National University of San Marcos

The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educational institution at the national level. At the continental level, it is the first officially established ( privilege by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) and the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas, which is why it appears in official documents and publications as "''University of Peru, Dean University of the Americas''". It had its beginnings in the general studies that were offered in the cloisters of the convent of the Rosario of the order of Santo Domingo —current Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo— around 1548. Its official foundation was conceived by Fray Thomas de San Martín on May 12, 1551; with the decree of Emperor Carlos I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1571, it acquired the degree of pontifical granted by Pope Pius V with which it ended up being named as "Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima". Being recognized by the Spanish Crown as the first university in America officially founded by Real cédula, it is also referred to as "''University of Lima''" throughout the Viceroyalty. Throughout its history, the university had a total of four colleges under tutelage: the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Martín and the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Felipe y San Marcos, the Real Colegio de San Carlos —focused on law and letters, derived from the merger of the two previous ones—and the Royal College of San Fernando—focused on medicine and surgery—. In the times of emancipation, it acquired a main role in the formation of several of the leaders managing the independence of Peru. After the proclamation of independence and during the republic, it maintains both colloquially and formally —in various treaties and documents historical—its name as "''Universidad de Lima''" until 1946, the year in which its current name and denomination as National and ''Major'' University were made official.

The University of San Marcos is considered the most important and representative Peruvian institution of higher education for its "tradition, prestige, quality and selectivity", being also recognized as the institution with the highest scientific production in Peru.

It has positioned itself in the 1st place at the national level in certain editions of various university rankings, such as in the first University Ranking of Peru prepared by the National Assembly of Rectors of Peru under the auspices of UNESCO in 2006, in the ''University Rankings by Academic Performance of the URAP Center'', in various editions of the QS World University Rankings by ''Quacquarelli Simonds'', in the ''Web Rankings of Universities'' prepared by CSIC and known as ''Webometrics'', in the ''University Web Rankings'' by 4ICU,'' en los ''University Web Rankings'' por 4ICU, and in the ''SIR World Reports'' by SCImago Research Center;'' being together with the UPCH (created by professors from the Faculty of Medicine of San Fernando) and the PUCP (whose founder and benefactor were sanmarquinos graduate), one of the only three Peruvian universities that have appeared in such a position, as well as the only public one to do so. In addition, it has a ten-year institutional license granted by the National Superintendence of Higher University Education (SUNEDU) and some international institutional accreditations that certifies its academic and administrative quality. In terms of research, according to information from the Scopus database, the University of San Marcos is to date the 1st Peruvian institution in the production of scientific articles, both annually and historically. Various influential Peruvians and Latin Americans have come out of its classrooms, all recognizing and valuing the high level of teaching and the active and important intellectual participation that the university and its students had throughout the history of Peru. The University of San Marcos has been referred to many times as a reflection of Peru for expressing the advances and limitations that the country eventually has, in addition to the valued diversity, preparation and activism of its students. Twenty-one Presidents of the Republic of Peru, five Peruvian candidates for Nobel Prizes of Physics, Literature and Peace —of the total of six Peruvians nominated between 1901 and 1964, the only period currently published by the Norwegian Committee— and a Nobel Prize winner —Mario Vargas Llosa, until now the only Peruvian with such recognition— they have been graduates, researchers and/or professors of this university.

In its 471 years of operation, the University of San Marcos has passed through several locations, of which it maintains and stands out: the " Casona de San Marcos", a historic location of the university with more than 400 years of history —part of the area and of the list of buildings in the Historic Center of Lima that were recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988—and that are currently the venue for the main cultural activities and the granting of high degrees by the university; the current premises of the "San Fernando" Faculty of Medicine, inaugurated in 1901 for the first medical school in the country; and the so-called “ University City”, which has been its main headquarters since 1960, where most of the faculties, the central library, the university stadium and the rectory are located, and most of the academic and research activities are carried out. All these premises are located in the Cercado de Lima. The University of San Marcos currently has 66 professional schools, grouped into 20 faculties, and these in turn in 5 academic areas, being the Peruvian university that covers the largest number of university subjects. All faculties offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. It also has various centers, institutions and dependencies, such as its cultural centers, museums, libraries, clinics and university clinics, editorial fund, among others. In addition, through its "Domingo Angulo" historical archive, the university preserves documents and writings of great historical relevance dating from the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. In 2019, the “Colonial Fund and Foundational Documents of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos: 1551-1852” was incorporated into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, in recognition of its significance for the global collective memory.

History

The origin of the National University of San Marcos is also the origin of higher education in Peru and the Americas, which dates back to the General Studies carried out in the cloisters of the Convent of the Rosario of the Order of Santo Domingo—current Basilica and Convento de Santo Domingo—, near the Plaza de Armas in Lima around 1548, whose main objective was to satisfy the needs of the training and education of the clergy in the new territory conquered from the Spanish Empire. Subsequently, the Lima town council would send Fray Tomás de San Martín and Captain Juan Jerónimo de Aliaga to Spain, who —largely thanks to the efforts of the former— obtained the founding order of the university from Emperor Carlos I of Spain. and V of the Holy Roman Empire and Queen Juana I of Castile, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, through the Royal Provision issued on May 12, 1551 in Valladolid; In this way, the foundation of the Royal University of the City of Kings, also referred to as the Royal University of Lima, was officially carried out. The reading also of the Royal Certificate, which officially authorizes the operation of the "University of Lima", indicates as a mission: "indoctrinate the residents of these lands in the Christian faith and submission to the King." With this principle, the university began to function officially on January 2, 1553, in the Chapter House of the Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Order of Santo Domingo, under the direction of its first rector Fray Juan Bautista de la Roca; the initial chair was taught by Andrés Cianca and Corona Cosme Carrillo, under the supervision of the rector.

