This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (August 2017) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary (using German): Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Exact name of German article]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Latin: Universitas Catholica Chilensis
Motto	In Christi lumine pro mundi vita
Type	Private (Traditional)
Established	June 21, 1888
Affiliation	Catholic Church
Chancellor	Ricardo Ezzati Andrello
Rector	Ignacio Sánchez Díaz
Academic staff	1,652 (full-time)[1]
Administrative staff	2,210 (full-time)[2]
Undergraduates	23,613[1]
Postgraduates	4,698[1]
Location	Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins #340, Santiago
Website	www.uc.cl

The headquarters of the UC.

Inside Casa Central

The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC) (Spanish: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two Pontifical Universities in the country, along with the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso. It is also one of Chile's oldest universities and one of the most recognized educational institutions in Latin America.^[3] According to the QS Ranking, its Faculty of Law ranks 38th in the world,^[4] and its Faculty of Education ranks 33rd worldwide.^[5] It was ranked 1st university in Latin America in 2018 according to the same QS ranking.^[6]

Campuses[edit]

UC has four campuses in Santiago and one campus in Villarrica. The campuses in Santiago are:

• Casa Central (in downtown Santiago)


• San Joaquín (in Macul Commune of Greater Santiago)


• Oriente (in Ñuñoa, Chile Ñuñoa Commune of Greater Santiago)


• Lo Contador (also in Providencia Commune)

These four campuses have a total of 223,326.06 m² constructed in a 614,569.92 m² area. The Villarrica campus has 1,664 m² constructed in a 2,362.5 m² area.

History[edit]

UC was founded on June 21, 1888 by the Santiago Archbishop, to offer training in traditional professions (law) and in technological and practical fields such as business, accounting, chemistry, and electricity. Its first chancellor was Monsignor Joaquín Larraín Gandarillas, and at the very beginning, the university only taught two subjects, law and mathematics. Since it is a Pontifical University, it has always had a strong and very close relationship with the Vatican. On February 11, 1930, Pope Pius XI declared it a pontifical university, and in 1931 it was granted full academic autonomy by the Chilean government.

UC is a private, urban, multi-campus university. It is one of the eleven Chilean Catholic universities, and one of the twenty-five institutions within the Rectors' Council (Consejo de Rectores), the Chilean state-sponsored university system. It is part of the Universities of the Rectors' Council of Chilean Universities, and although it is not state-owned, a substantial part of its budget is given by state transfers under different programs.

UC's 18 faculties are distributed through four campuses in Santiago and one regional campus located in southern Chile. The technical training centers affiliated with the University are: DUOC, the Rural Life Foundations, the Baviera Foundation, the Catechetical Home and the San Fidel Seminary. These centers carry out technical-academic extension activities in rural and agricultural areas. Other UC activities are a Sports Club, a nationwide television network, and a Clinical Hospital dependent on the Faculty of Medicine.

UC 's Graduates of the School of Architecture (one of the most prominent in Latin America) have also made important contributions to the country with such work as the Central Building ("Casa Central") of UC, and the National Library.

Two of its most important alumni are the Jesuit Saint Alberto Hurtado and Eduardo Frei Montalva, a Chilean president. Both of them studied in the School of Laws. Sebastián Piñera, current Chilean president, graduated from the university's School of Economics.

In 2017 the university faced what has been called a "wave of suicide" among its students. During 2017 a total of four students have taken their lives up to October, the previous year two students committed suicide.^[7] Critics, including alumni, have written about the university's "lack of concern" for the suicide of students, an attitude they contrast to the university's staunch opposition to abortion.^[8] The student union of the university issued a communique expressing feelings of guilt over the issue and the need to take charge.^[8]

Collaborations[edit]

The Department of Industry and System Engineering is engaging Stanford Technology Venture Program of Stanford University on a collaboration on innovation and technology ventures.

In December 2011, the schools of engineering of PUC and the University of Notre Dame signed an agreement to establish a dual graduate degree in civil engineering and the geological sciences,^[9] which now extends to other departments in both schools.

In April 2013, PUC and the University of Notre Dame also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen scholarly engagement and expand their long-standing relationships.^[10] The agreement establishes an exchange program in which faculty, doctoral students and university representatives from each institution will visit, work, study and collaborate with the other institution.

World rankings[edit]

UC ranks among the first 10 Latin-American Universities according to the Shanghai ranking,^[12] UC appears top in two subject rankings: it ranks around 101-150 in Economics and Management and around 151-200 in Mathematics ^[13]

According to the QS Ranking, UC ranks 1st in Latin America,^[14] and 137th in the world.^[15] In the same ranking, its Faculty of Law ranks 38th in the world,^[4] and its Faculty of Education ranks 33rd worldwide.^[5]

Faculties, institutes, centers and subjects offered[edit]

Notable institutes and centers[edit]

• Center of Studies of Social Undertakings


• Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad – MIDAP ^[16]


• Núcleo Milenio Research Center in Entrepreneurial Strategy Under Uncertainty ^[17]

Notable alumni[edit]

Architecture[edit]

• 
  Alejandro Aravena (2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner)


• Smiljan Radic


• Emilio Duhart


• Fernando Castillo Velasco


• 
  Juan Grimm, Landscape architect

Art and literature[edit]

• 
  Egon Wolff (playwright)


• 
  Roberto Matta (Surrealist painter)


• Jorge Díaz (playwright)


• 
  Diamela Eltit (author)


• 
  Paula Escobar (journalist and academic)^[18]


• 
  Laila Havilio (sculptor)

Economy[edit]

• 
  Miguel Kast (former governor of the Central Bank of Chile. Member of the Chicago Boys group)


• José Piñera


• Joaquín Lavín


• 
  Sebastián Edwards (professor, UCLA Anderson School of Management)


• 
  Sebastián Piñera (President of Chile)

Politics[edit]

• Past President of Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva
  


• Current President of Chile Sebastian Piñera
  


• Adolfo Zaldívar


• Arturo Frei Bolívar


• Ena von Baer


• Fernando Castillo Velasco


• Hernán Larraín


• Fernando Flores


• Jaime Guzmán


• Joaquín Lavín


• Osvaldo Andrade


• Radomiro Tomic


• Tomás Jocelyn-Holt

Religion[edit]

• 
  Alberto Hurtado (Jesuit. Chile's second saint)


• 
  Raúl Silva Henríquez (Archbishop of Santiago de Chile)

Both studied law at the university.

Science[edit]

• Francisco Claro Huneeus


• Héctor Croxatto Rezzio (member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences)


• Joaquín Luco Valenzuela (first Chilean to specialize in neuroscience)


• Juan de Dios Vial Correa (former Pontifical Academy for Life president)


• 
  Juan Carlos Castilla (marine life expert)


• 
  Leopoldo Soto Norambuena (former President of the Chilean Physics Society and Fellow of the Institute of Physics, UK)


• Nibaldo Inestrosa Cantin (neurobiologist)


• Rafael Vicuña Errázuriz

Knowledge transfer, service and consultancy[edit]

• DICTUC SA (a group of 40+ consultancies leading in engineering, management and innovation) [2]
  


• Salud Clinica UC [3]
  


• Hospital of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile


• Mega UC Health Centres (maternity)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

• 
  Official web prospectus (in English)
  


• 
  Official website (in Spanish)
  

Coordinates: 33°26′28″S 70°38′27″W / 33.4411°S 70.6408°W / -33.4411; -70.6408