12 December 2011

UC, a primer

A glimpse of UC's Villarrica Regional Campus. Located 750 km south of
Santiago, in “La Araucanía” Region, the Villarrica Regional Campus
focuses on the training of general Elementary Education

Margo and I are putting together a brief overview of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to share with our GPP Chile colleagues during our final pre-trip meeting. What follows is a quick summary of the highlights we plan to cover.

Mission Statement
To achieve excellence in the creation and transfer of knowledge and training of people, inspired by a Catholic understanding and always at the service of the Church and Society.

History in Brief
  • Founded on 21 June 1888 by the initiative of the Archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Mariano Casanova
  • Initial Goal:
    • create an institution that integrated academic excellence and inspired training in Christina doctrine
  • Declared a pontifical university by Pope Pius XI in 1930
  • Granted full academic autonomy by the Chilean government in 1931
  • First two schools were for Law and the Physical Sciences and Math
  • First graduates were civil engineers, architects, and law graduates

Demographics
  • Enrollment (2010): 22,122
    • ~ 2400 masters students
    • ~ 800 doctorate students
    • ~ 800 post-doctorate students
    • ~ 1,500 full-time faculty

Faculties (roughly equivalent to "colleges" in the US university system)
  • College UC
    • Bachelor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
    • Bachelor of Social Science
    • Bachelor of Arts and Humanities
  • Faculty of Agronomy & Forest Engineering
  • Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies
  • Faculty of Arts Faculty of Biological Sciences
  • Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Communications
  • Arts Faculty
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Language and Literature
  • Faculty of Education
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Faculty of Philosophy
  • Faculty of Physics
  • Faculty of History, Geography, and Political Science
  • Faculty of Mathematics
  • Faculty of Chemistry
  • Faculty of Theology

Interesting Facts
  • 1 of 6 Catholic Universities in Chile
  • 1 of 2 Pontifical Universities in Chile
    • Catholic University established by and directly under the authority of the Holy See
    • Licensed to grant academic degrees in sacred faculties, the most important of which are:
      • Sacred Theology
      • Canon Law
      • Sacred Scripture and Philosophy
    • Pontifical universities follow a European system of degrees in the sacred faculties, granting the baccalaureate, the licentiate, and the doctorate
  • 4 Campuses in Santiago
    • “The four Santiago campuses have been selected, adapted, and designed to meet the needs of the fields of study offered on each campus within a rapidly developing urban setting.”

Villarrica Campus
  • “The Villarrica Regional Campus is located 750 km south of Santiago, in “La Araucanía” Region, where the density of the Mapuche population living in Chilean rural areas is the highest.”
  • “The main activity of this campus is the training of general Elementary Education teachers who attain a solid humanist emphasis, commit to Christian values, and have the competencies to conduct themselves in a globalized, culturally heterogeneous world that is marked by the use of new technologies.”

More Fun Factoids
  • Virtual campus which enables students to contact scholars from other parts of the world
  • 2009 - ranked best Chilean university and the second best in South America
  • Law school is currently ranked 1st in Latin America
  • Alma mater of Sebastían Piñera (current Chilean president)
  • Offers several double degrees at the graduate level with universities in other countries



No comments:

Post a Comment