The orientation, in principle strictly monastic, as well as the exclusivism and conservation of the Dominicans, and the continuous decrease in members of other congregations gave rise to the Dominicans losing predominance and also generated a reaction on the part of lay teachers; the demand for greater openness led them to ask the Royal Court for compliance with the Royal Decree of 1570, which provided for a free election of the rector by the teachers of the cloister. The claim fell on Viceroy Francisco Álvarez de Toledo who favored and ended the claim with the election of Pedro Fernández de Valenzuela on May 11, 1571, the first lay rector, and the significant change in the orientation of the university. The official status of the university is reaffirmed by the papal bull Exponi Nobis of Saint Pius V of July 25, 1571, after receiving the Royal Pass from the Council of the Indies; in it he avoided the ecclesiastical courts by declaring that "it absolves friars, readers, teachers, students and any of you from any and all censures, sentences and ecclesiastical penalties, for any reason and cause contracted", likewise the university acquires with this bull its pontifical degree, which is why it is renamed the Royal and Pontifical University of the City of the Kings of Lima. Produced this first reform, the university moved to its second location, near the outskirts of San Marcelo, where the Convent of the Order of Saint Augustine had previously operated. On September 6, 1574, the official name of the university was chosen by lot —among the names of the four evangelists—, finally resulting in the official name of Royal and Pontifical University of San Marcos (Saint Mark), and therefore Mark the Evangelist as patron saint of the University. In 1575, the university changes its establishment again and is located in the old Plaza del Estanque, later called Plaza de la Inquisición, where the building of the Congress of Peru is currently located, place where it would continue its operation throughout the time of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The officially named University of San Marcos, then also known as "''University of Lima''", began its work in the viceregal era with the faculties of Theology and Arts, later the canons of Law and Medicine would be created, however in the academic field the norms that governed in Spain were adopted, that is to say, it began its functions with the teaching of Philosophy as the basis for any other higher study. On July 7, 1579, the «Chair of the General Language of the Indians» was established for the study of the most widespread family of Andean languages among the natives during the Inca Empire and the Viceroyalty of Peru: Quechua; its first professor was Juan de Balboa. On November 27, 1579, the professors asked King Philip II for the institution of jurisdiction that governed the University of Salamanca, a medieval legal figure —an antecedent of the current university autonomy— that empowered the rector so that, with the exclusion of the ordinary courts, had civil and criminal jurisdiction over the members of the faculty. In 1581, and after the absolute presence of lay rectors between 1571 and 1581, Viceroy Francisco Álvarez de Toledo authorized that clerics and laymen could be elected; Thus, both sectors alternately governed the University of San Marcos, during the colonial period, until 1820.

The support for the secularization of the University of San Marcos given by Viceroy Francisco Álvarez de Toledo and for the institution of the jurisdiction exercised by its rector, and also exercised by the rector of the Royal Convictory of San Carlos, founded on July 7, 1770, They were the decisive factors that led the university community, students and professors, towards the realization of the Bolognese ideal that conceived the university as a space of freedom. In this way, the intellectual climate that made it possible to question and criticize the colonial system began to emerge. Between 1792 and 1811, the anatomical amphitheater and medicine chairs began to develop in the historic location of the Royal Hospital of San Andrés. At that time, both the University of San Marcos and the College of Law and Letters of San Carlos and the College of Medicine of San Fernando — later incorporated into it — began to be carefully watched by the Viceroy, due to the fact that they house professors and students suspected of envisioning and managing the end of the colonial regime and the emergence of what is today the Peruvian Republic. Presumably it was the privileges enjoyed by both the university and the convictory, which allowed the entry of Enlightenment thought into its cloisters, thus the theoretical and ideological doctrinal approaches of emancipation arose within it. In 1813, during the administration of Viceroy José Fernando de Abascal, the “San Fernando” Faculty of Medicine's name was established in homage to King Ferdinand VII of Spain, in Plaza de Santa Ana —today Plaza Italia— in the premises occupied by the Ministry of Government, the faculty was formed based on the College of Medicine of the same name that was located in the Plaza del Estanque. Throughout its history, the university had a total of four colleges under its tutelage: the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Martín and the Colegio Real y Mayor de San Felipe y San Marcos, the Real Colegio de San Carlos —focused on law and letters, derived from the merger of the two previous ones—and the Royal College of San Fernando—focused on medicine and surgery—.

