, composed of two representatives from each of the college's associations and student council directives, with Lebrón serving as the board's first chairman. Each college also has several committees established; examples being the school or college's advisors committee, the curriculum committee, and the accreditation committee.


Deanery

The campus (and each school/college) has three administrative divisions known as a 'Deanery' or 'Dean's Office'. These include:


Deanery of Academic Affairs

Academic Affairs (DAA in Spanish, ''Decanato de Asuntos Académicos'') promotes academic excellence, giving guidance and orientation for successful planning with the Campus Strategic Plan. It implants academic policies, and looks for the effective improvement of all personnel. It promotes and designs institutional research and coordinates accreditation processes. It evaluates the programs offered at the university, while trying to improve institutional effectiveness. It is responsible for the suitable development of the services in the Libraries, Registrar, Admissions, and Continuing Education. It advises the Rector and the adequate units, such as the Administrative Council and the Academic Senate on the development of new politics, and efficacy of processes, planification, and academic decisions. It is organized with a dean heading it, with the help of the Associate Dean and 3 Auxiliary Deans, each assigned a certain area of concern such as Foreign Students, General Studies, Business Faculty, the Library System, etcetera. Three schools are under the Dean of Academic Affairs. These include the School of Communication, the Graduate School of Planning and the Graduate School of Informatic Sciences and Technologies and they are represented on the Administrative Board by the Dean of Academic Affairs.


Deanery of Student Affairs

The Deanery of Students is the leader organization, compromised with an ever-changing academic population. They try to bring the most advanced technological resources in order to be of help with respect to the services given to students. Faculties included are: * College of General Studies * School of Architecture * School of Communication * School of Law * School of Business Administration * Graduate School of Business Administration * Graduate School of Informational Sciences and Technologies * Graduate School of Planning * College of Natural Sciences * College of Social Sciences * College of Education * College of Humanities


Deanery of Administration

The Deanery of Administration is the unit that offers essential services to the university community: it implements and guards for the proper fulfillment of the regulations that rule over administrative processes of the Campus and the entire University System. It plans, coordinates, evaluates and supervises labors related with different administrative and operative processes, but over all, they ensure quality services that have a positive aspect on student life, teaching and learning scenarios, investigation areas, labor areas of conformities, according to the Campus mission and the Public Administration that commands the university.


Academics

The Campus serves more than 18,000 students, 20% graduate, and grants an average of over 3,000 degrees a year. From 2005 up to 2010 doctorate degrees conferred have maintained an upward trend. UPR‐RP has consistently granted the largest number of doctorate degrees to Hispanics in the US. As a public comprehensive doctoral institution, its academic offerings range from the baccalaureate to the doctoral degree, through 70 undergraduate programs and 19 graduate degrees with 71 specializations in the basic disciplines and professional fields. The graduate offer includes 12 PhDs, one Doctorate in Education, and international programs in Law, at both LLM and JD levels. The Campus frontier of knowledge production has been expanded during this period with the creation of a Master in Cultural Management and Administration in the College of Humanities, and Masters and PhD programs in Environmental Science, the PhD currently under consideration by the licensing board in PR, to be initiated in August, 2010. 56 academic programs are professionally accredited.


Research

The university is
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". It supports research centers and institutes including the Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies that conducts long term environmental research on Caribbean islands and similar tropical areas and is part of a global research network, and the Institute of Caribbean Studies (est. 1958) (which publishes the journal ''Caribbean Studies'', ) and the Institute of Psychological Research, among others.


Rankings

* UPRRP is ranked 220th in the U.S. in Biological Sciences in the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report. * UPRRP is ranked 129th in the U.S. in Chemistry in the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report.


Schools and colleges


School of Architecture

The School of Architecture of the University of Puerto Rico offers a Bachelor of
Environmental Design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...
and a Master of
Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
. The Master of Architecture professional degree is offered by the School, accredited by the
National Architectural Accrediting Board The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), established in 1940, is the oldest accrediting agency for architectural education in the United States. The NAAB accredits professional degrees in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. ...
(NAAB). The UPR School of Architecture was established thanks to legislation approved in Puerto Rico in 1958 for such purpose. That same year and to that effect, Puerto Rican architect Santiago Iglesias Jr. presented a resolution at the annual convention of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
, celebrated in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1965, Puerto Rican architect Jesús Eduardo Amaral, was selected as an executive consultant and given the responsibility to establish the school. Proposals were submitted to UPR's Río Piedras Chancellor Jaime Benítez and finally in 1966, the School was officially recognized by the Council of Superior Education.


