José Simeón Cañas Central American University ( es, Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas"), also known as UCA El Salvador, is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

with

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

purposes in

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

, run by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

. It was founded on September 15, 1965, at the request of a group of Roman Catholic families who appealed to the Salvadoran government and the Society of Jesus in order to create another university as an alternative to the

University of El Salvador The University of El Salvador or Universidad de El Salvador (UES) is the oldest and the most prominent university institution in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country. The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, is located ...

, becoming the first private institution of higher education in the country. The

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

also run Central American University in Nicaragua (UCA Managua), opened in 1960.

History

UCA has since evolved to be one of the best institutions of higher learning in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. C ...

(Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama). This is the case, despite the university's focus on playing a decisive role in the transformation of the unjust Salvadoran society. Such a focus within the Salvadoran context has driven the university to give priority to undergraduate degrees, research within the social sciences, and popular presentation of research results ("social projectionl") in local peer-reviewed journals. In the 1970s and 1980s, during the Civil War in El Salvador, UCA was known as the home of several internationally recognized Jesuit scholars and intellectuals, including

Jon Sobrino Jon Sobrino (born 1938) is a Jesuit Catholic priest and theologian, known mostly for his contributions to Latin American liberation theology. He received worldwide attention in 2007 when the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ...

Ignacio Ellacuría Ignacio Ellacuría (Portugalete, Biscay, Spain, November 9, 1930 – San Salvador, November 16, 1989) was a Spanish-Salvadoran Jesuit, philosopher, and theologian who worked as a professor and rector at the Universidad Centroamericana "Jos� ...

Ignacio Martín-Baró Ignacio Martín-Baró (November 7, 1942 in Valladolid, Castilla y Leon, Spain – November 16, 1989 in San Salvador, El Salvador) was a scholar, social psychologist, philosopher and Jesuit priest. He was one of the victims of the 1989 murde ...

, and

Segundo Montes Segundo Montes (May 15, 1933 in Valladolid, Spain – November 16, 1989 in San Salvador, El Salvador) was a scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest. He was one of the victims of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador. ...

. They were outspoken against the abuses of the Salvadoran military and government, and carried out research to demonstrate the effects of the war and poverty in the country. The extreme social conditions in El Salvador provided a very rich empirical basis for innovative research within sociology, social anthropology, philosophy, social psychology, and theology. These scholars made important and lasting contributions within these fields. Ellacuría, Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes, along with three other Jesuit professors, their housekeeper, and her daughter, were murdered by the Salvadoran Armed forces on November 16, 1989, in one of the most notorious episodes from the Civil War (see

Murder of UCA scholars During the Salvadoran Civil War, on 16 November 1989, Salvadoran Army soldiers killed six Jesuits and two others, the caretaker's wife and daughter, at their residence on the campus of Central American University (known as UCA El Salvador) in Sa ...

Campus

The university is located at

Antiguo Cuscatlán Antiguo Cuscatlán ''(colloquially known as Antiguo)'' is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador, and its eastern tip lays in San Salvador Department part of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, southwest of San Salvador ...

. The university campus has 38 acres (16 ha) with 33 buildings, a professional soccer field, basketball and volleyball courts, as well as three auditoriums and four cafeterias. The campus also includes a minimarket, a museum, three clinics, a book shop, a main library, several smaller thematic libraries, and a documentation center.

Faculties

* Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences * Faculty of Human and Social Sciences * Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

Academic departments

* Department of Mathematics * Department of Business Administration * Department of Judicial Sciences * Department of Sociology and Political Science * Department of Economics * Department of Accounting and Finance * Department of Psychology * Department of Philosophy * Department of Theology * Department of Educational Sciences * Department of Communications and Culture * Department of Public Health * Department of Operations and Systems * Department of Electronics and Informatics * Department of Energy and Fluid Sciences * Department of Structural Mechanics * Department of Spatial Organization * Department of Engineering Process and Environmental Science

Social projection

* UCA Audiovisuals * YSUCA 91.7 FM Radio * Monseñor Romero Center * University's Public Opinion Institute - IUDOP * University's Human Rights Institute - IDHUCA

Academics

Undergraduate programs

* Architecture * Civil Engineering * Electrical Engineering * Mechanical Engineering * Industrial Engineering * Chemical Engineering * Food Engineering * Energetic Engineering * Computing Engineering * Technician in Marketing * Technician in Accounting * Licenciate in Philosophy * Licenciate in Theology * Licenciate in Psychology * Licenciate in Economics * Licenciate in Marketing * Licenciate in Public Accounting * Licenciate in Business Administration * Licenciate in Agribusiness Administration * Licenciate in Judicial Sciences * Licenciate in Social Communications * Professorate of Theology * Professorate of Special Education * Professorate of Preschool Education * Professorate of Basic Education (1st & 2nd Cycles) * Professorate of English Language (3rd Cycle Basic and Middle Education)

Postgraduate programs

* Master in Iberoamerican Philosophy * Master in Social Sciences * Master in Political Sciences * Master in Latin American Theology * Master in Local Development * Master in Criminal Constitutional Law * Master in Applied Statistics to Investigation * Master in Environmental Management * Master in Industrial Maintenance Management * Master in Public Health * Master in Communitarian Psychology * Master in Educational Evaluation and Politics * Master in Communications * Master in Finance * Master in Financial Audit * Master in Business Law * Master in Business Administration * Doctorate in Iberoamerican Philosophy * Doctorate in Social SciencesGraduate
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References

Official website
{{authority control Universities in El Salvador Jesuit universities and colleges Educational institutions established in 1965 San Salvador 1965 establishments in El Salvador