In the times of emancipation, the university acquires a main role in the formation of several of the main managing leaders of the independence of Peru. From the legal point of view in relation to property, the University of San Marcos, which belonged to the monarchical State, became part of the young Republic of Peru since its independence in 1821. The First Constituent Congress of Peru, which defined as reality and as a project for the new Peruvian Republic, it was initially chaired by the former rector of the University of San Marcos, Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza; Of the 64 constituent deputies, 54 were San Marcos' alumnus and Carolines'; and the place where this great assembly met was the Chapel of the University of San Marcos. Today, the Congress of the Republic of Peru continues to function in that same location. In 1822 the university hands over its collection of 50,000 books to form the newly founded National Library of Peru. In 1840, the Colleges of San Carlos and San Fernando are taken over by the University of San Marcos. During the government of Ramón Castilla, San Marcos was officially empowered by the president to approve new universities and control the newly created ones. Throughout the 19th century, the premises of the University of San Marcos abandoned its academic functions, becoming more regular as a space for meetings of the Chamber of Deputies and the Congress of the Republic. The absence of care and the partial abandonment of their university functions led to a gradual deterioration of their environments. It is in this context of the end of the 19th century that the university completely donates its premises to the then still young Congress of the Republic of Peru.

The exponential growth of the city during the industrial revolution of the 19th century, in addition to the efforts of the then President of Peru Manuel Pardo to improve the city's architecture and urban planning during the 1870s, forced the university to move to a new campus adjacent to the former Jesuit monastery where the Royal Convictory of San Carlos resided —currently this is called the “Casona of the University Park” or simply the “ Casona of San Marcos”—. In those years, San Marcos was already considered the tutelary nucleus of scientific and cultural institutions during the Viceroyalty and the nascent Republic; To this was added the fact that its professors, graduates and even students were part of missions that created various Hispanic American universities. In 1878, during the government of Manuel Pardo, the General Regulation of Public Instruction was issued, instituting the concept of major and minor universities, the first title corresponding to San Marcos and the second to the universities of Arequipa and Cusco. During the War of the Pacific and specifically during the occupation of Lima by Chilean troops, art and cultural objects and assets were taken from the university in order to be taken to Chile by sea. At the end of the 19th century, the “San Fernando” Faculty of Medicine, which was located in a building in the old Plaza de Santa Ana —today Plaza Italia—, moved to its current location in the Orchard of Mestas, that of the historic premises on Avenida Grau, Barrios Altos in the historic center of Lima. Once the war ended, by law of 1901 it is stated that Peruvian university education corresponds to the National University of San Marcos and the minor universities of Trujillo, Cusco and Arequipa, which were later joined by the Catholic University of Lima and technical schools.

At the beginning of the 20th century, university activists promoted a reform within the University of San Marcos; this effort transcended the limits of the university and became a reflection of a great social movement in Peru. The university reform planned access to education for the middle and popular classes, which until then had a minority presence in San Marcos. These ideals began a long tradition of student activism at the university and altered the Peruvian political landscape. In 1909 the students of the University of San Marcos had an active participation in protests against the Peruvian dictatorial governments. In 1916 the Federation of Students of Peru (FEP) was established, led mainly by students from San Marcos. The FEP's demands included university reforms such as updating curricula, removing untrained faculty, and eliminating Peruvian government interference in the university. During the government of President Augusto Leguía, the university educational system was reorganized and university autonomy was granted. In 1928, Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, visited Peru. In his speech during the banquet offered by Peruvian President Augusto B. Leguía, the American president highlighted Lima as a ''"center of civilization"'' and the Major University of San Marcos as the "''dean of knowledge"''.

From the colonial era, through independence and the republic until 1946, the university was referred to both colloquially and formally —in various treaties and historical documents— as “University of Lima”; that year its name was made official as the ''Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos'', a name that remains to this day. Between the 1950s and 1960s, the influx of more middle-class students at the University of San Marcos led the government to emphasize and create scientific and university research areas. In 1951, as a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the University of San Marcos, the university acquires a new piece of land to build the new University City, where the Stadium of the University of San Marcos was inaugurated that same year. On the occasion of the quadricentennial, a ceremony was also held that brought together the rectors of the main Ibero-American universities, who decided to give her the title and recognition of "Dean of America". Due to this —and also given its primacy in the country— the university has since retained the names of University of Peru and Dean of the Americas. In 1958, a significant incident occurs during the visit of then Vice President Richard Nixon, who would later become the 37th president of the United States and also the first president to resign after the Watergate scandal. Nixon had scheduled a conference at the University of San Marcos as part of his visit to Latin America, however this did not take place due to the protest of San Marcos, who spoke out against US policy in the region with phrases such as: ''Nixon, Go Home!.'' Given the incident, the conference was transferred to the Catholic University of Lima, where Nixon had a particularly bad reception.

In the mid-1960s, due to the need for even more space, several faculties of the university began to move to the Ciudad Universitaria site, where 17 of the 20 faculties of the university are currently located. This new campus is located in an area that housed archaeological complexes of the Maranga Culture, these were restored and protected —as in the case of Huaca San Marcos—, after having been partially destroyed during the construction of Av. Venezuela in the 1940s. In 1969, the system of organization by academic departments —today academic schools— was also introduced. On September 22, 1984, the current statute of the university was promulgated. With nearly 40,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty, the university offers undergraduate studies in 65 areas, master's degrees in 77, and doctorates in 27, making it the largest academic offer in the country today. It currently has 20 faculties grouped into 6 main blocks, its academic departments publish several specialized journals and it operates 3 important museums in Lima as well as research institutes. According to UNESCO criteria and indicators, the University of San Marcos is the only university in Peru that covers the various areas of knowledge such as pure sciences, human sciences, historical-social sciences, health sciences, economic-business sciences and techniques and engineering.