College of Business Administration

The College of Business Administration, previously ''College of Commerce'', was established on
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras 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 ...
in 1926 with a roll of 70 students on a nocturnal program. From its beginning, it has offered preparation of university level in many areas of Business Administration. It also offers a bachelor's degree in administration of office systems, which substituted the secretarial sciences bachelor's degree. In 1958 the Center for Commercial Investigations and for Academical Initiatives with the purpose of promoting investigation and contribute in the creation of knowledge in the area of Business Administration. Eventually, Cooperative Education, ''Link'' (Enlace), International Commerce Development and Enterprise Development programs, in order to have a narrower collaboration with business world. In the academic year of 1970–71, the Graduated School of Business Administration began offering master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) making it the first of its kind in the Caribbean. In addition to master's degree the School offers altogether with Law School and the Doctoral Program of Business Management the ''MBA/JD Program'' which is built towards guidance on professional practice, whilst the Doctoral Program is orientated towards research. Student enrollment in the College of Business Administration is approximately 2,800 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. This college enrollment is the third highest in the Río Piedras Campus. Nearly 530 Bachelor's degrees and 50 Graduate degrees are conferred annually. 63% of the students of the college are female, similar to the 67% of population of Río Piedras Campus being female. In November 2013, the School of Business and the Graduate School of Business, became the first and only public study centers in business, accredited in Puerto Rico and Latin America by the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).


Graduate School of Business Administration

The Graduate School of Business Administration (EGAE) educates aspiring entrepreneurs and business administrators.


School of Communication

The School of Communication (COPU, formerly known as ''Comunicación Pública'' in Spanish, from where the acronym comes COmunicación PUblica) was established in 1972 with a master's degree in public Communication. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees.


College of Education

The Eugenio María de Hostos College of Education (in Spanish Facultad de Educación Eugenio María de Hostos) is the biggest and oldest college of the
University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
, founded on October 1, 1900, as the Normal School of Teachers (''Escuela Normal para Maestros'') in the Puerto Rican eastern city of Fajardo. The college has an estimate of 3,400 students who study in six different colleges of the university. The college headquarters are located in the New Building of Education in the south of the campus, and administrate nine buildings in all the campus, including a house in downtown Río Piedras district in San Juan. The college moved to Río Piedras once the university was founded on March 12, 1903.


University High School

The University High School was built in the year 1913. It is currently operated by the Faculty of Education of the University of Puerto Rico. It currently has around 500 students from seventh to twelfth grade.


College of General Studies

The General Studies Division was created in 1943 and became a college in 1945. The creation of the general studies program was the cornerstone of the 1942 University Reform. Within the university's system, the college has the particularity of being constituted as a multi- and interdisciplinary one, wherein three great sections of knowledge converge:
Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
(including Vernacular Spanish, its literary and linguistic components),
Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...
and
Natural Sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
, and English for Academic Purposes, including its literary and linguistic components. The College of General Studies offers these courses, which will vary depending on the requirements asked by the different Colleges the student heads to:
Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
, Spanish, English,
Biological Sciences Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
,
Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...
, and
Physical Sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...
. The main building of the College of General Studies is called Domingo Marrero Navarro, after one of its deans.


College of Humanities

Established in 1943, the faculty currently has about 2,000 students in the undergraduate program and about 300 students in its graduate program. This faculty offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in various disciplines such as
fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
,
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
, Hispanic studies, English,
comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
,
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, modern languages,
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, music,
translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...
,
interdisciplinary studies Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
, among others. It has various investigation centers, as well as seminars, specialized libraries in fine arts, philosophy, music and English, and publishes several educational magazines.


School of Law

The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is accredited by the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
.


College of Natural Sciences


College of Social Sciences

The College of Social Sciences (CISO, ''Ciencias Sociales'' in Spanish, from where the acronym comes CIencias SOciales) was established in 1943, with the mission of teaching universal knowledge on the social sciences, advancing the social comprehension of the nation. The college offers undergraduate studies in the Departments of:
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
,
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...
(general),
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
,
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
and
labor relations Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...
. The college offers graduate studies in the Departments of: rehabilitation counselling,
public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
,
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
,
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
.


Graduate School of Planning

In April 1965, the Board of Education approved the establishment of the Graduate School of Planning (EGP), which commenced its first academic year in August the same year. The program was funded with funds from the University of Puerto Rico and the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
. The orientation of the curriculum was influenced by the dominant planning perspectives during the 1960s in the United States and the Economic Commission for Latin America. At this early stage, the Faculty had distinguished colleagues from
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
and other international institutions. In addition, educators and researchers from across the island and abroad participated in the design and establishment of priorities of the curriculum. Areas of specialty include economic planning, regional, urban and social. Already in 1975 it established a new discipline of environmental planning. * Regional and
Urban Planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
* Social Planning * Economic Planning * Environmental Planning


Graduate School of Information Sciences and Technologies

The Faculty of Information Sciences and Technologies has the Master of Information Sciences which is accredited by the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
(ALA). * Master of Information Sciences * Librarian Teacher Certificate (Post Baccalaureate) * Certificate of Records and Archives Manager (Post Baccalaureate) * Certificate Manager Academic and Special Libraries (Post Master)


Division of Continuing Education

Encompasses
continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...
and professional studies offerings.


