Higher University of San Andrés (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA or Major University of San Andrés) is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of
La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Bolivia, after the
University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca (1624).
It is one of the most prestigious higher academic centers in the country. As of 2013, UMSA had around 80,434 registered students, making it the university with the largest student body in Bolivia. Several presidents of Bolivia have studied at the university.
In 2017, the QS Latin American University Rankings placed UMSA as the best Bolivian university and in the position 91 of the Latin American Universities.
History
The university was founded by
Andrés de Santa Cruz by Supreme Decree on 25 October 1830.
Owing to its being situated in the nation's seat of government, La Paz, the Higher University of San Andrés has since its founding influenced the social life and history of Bolivia. The university's history consists of three well-defined periods. From its inception in 1830 until a June 1930 revolution the university was official.
From 1930 to the 1936 advent of the University
Rectorate, position filled by Héctor Ormachea Zalles, the university was a semi-autonomous or
municipal university.
From then until the present, the university has been
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
.
Headquarters
The building that now hosts the university's main offices, known as Monoblock, is located on Avenue Villazón. It was designed in 1942 by architect
Emilio Villanueva and is considered an iconic example of
Bolivian architecture. The building is part of a university complex inspired by
Pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
architecture that never fully materialized. Construction started in 1942 and concluded on 4 July 1947. It was criticized for being the first
skyscraper in the city.
It is also an epicenter of
social movements and many congregate there after marching downtown.
It has 13 floors, 11 of which are used for classrooms. It contains the most complete library in the country, an auditorium that is open to the public for various events, and a
semi-subterranean garden with access to the central
atrium
Atrium may refer to:
Anatomy
* Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart
* Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods
* Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain
* Pulmona ...
. The library was created in 1930.
Due to the high demand for rooms, various
pavilion
In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings:
* It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
s and two buildings were built in the surrounding areas. They are separated from Monoblock by open areas and the remnants of the military college, also designed by Villanueva.
Colleges
The university has the following colleges
*Law and Political Sciences
*Medicin
website*Architecture, Arts, Design, and Plannin
website*Social Science
website*Economics and Finance
*Humanities and Educatio
website*Pharmaceutical and Biochemical Science
website*Engineerin
website*Mechanics
*Pure and Natural Science
website(which maintains the
Max Schreier Planetarium and the
Astronomical Observatory of Patacamaya)
*Dentistry
*Agronomy
*Earth Sciences
Notable alumni
*
Ana Teresa Morales, economist, professor, and politician
*
Eduardo del Castillo
Carlos Eduardo del Castillo del Carpio (born 27 December 1988) is a Bolivian lawyer and politician currently serving as the Minister of Government of Bolivia since 9 November 2020.
Biography
Eduardo del Castillo was born on 27 December 1988 i ...
, lawyer and politician
Doctor honoris causa
*
Gregorio Baro, Argentine scientist
*
Jaime Escalante, Educator
*
Eduardo Bayro, Bolivian scientist, expert in geometric algebra
*
Takaaki Kajita
is a Japanese physicist, known for neutrino experiments at the Kamioka Observatory – Kamiokande and its successor, Super-Kamiokande. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Canadian physicist Arthur B. McDonald. On 1 ...
, Nobel Prize in Physics 2015
References
External links
Official page of the Higher University of San AndrésCentral Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higher University of San Andres
Universities in Bolivia
Educational institutions established in 1830
Schools in La Paz
Buildings and structures in La Paz Department (Bolivia)
1830 establishments in Bolivia