Currently, despite the budget limitations in the Peruvian university system, the University of San Marcos is considered the most important and representative Peruvian institution of higher education due to its "tradition, prestige, quality and admission selectivity", being also recognized as the institution with the highest scientific production in Peru.

It has been considered the best in Peru according to university rankings such as that of the National Assembly of Rectors of Peru in 2006, which was sponsored by UNESCO, the 2010, 2011 and 2012 University Ranking by Academic Performance produced by the URAP Center, the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 of the QS World University Rankings, the SIR World Report prepared by SCImago Research Center in 2009, 2010 and 2011; the 2020 and 2022 Scopus national scientific production ranking, the University Web Ranking by 4ICU of 2015 and 2016, and the world ranking of Webometrics universities of the Spanish National Research Council for 2011-I, 2012-I, and 2021, in which it was located in the 1st place.

In addition, it has a 10-year institutional license granted by the National Superintendence of Higher University Education (SUNEDU) and international institutional accreditations that certify its academic and administrative quality.

Different influential Peruvians and Latin Americans have left their classrooms; all acknowledging and valuing the high level of teaching of the university as the main educational entity in the country, as well as highlighting the active and important intellectual participation that the university and its students had throughout the history of Peru. The University of San Marcos has been referred to many times as a reflection of Peru for having manifested and been part of the limitations and problems that eventually affected the country, however, the diversity and preparation of its students is recognized.

In 2010, the Nobel Prize was awarded to a Peruvian for the first time, Mario Vargas Llosa, was awarded this distinction. Vargas Llosa is one of the most illustrious students that the University of San Marcos has had, in this sense, the university awarded him the title of Doctor honoris causa in 2001. As a tribute for obtaining the Nobel Prize, on March 30, 2011, within the framework of the celebrations for its 460th anniversary, the University of San Marcos distinguished Vargas Llosa with his highest decoration: the San Marcos Medal of Honor in the degree of Grand Cross; He also created a chair that bears his name and opened a museum room about the writer and his years in his alma mater. The ceremony was held in the "Casona de San Marcos" and was attended by intellectuals from San Marcos who have also been colleagues, friends and teachers of Vargas Llosa. In 2018, the Meritorious Society Founders of Independence recognized the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos as a Meritorious institution by virtue of its participation, value and historical significance in the construction and defense of Peru, also placing the university's banner in the Hall of the Heroes. In 2019, the university awards, for the first time in its modern history, a doctoral degree based on a thesis written and defended entirely in Quechua, thus marking a historic milestone for the development of research in Native American languages in the country and the region.

About the importance of the University of San Marcos in the history of Peru and America, the Liberator Simón Bolívar said the day he received the degree of ''Doctor Honoris Causa'':

About the importance of the University of San Marcos as the oldest Pan American university institution, Albert Einstein expressed when receiving the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa in the framework of the 400th anniversary of the university commemorated in 1951:

About the importance of the University of San Marcos, Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Prize for Literature 2010, said the day he was decorated by his ''alma mater'':

The first and oldest university in America

The Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551, is the oldest university in the Americas, being the university that has been in continuous operation for the longest time since its foundation, and the only one of the American universities founded during the 16th century. to remain in operation without permanent closure from then to the present. The continuous operation is relevant when observing the cases of several universities founded in the colonial era that were finally closed during the Spanish-American wars of independence or due to internal conflicts. Due to its age and continuity, and on the occasion of the four hundredth anniversary of its foundation, in 1951 a ceremony was held that brought together the rectors of the main Ibero-American universities, who decided to give it the title and recognition of "Dean of the Americas".

Regarding the primacy of a university in America, there are two universities that can receive this distinction:

* The Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, which was the first university founded by Royal Provision and authorized by Royal Decree in America, on May 12, 1551. This implies that it was the first university officially and solemnly constituted by the Spanish Crown in America, that is, fulfilling all the royal and canonical formalities required at the time. The General Archive of the Indies, which has documents from the Spanish colonial period between the 16th and 18th centuries, does not contain official documents prior to 1551 that recognize a university or institution of higher education prior to the University of San Marcos.
* The University of Santo Tomás de Aquino, which has an unofficial priority among the universities of America based on the bull In Apostolatus Culmine of Paul III, dated October 28, 1538. However, it did not have the royal pass of the King Charles I of Spain, that is, did not have the required royal approval until February 23, 1558. On August 2, 1758, King Ferdinand VI of Spain would issue a royal decree prohibiting the University of Santo Tomás from calling itself the primacy of America, as such historical attribution did not correspond to it above the universities of San Marcos in Lima, Mexico and others in the Americas. Centuries later, the University of Santo Tomás de Aquino would be closed at the beginning of the 19th century due to internal wars in the Dominican Republic.

It is important to mention that both the University of San Marcos and the University of Santo Tomás de Aquino —and by extension the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico— began to function as general studies and to deliver degrees on undetermined dates before becoming official as universities, reason for which it is necessary for historians to establish starting points for the origin of the first universities in America, these being the documents with which the foundation of each university was authorized. The legal and real validity of each document remains in debate, as well as the results of future historical-legal research on the emergence of the university and higher education in America.