Student life


Athletics

The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras is a founding member of the island-wide Inter-University Athletic League (LAI) and participates in all of the sports included in that organization. The university is also a member of the
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
as an Independent and competes in five men's and women's intercollegiate varsity sports: basketball, cross country, outdoor track, tennis, and volleyball.


Cultural activities

One of the most enriching aspects of student life in Río Piedras is the vast number of cultural and social events organized by the university. In addition to the usual academic conferences and lectures, there are a host of activities to choose from on any given day. Cultural Activities, run by the dean of students, is the central agency at Río Piedras that plans and sponsors major events on and off campus. They run a busy schedule with a cultural activity virtually every day of the week and on many weekends, too. The ''Serie de Cine al Aire Libre'' runs every month throughout the school year, presenting classic and contemporary films in the Baldorioty de Castro Plaza in front of the Tower. Admission is always free. Additionally, there are indoor concerts by musical groups such as the ''Orquesta Filarmónica de Puerto Rico'', the Tuna of UPR-Río Piedras, and the voice emsambles of the campus, Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (founded in 1936 by Augusto Rodríguez), and Coralia, the concert choir.


Student organizations

; Academic interests * American Chemical Society (ACS) * American Medical Student Association (AMSA) * American Marketing Association (AMA) * Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM UPRRP) * Geography Students Association * Graduate Biology Students Association (AEGB) * Asociación Puertorriqueña de Estudiantes de Periodismo * Accounting Students Association (AEC) * Financial Management Association (FMA) * Asociación de Estudiantes de Consejería en Rehabilitación * Asociación de Estudiantes de Economía * Asociación de Estudiantes de Estadística y Sistemas Computarizados de Información * Asociación de Estudiantes de Comunicación Empresarial (COMCE) * Asociación de Estudiantes de Trabajo Social * Asociación de Estudiantes Escuela Graduada de Administración Pública * Sociedad de Estudiantes de Física * Asociación de Estudiantes de Ciencias de Cómputos * Asociación Estudiantil de Pre-Veterinaria * Asociación Premédica de Puerto Rico (APPR) ; Environmental * Sociedad Eco- Ambiental (SEA) * CESAM ; Religious * Ministerio Cristiano La Escalerita * Asociación Bíblica Universitaria ; Political * College Democrats * Federación Universitaria Pro-Independencia * Juventud Universitaria del Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño


Greek life

Social societies: :* Member of ''
Concilio Interfraternitario de Puerto Rico The Concilio Interfraternitario de Puerto Rico or "Interfraternity Council of Puerto Rico" is an umbrella council for the seven oldest Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities. History In November 1957, representatives of the fraternities Phi ...
'' (Inter-Fraternity Council of Puerto Rico)
Greek-lettered service, professional and/or honor societies: * Phi Alpha Delta - co-ed professional law fraternity *
Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national Mixed-sex education, coeducational Service fraternities and sororities, service Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It is the largest College fraterniti ...
* - co-ed service fraternity *
Psi Chi Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,100 chap ...
- honor society in Psychology


Notable people

See List of University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras people File: Anibal Acevedo Vila.jpg, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, (BA 1982, JD 1985), eighth
governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...
(2005-2009), U.S. Representative (Resident Commissioner), D-Puerto Rico (2001-2004), State Representative, P.R. House of Representatives (1992-1999) File:Nydia_Velázquez.jpg, Nydia Velázquez (BA 1974), U.S. Representative, D-New York (1993–present) Biographical information
from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
File:Hertell amb dom republic.jpg, Hans Hertell (JD), U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, (2001-2007). File:McClontock.JPG,
Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s N ...
(1960-1962 pre-elementary, 1962-1968 elementary, 1968-1974 high school, 1974-1977 undergraduate), 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, (2009–present), 13th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, (2005-2008), State Senator, Senate of Puerto Rico, (1993-2008) File:Alejandro Garcia Padilla -cropped.jpg, Alejandro García Padilla (BS), 11th
governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...
(2013-2016)


See also

* University High School (San Juan) * 2010 University of Puerto Rico strike * Río Piedras massacre *
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...
* School of Tropical Medicine


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, University Of Rio Piedras Campus Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico Universities and colleges in San Juan, Puerto Rico 1903 establishments in Puerto Rico Universities and colleges established in 1903 Liga Atletica Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in San Juan, Puerto Rico Architecture schools in Puerto Rico NCAA Division II independents