EAFIT University (originally the acronym in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

: Escuela de Administración, Finanzas e Instituto Tecnológico, «School of Administration, Finance and Technological Institute») is a private Colombian

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

located in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

offering 23 undergraduate programs, 70 specializations, 34 masters, and six doctoral programs. The university offers degrees in various disciplines through its schools of Management, Engineering, Law, Finance and Economics, Science, and Humanities. Universidad EAFIT was approved by the Colombian Ministry of Education on May 6, 1971. It has three additional branches in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

, Pereira, and

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is "Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro". Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the c ...

. The university has received the Ministry of National Education's institutional high-quality accreditation twice in a row. This makes it the first Colombian university to earn that recognition. This accreditation is valid through the end of 2026.

Features and Location

EAFIT is approved and recognized by the National Education Ministry, based on act 759 from May 6 of 1971. The university's main campus is located in

El Poblado El Poblado is the 14th commune in the metropolitan area of the city of Medellín, Colombia. According to a 2005 census the population was 94,704, distributed among its land area of 23 km2, and by the year 2015, it had a population of 128,8 ...

. It has additional campuses in

, Pereira and Llanogrande

(

Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch. Antioquia may also refer to: * Antioquia Department, Colombia * Antioquia State, Colombia (defunct) * Antioquia District, Peru * Antioquia Railway The Antioquia Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Antioquia) i ...

). It is considered one of the top tier universities in Colombia by QS Rankings and MIDE. Its current principal is Claudia Restrepo.

History

Universidad EAFIT was founded in 1960 by a group of entrepreneurs in Medellín. Its main goal was to educate professionals who would address new challenges in management, finance, and technology. EAFIT started as a "School of Management and Finance." Two-year technological programs were offered when its Institute of Technology division was created. The institution organized itself as a university in 1975, when it started offering five-year programs in engineering. Professor Javier Toro Martínez was the first rector with a group of 59 students in the school of Business Administration. The

Textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

, Industrial Programming and

Mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

faculties were opened in 1962. In 1996 EAFIT opened its first branch outside of Medellín in Llanogrande, Rionegro, offering degrees in Business Administration, Civil Engineering, and Systems Engineering. Biblioteca-EAFIT

The School of

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the o ...

and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

was opened in 1997, adding new disciplines to an educational center that had been primarily dedicated to Economics. The subsequent creation of the School of Music increased the number of programs in the Arts and Sciences. The Product Design Engineering and

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

faculties were then created in 1999. This was followed by the creation of the Mathematics Engineering undergraduate program in 2002, the first of its kind in Colombia. Three new departments were added in 2004:

Engineering Physics Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

Social Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. That same year the administration made the decision to rename the campus as "Park University" (''Universidad Parque''), adding ecological grounds that include a large lake, woods, and an unpaved parking area. Dr. Juan Luis Mejía's goal was to integrate the university with the urban background of the city, while at the same time improving and protecting its natural environment. The project was awarded the Premio Lápiz de Acero (Steel Pen Award) from the ''Proyecto Diseño'' magazine of Medellín in the "Public Spaces" category. Recently added disciplines include majors in Psychology and Marketing, both established in 2011. Future offerings include programs in Biology and Sound Engineering.

High Quality of Institutional Accreditation

Since the process of accreditation started in Colombia in 2003, only 15 Colombian universities have earned a high quality accreditation. EAFIT was given its first institutional accreditation for a period of six years in 2003. In March, 2010, that accreditation was renewed for eight years. All of its undergraduate programs are accredited as "high quality." Five of EAFIT's graduate programs earned a high quality accreditation.

Academics

Universidad EAFIT offers 21 undergraduate programs, which are divided in six schools.

School of Management

* Business Administration *

International Business International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale. It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or mor ...

Public Accounting An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certi ...

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

School of Applied Sciences and Engineering

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

* Mathematical Engineering *

Physics Engineering Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical ...

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

* Product Design Engineering *

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

Process Engineering Process engineering is the understanding and application of the fundamental principles and laws of nature that allow humans to transform raw material and energy into products that are useful to society, at an industrial level. By taking advantage ...

Production Engineering Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufa ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

* Agronomic Engineering * Urban and Habitat Design

School of Finance, Economics and Government

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

Finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

School of Arts and Humanities

Music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

Communication Studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in diffe ...

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

School of Law

Research Centers

Center for Urban and Environmental Studies - urbam EAFIT

The Center for Urban and Environmental Studies, also known as urbam EAFIT, was funded in 2010 by EAFIT's principal of that time, Juan Luis Mejia Arango, in cooperation with other city personalities like Alejandro Echeverri, Jorge Giraldo and Michel Hermelin. From that time, it has turned into a referent in the areas of urban planning, sustainable occupancy and social projection. Besides that, since the opening of the Master's program in Urban and Environmental Processes, urbam also became an academic department of EAFIT. It now manages a Bachellor's degree in Urban and Habitat Design, part of the School of Applied Sciences and Engineering. In the year 2021, urbam's official research group was qualified as top-tier (A1) in the research index of the Ministry of Science.

Affiliated Programs

Among the university's many organizations and clubs is the "100K Strong" initiative, which makes EAFIT the only institution of higher education in Colombia that takes part in this program created by U.S. president Barack Obama100K Strong
/ref> The university also has a summer week-long camp for kids ages 3–1

* National ** Asociación Colombiana de Universidades (ASCUN). ** Colombian International Cooperation Network for University Education. ** Universia College Portal . * International ** Abroad Study program and academic interchange. ** ALFA Program (Latin America – Academic training). ** Latin American and Caribbean University Network of Non-Stop Education. ** 100.000 Strong in the Americas.

References

External links

Official site

International EAFIT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eafit, Universidad Private universities and colleges in Colombia Universities and colleges in Medellín Educational institutions established in 1960 1960 establishments in Colombia