University symbols

Since its foundation in 1551, the University of San Marcos has had various institutional symbols, among which the following stand out:
* Emblem: Since its foundation until 1574, the first official shield showed an image of the Virgen del Rosario, considered the patron saint of the Dominican friars; on the right, a representation of the Pacific Ocean and below a lime —fruit, referring to the city of Lima—. The coat of arms was approved by King Carlos I of Spain in 1551. By the end of 1570, after the papal bull of Pius V, the coat of arms was modified, replacing the image of the Virgen del Rosario with that of the new patron of the university, the apostle Saint Mark and the Lion. The colors that were used in that coat of arms are ignored, since the documents in the century were only black and white. It was not until 1929 that the colors: blue for the ocean, black or brown for the image of the saint, light blue for the background and silver for the columns, became widespread. The second original shield with the image of San Marcos has been the longest-lasting symbol of the university: it was used for almost four hundred years. In 1929 the original colors mentioned in the ancient texts were officially introduced: blue for the ocean, black or brown for the image of the saint, light blue for the background and silver for the columns, etc. This last update of the shield is the one that is used today, following a tradition that dates back to the middle of the century. Below is the original description given on the shield by the Constitution of the University of San Marcos of 1578:

* Flag: In ancient manuscripts there are references to an official banner of the University of San Marcos, it was indicated that it was composed of the university's major shield centered on a white background; this description gave rise to the appearance of banners and flags of the university that followed these patterns during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. During the 20th century, concern arose to formalize the use of a single institutional flag for the university. Although the use of a white flag with the shield of the university in the center had already been generalized, its use was recently made official through a rectoral resolution on June 14, 2010, indicating that for historical reasons it was decided to place the official emblem: shield of the university, on a white background that contains all the chromatic possibilities of the light spectrum, referring to the variety of colors that individually distinguish each faculty in academic and sports activities.
* Anthem: The university anthem is regularly performed at special ceremonies and anniversaries of the University of San Marcos, mainly by the University Choir. The lyrics of the anthem were composed by Manuel Tarazona Camacho and the music by Luis Craff Zevallos.

The National University of San Marcos also mentions other symbolic documents for the university. Among them are the Royal Certificate by which King Carlos I of Spain authorized the foundation of the university in 1551, and the Quipu found in the Huaca San Marcos, both remain in the custody of the university as documents and materials of high historical value.

Administration and organization

Government

The University of San Marcos was originally governed by clerics of monastic orders; during the Age of Enlightenment, the Bourbon reforms transformed it into a secular institution, which continues to this day.

Currently, the governing bodies of the university are:
* University Assembly: It is the highest governing body in the university. It is made up of: the rector and the two vice-rectors, the deans of the faculties, the director of the graduate school, representatives of the teachers, representatives of the students —which constitute a third of the total number of members of the assembly—, representatives of the graduates, and the president of the Federation of students of the University of San Marcos with the right to speak, without vote. Administrative officials of the highest level can also attend the assembly, when they are required as advisors, without the right to vote. The main attributions of the university assembly are: the modification of the statute of the university, requiring in such case the majority of its capable members; approve the General Plan for the development and operation of the university and carry out its evaluation annually; pronounce and intervene in matters of general interest of the university and in special cases requested by the university council; in the same way, it is in charge of the election of the rector and vice-rectors, as well as declaring the vacancy of these positions.
* University Council: It is the body in charge of the direction and execution of the university. It is made up of the rector —who chairs it—, the two vice-rectors, the deans of the faculties, the director of the graduate school, student representatives —a third of the total number of council members—, a representative of the graduates and the president of the Federation of students with the right to speak, without vote. Just as in the university assembly, administrative officials of the highest level can attend the council when they are required as advisers, without the right to vote. The powers of the council are: to formulate the general plan for the development and operation of the university, as well as to establish its policies; formulate and approve the general regulations of the university, the election regulations and other special regulations and present them to the university assembly for its ratification, confer academic degrees and professional titles approved by the faculties, grant honorary distinctions, recognize and revalidate studies and recognize degrees and titles from foreign universities when the university is authorized to do so.
* Rectorate: The Rectorate is the university's governing body consisting mainly of the Rector. The rector is the first executive authority of the university, as well as its legal representative and its institutional image. The University of San Marcos has had 216 rectors since its foundation, various characters have assumed the rectorship of the university throughout the viceregal and republican era of Peru, so the rector magnificus is also a symbol of institutional continuity since the foundation. until the present. The current rector is Mrs. Jeri Ramón Ruffner, a certified public accountant, who is also the first woman elected to this institutional position.
* Vice-Rectorate: It is made up of two vice-rectors: one undergraduate academic and the other for research and postgraduate. The current ones in charge are Carlos Carranza and José Niño

The government and administration of the faculties and schools are in charge of the Deans and the School Directors, respectively. In addition, the postgraduate units of each faculty are in charge of their respective directors, with the Director of the Graduate School being the general director.

