National University of Colombia

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National University of Colombia
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Motto: LA: Inter-Aulas-Academiæ-Quære-Verum
ES: Busca la Verdad en las Aulas de la Academia
EN: Search for the truth in the academy classrooms
Established: September 22, 1867
Type: Public
Rector: Moisés Wasserman Lérner
Staff: 2,862
Students: 43,341
Undergraduates: 39,382
Postgraduates: 3,959
Doctoral students: 423[1]
Location: Bogotá, D.C., Cundinamarca, Colombia
Campus: University City of Bogotá
300 acres (1.2 km²)
Nickname: La Nacho
Website: www.unal.edu.co

National University of Colombia (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de Colombia), also referred to as UN, considered as the most important university in Colombia; is a public, coeducational research university with its main campus in Bogotá, Colombia. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Colombia cities of Medellín, Manizales, Palmira, Arauca, Leticia, and San Andrés. It was established in 1867 by an act of the Congress of Colombia.[2]

Contents

[edit] Description

The National University of Colombia is an independent institution of higher education tied to the Ministry of National Education, with special and defined regime like a national, public university and of the state. Its objective is the development of higher education and investigation, which will be fomented by the state allowing the access to and developing it on a par of sciences and the arts to reach excellence.

The UN is the largest university of Colombia, with a student population totaling approximately 43,341 students, of which 39,382 are studying for an undergraduate degree and 3,959 are studying for a graduate degree. The university offers 98 different academic programs for undergraduate studies in all disciplines, 88 specializations, 40 specialties, 118 master programmes, 30 doctorates, and it is one of the few offering post-doctorates.

The institution offers a wide selection of programmes, such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, engineering, chemistry, pharmacy, mathematics, physics, geology, biology, social sciences, arts (music, fine arts), philosophy, and law. In terms of size and geographic reach, the university is the main educational institution of Colombia. The university boasts the largest number of professional graduates per year in the country. A study by Universia found it to be the Colombian university producing the largest number of scientific papers published in peer-refereed publications in 2005, and the 110nd most prolific in Latin America.[3]

Famous personalities among its alumni include Fernando Botero, Manuel Elkin Patarroyo, Totó la Momposina, Jorge Eliécer Gaitán and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

[edit] Campus

Main article: University City of Bogotá

Well-known as the University City, or more popularly as the White City, is the Main Campus of the National University of Colombia, located in the geographic center of Bogotá, to the north-west of the historical center. It is a set of architectonic blocks, of which 17 have been declared National Monument and along with other constructions of the campus represent the last 60 years of the Colombian architecture. The surface of the University City has 300 acres (1.2 km²) [4] and about 308,541 m² of constructed area, is generous in pedestrian zones, green areas and open spaces.

Buildings in the campus are a common place for left wing slogans. There is a big painting of Che Guevara in the facade of the University's main auditorium called León de Greiff. The square by the auditorium is commonly known as Plaza Che (Che Square), but its official name is Plaza Francisco de Paula Santander (Francisco de Paula Santander Square).

The university has its own stadium, the "Alfonso López Pumarejo" where sometimes national championship's games are held. The main campus was designed by German architect Leopold Rother.

[edit] Faculties, institutes and other services

The National University of Colombia has 20 faculties or "Facultades" distributed among Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira:

Central Square, National University of Colombia, Bogotá, D.C..
Central Square, National University of Colombia, Bogotá, D.C..

Colleges in Bogotá:

Institutes interfaculties[5]

  • Institute of Biotechnology
  • Institute of Science and Food Technology - ICTA
  • Institute of Environmental Studies -IDEA-
  • Institute of Studies in Communication - IECO-
  • International institute of Political Studies and Relations -IEPRI-
  • Institute of Genetics
  • Pedagogical institute "Arturo Ramírez Montúfar" -IPARM-

Colleges in Medellín:

Colleges in Manizales: Engineering and Architecture, Sciences and Administration.

Colleges in Palmira: Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Administration.

Music Conservatory, Bogotá, D.C..
Music Conservatory, Bogotá, D.C..

Museums in Bogotá Campus:

  • Museo de Arte Universidad Nacional de Colombia (National University's Art Museum)
  • Museo de Arquitectura Leopoldo Rother (Museum of Architecture Leopoldo Rother
  • Museo de Historia Natural (Museum of Natural History)
  • Museo de la Ciencia y el Juego (Museum of Science and the Game)
  • Museo Centro de Historia de la Medicina (Museum Center of History of the Medicine)
  • Museo Entomológico (Entomological museum)
  • Museo Organológico Musical (Organologic Musical museum)
  • Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (National Astronomical Observatory)

Museum in Medellín Campus:

  • Entomological Museum
  • Mycology Museum
  • Museo de Geociencias (Mineralogical museum)
  • Herbario “Gabriel Gutiérrez”
  • Xiloteca

Media:

[edit] Presidents

  • 1990-1993, Antanas Mockus Sivickas
  • 1994-1997, Guillermo Páramo Rocha
  • 1997-2003, Víctor Manuel Moncayo Cruz
  • 2003-2005, Marco Antonio Palacios Rozo
  • 2005-2006, Ramón Fayad Nafah
  • 2006-, Moisés Wasserman Lérner

[edit] Gallery

[edit] Bogota

Economics
National Observatory
Genetic Institute
Agronomy
Geographic Institute Agustin Codazzi
Sculpture Park
Alfonso López Pumarejo Stadium
National library of newspapers
Ernesto Guhl library
Central library
Pharmacy
Chemistry
Fine arts
Medicine
Sociology
Engineering
Architecture
Sport center
central library

[edit] Medellin

Agro Sciences
Agro Sciences
Basic Sciences
Mining

[edit] Manizales

Manizales Observatory
Architecture
Engineering and administrative
Postgraduate Building

[edit] Satellite photographs

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Unidad de Medios de Comunicación, Unimedios (May 2007). "Posgrados en Colombia" (in Spanish). Claves para el debate público (1). ISSN 1909-9096. 
  2. ^ Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Reseña histórica (Spanish). Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  3. ^ Ranking-Instituciones-Investigacion-Colombia (Spanish). universia.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
  4. ^ Data of the area of the University City of Bogotá
  5. ^ Institutos y Centros de la UN

[edit] External links

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