Academics

Admission

Admission for undergraduate studies is mainly through an entrance examination. Although there are ways to carry out a special exam in the case of transfers, foreigners, first places in schools and for the disabled, the most required type of exam is the ordinary one that is carried out twice a year: in March and in September. The entrance exam of the National University of San Marcos is considered the most rigorous admission exam for undergraduate studies in Peru, being statistically the most selective at the national level; This is mainly due to its difficulty and the large number of applicants that the university has. Precisely, this is expressed in the very strong competition that is generated in the admission of new students, with approximately 60,000 applicants per year for around 6,000 vacancies —divided into two admission processes: March and September, and which includes applicants who take the ordinary general exam and/or the pre-university center exam—, the selectivity ratio in admission being approximately 10%. Since 2016, the new evaluation method for each admission contest is the application of the cognitive skills test to the applicants (Test DECO®), which seeks that the applicants demonstrate ability and critical reasoning, before theorizing and memorizing when responding on different topics evaluated. It consists of an evaluation of 100 questions -30 of skills (5 in English language) and 70 of knowledge- which lasts three hours. In the case of postgraduate studies, both for master's degrees, specializations and doctorates, admission is made through enrollment in the Postgraduate School of the University of San Marcos. As there are a limited number of vacancies, an admission exam is carried out that is prepared and graded by a special jury according to the area of study to which it is applied. There is also high competition in this process. In 2020, after the suspension of the first admission exam on March 12, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after spending more than 6 months without applying it. The University Council decided to approve the application of the admission exam on-line, being the first of its kind in the history of the university, on October 2 and 3 of that same year.

Faculties

The original faculties at San Marcos were Theology, Arts (the old Scholastic term for what is now known as academic Philosophy) and Law; Jurisprudence, and Medicine were added later in the colonial period. The Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Economics and Commerce were created in the mid-19th century. The Faculty of Science was subdivided by specialities in the 20th century.

The Faculty of Theology obtains autonomy and was closed in 1935. But it currently functions as a Catholic institution affiliated with the Peruvian university system such as the ''Faculty of Pontifical and Civil Theology of Lima'' or the ''San José Catholic University''.

In the mid-1990s, San Marcos' departments were grouped into four academic blocks. Nowadays, San Marcos' faculties are grouped into 6 academic areas.

Libraries and museums

Research

Throughout its history, the National University of San Marcos has significantly contributed to the scientific development of Peru. Currently, the National University of San Marcos is one of the few Peruvian universities that conducts research – only 10 out of over 80 universities. This is mostly due to the fact the national government has not properly financed research development in the last decades.

Regarding development of research activities of San Marcos, halfway through the 20th century, the Peruvian government issued provisions to place emphasis and create areas of scientific and student-led research. As a result, throughout these years many museums and institutes have been created within San Marcos to promote research in different areas of human knowledge. During the last years of the decade of 1990 and the beginning of 2000, the university renewed its research system through the assignation of specific projects to diverse academic departments.

There are currently over 30 centers, units and institutes of research in San Marcos. Each one of these centers or institutes are grouped according to the academic area where they develop their research, therefore they are categorized in the following general areas: health sciences, basic sciences, engineering, economy-business, and humanities.

According to their area of study, the research centers have specialized museums and laboratories where they develop and display their work. Each institute also has their own publications where they present reports and results of the work of their researchers.

Rankings

Together with the Cayetano Heredia University and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, the National University of San Marcos is one of the only three Peruvian universities, and so far the only public one, which has managed to rank first nationally in several editions of different international university rankings. In 2021, the ''Webometrics Ranking of World Universities'' of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) ranked the National University of San Marcos as the best university in the country, in its first ranking of the year.

Campuses

University city

The University City of the National University of San Marcos (acronym: CU-UNMSM), generally known as the University City of Lima, is the main campus of the university and is located in Lima District.

In the University City of San Marcos are located the main administrative facilities of the university, such as the rectory. It is home to 17 of the 20 faculties of the University of San Marcos, the central library and the San Marcos University Stadium.

Casona of the National University of San Marcos

The Cultural Center "La Casona" of San Marcos (acronym: CCSM), commonly known as "La Casona" of the University Park, is the main historical site of the university. Founded as the headquarters of the Jesuit novitiate of Saint Antony Aboot, it became the central headquarters of the university in 1861, remaining as such until the 1960s, when the university moved to its current campus in the University City of Lima. After its recent restoration, the "Casona" is the main reference of the cultural and artistic activity of the University, and one of the best preserved constructions of the colonial era in the city of Lima. It is one of the main tourist attractions of the Historic Center of Lima. The complex is part of the area and the list of buildings in the historic center of the capital that in 1988 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

San Fernando Campus

The '' Faculty of Medicine of the National University of San Marcos "San Fernando"'' (acronym: FMSF-UNMSM) is one of the twenty faculties that make up the said university. The faculty, within the organization of the university, is part of the Health Sciences area and has the Schools of Human Medicine, Obstetrics, Nursing, Medical Technology and Nutrition, which offer both undergraduate and graduate studies. In its surroundings there is also the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, the Botanical Garden of Lima, the Center for Medical Students and the Central Morgue of Lima.

Student life

Cultural organizations

The University of San Marcos has organizations and departments that promote cultural activities:

* University Ballet: The San Marcos Ballet (BSM) has been in existence for more than forty years. Its main venue for the ballet school and its presentations is the premises of the San Marcos Cultural Center.

* Language Center: The National University of San Marcos Languages Center is the institution in charge of offering courses in: English, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Quechua, Korean and Spanish for foreigners. It has a laboratory equipped with video and individual audio booths. It offers the courses at different times, daily, every other day and only on weekends. The language center of the University of San Marcos offers its courses to the university community and the general public, it works mainly in the premises of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences

* Film and Television: The current direction of film and television in San Marcos has its main antecedent in the "Cinema Arte de San Marcos", an organization that held its first session in 1967 in the Casona. Since then film screenings, conferences, exhibitions and seminars have been held regularly. Since 2006, workshops have been given by filmmakers such as Giovanna Pollarolo, Josué Méndez and Armando Robles Godoy.

* University Choir of San Marcos: The choir of the University of San Marcos (CUSM) was founded in November 1954 at the request of several San Marcos students. Its first director was the musicologist, arranger and composer Rosa Alarco Larrabure.

* University Theater of San Marcos: The theater of the University of San Marcos (TUSM) was founded on September 4, 1946 in Lima, at the request of several students from the Faculty of Letters, with Manuel Beltroy as director and only teacher at the time; this being the first initiative in Peru for a university theater program.

* Tuna de San Marcos: The university tuna was created by the initiative of some young students in 1996. In recent years, the University of San Marcos tuna has participated in various contests and meetings in the region.

* San Marcos Female Tuna: Better known as the tuniña, it was founded in 1999 at the initiative of the university female students.

Popular culture

* Ricardo Palma recounts in one of the stories of his Peruvian Traditions, entitled El patronato de San Marcos, how the institution acquired its current name in the 16th century and Mark the Evangelist as its patron —as well as, by extension, the Lion of Saint Mark as his pet.
* Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest university in ''America'' (United States). In turn, the University of San Marcos, founded in the City of the Kings in 1551, is in a way its "counterpart" and "sister", being the oldest university in the Americas and Latin America. This historical peculiarity has contributed to the recent significant increase in cooperation between the two institutions in terms of student exchange, promotion of studies, teacher training and support for researchers. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a program where more than 20 teachers and 140 students (the first two places in each professional school at the end of General Studies and student leaders) from the National University of San Marcos traveled to receive training through 15 days at Harvard University.
* In 1937 the “Clock Tower” of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras was erected; it includes the shields of the University of San Marcos on the left, the shield of the University of Puerto Rico in the center, and the shield of Harvard University on the right.
* The novel Conversation in the Cathedral (1969) by the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, has Santiago Zavala as its protagonist, who narrates various events of his life through the novel, one of which is his time at the University of San Marcos during the government of Manuel Odria.
* In the 1991 version of the 20 nuevos soles bill —currently still in circulation together with the 2011 version— there is the image of the San Marcos professor and diplomat Raúl Porras Barrenechea. To the side you can see the main patio of the Casona of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, where he taught. In the 2011 version, the image of Raúl Porras Barrenechea continued.
* The University of San Marcos has several traditions and characters typical of the contemporary university culture of Peru. Among the best-known traditions are the pre-university times, the verbenas (artistic parties) of each faculty, as well as the presentations of the sikuris; while among the best-known characters is the diner called the "Gusano Legendario" (the one who becomes the first to receive his ration during the Christmas and Independence Day meals), the late pet named "Perrovaca" dog who surrounded around the central dining room until 2019, the mascots of the faculties, and the internal mobility service where each bus is referred to as the "Burro"

Athletics

The University of San Marcos has been very important in university sports activity in Peru. On August 7, 1924, San Marcos students founded the University Sports Federation of Peru (FEDUP). Since 1936, this federation has organized the National University Sports Games, the Regional University Sports Games and the National University Championships. In addition, since 1963 it has participated in the Universiade.

Most university sports activities take place in the Gymnasium and in the San Marcos University Stadium. Sports and disciplines include: soccer, futsal, volleyball, rugby, shooting, table tennis, basketball, athletics, long-distance running (middle-distance running and long-distance running), handball, Olympic swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, Greco-Roman wrestling, karate, judo, kung fu, wushu, taekwondo, aikido, capoeira, wing chun, taichi, xing yi quan, pa kua chang, chi kung, powerlifting, weightlifting, aerobics, rhythmic gymnastics, fencing, among others. Parallel to this, the university has a lot of teams that participate in the national and regional leagues of different sports.

Likewise, for the celebration of the 2019 Pan American Games, the Organizing Committee of Lima 2019 chose various sports facilities located between the city of Lima, as well as in Callao, as Pan American venues. Among them, the National University of San Marcos, which had its stadium remodeled to host the event.

In the case of soccer, which is the most popular sport in Peru, it has always had special significance for San Marcos students. Throughout its history, the University of San Marcos has had various professional football teams, including the University Football Federation (Club Universitario de Deportes), founded in 1924 by students of the association of the representative teams of the Faculties of the then Royal and Pontifical University of San Marcos and the Special Schools of Engineering, Agronomy and Central Normal until was separated from the university and became private due to problems with the authorities in 1932; and the Deportivo Universidad San Marcos that came to dispute the second division until 2012.

Basketball: San Marcos competes in the top league in Lima, the Liga de Basket de Lima

Notable alumni and academics

*Mario Vargas Llosa, novelist, Nobel Prize in Literature (2010)
* Esther Festini, first woman alumna
* Miguelina Acosta Cárdenas, first woman to graduate in law
* María Luisa Aguilar, Peruvian astronomer
* Alberto Andrade Carmona, politician, Mayor of Lima and founder of We Are Peru.
*Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo, engineer and scientist
*José María Arguedas, novelist and anthropologist
*Alfonso Barrantes, Mayor of Lima
* Alberto Barton, physician and microbiologist
*Jorge Basadre, historian
*Luis Bedoya Reyes, attorney, congressman, Mayor of Lima and founder of the Christian People's Party
*G. E. Berrios, professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge
*Bertha Bouroncle, physician
*Violeta Bermúdez, lawyer, activist and diplomat.
*Alfredo Bryce Echenique, novelist
* Carlos Bustamante, biophysicist
*Daniel Alcides Carrión, medical student and pioneer in medical research
* Ramiro Castro de la Mata Caamaño, scientist
*Carlos Manuel Chavez, heart surgeon
*José Santos Chocano, poet
* Antonio Cornejo-Polar, literary critic
*Marco Aurelio Denegri, literary critic, sexologist and television host.
* Luis A. Eguiguren, educator, magistrate, historian and Peruvian politician
* Ciro Gálvez Herrera, lawyer and professor of quechua.
*Alan García ( LLB), President of Peru in two occasions, member of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA)
* Godofredo García, mathematician and engineer
*Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, revolutionary thinker, founder of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA)
* Cayetano Heredia, physician.
* Martha Hildebrandt, Peruvian linguist.
*Elmer Huerta, physician and health communicator.
*Mariano Iberico Rodríguez, philosopher.
* María Emma Mannarelli, feminist writer, historian, professor.
* Andy Martínez, athlete and national record.
*Pilar Mazzetti, physician.
*Francisco Miró Quesada Cantuarias, philosopher and logician.
*Óscar Miró Quesada de la Guerra, scientific journalist.
*Carlos Monge Medrano, physician.
*Bernardo O'Higgins, military officer and first President of Chile
*Valentín Paniagua Corazao, former President of Peru
*Hugo Pesce, physician and leprosy specialist
* Nicole Pillman, singer, songwriter and certified public accountant.
*Manuel Prado Ugarteche, former President of Peru in two occasions
* Jeri Ramon, certified public accountant. First woman elected as rector of the university.
* Laura Esther Rodriguez Dulanto, first female physician in Peru
*Luis Alberto Sánchez, writer and statesman
*Manuel Scorza, novelist
*Ruth Shady, archaeologist and anthropologist
*Alberto Tejada, urologist and soccer referee.
*Gladys Tejeda, long-distance runner
*Julio C. Tello, physician, archaeologist, and anthropologist
* Oscar Ugarte, physician
*Hipólito Unanue, physician
* Abraham Valdelomar, poet and short-story writer
*Carlos Vidal Layseca, physician and professor of medicine.
*Federico Villarreal, scientist and mathematician
* Augusto Weberbauer, German naturalist
* Pedro Zulen, philosopher and librarian

Gallery

File:Sanmarcos05.jpg, Oil painting commemorating the foundation of the University of Lima (later named San Marcos), officially the first university in Peru and the Americas, and his manager Friar Tomas of San Martin
File:UNMSM SalaCapitular ConventodeSantoDomingo.jpg, The historic chapter house at the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo, where the University of San Marcos began its operations
File:UNMSM grabadofachada sigloXVIII.jpg, Drawing showing the old facade of the premises where the University of San Marcos functioned throughout the Peruvian viceroyalty. Later this place would be transferred to the nascent Congress of Peru.
File:UNMSM CasonadeSanMarcos 1920.png, Local University of San Marcos in 1920, the famous "Casona de San Marcos is currently the Centro Cultural de San Marcos
File:UNMSM muraldebienvenida.jpg, Welcome Mural Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, as he mentioned the official date of its foundation: May 12 of 1551
File:Uni San Marcos.jpg, La Casona de San Marcos, used as the cultural center
File:Unmsm sedecentralrectorado jorgebasadre.JPG, Jorge Basadre building, used for administrative functions
File:UNMSM P1000084.jpg, Main library
File:UNMSM Cenprolid.jpg, San Marcos University Press
File:UNMSM Coliseo Deportivo y Gimnasio.jpg, San Marcos University Gym
File:UNMSM Estadio San Marcos - 2019.png, San Marcos University Stadium
File:MetLimaWik.JPG, Metallica concert at University of San Marcos
File:Unmsm monumentofraytomasdesanmartin.JPG, Monument of Fray Tomas de San Martín
File:UNMSM auditorio bibliotecacentral.jpg, Main auditorium
File:Unmsm clinicauniversitaria1.JPG, San Marcos University Clinic
File:UNMSM Instituto de Medicina Tropical.jpg, Institute of Tropical Medicine
File:UNMSM museo historianatural.jpg, Museum of Natural History

See also

* List of universities in Peru
* Casona de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
* University City of the National University of San Marcos
* List of colonial universities in Latin America
* History of the National University of San Marcos seal

Notes

References

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External links

Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos website

Faculty of Medicine website

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San Marcos, Major National University of
San Marcos, Major National University of
Neoclassical architecture in Peru
Spanish Colonial architecture in Peru
National universities