Pontifical Bolivarian University


The Pontifical Bolivarian University, also referred to as UPB, is a private university in Colombia with its main campus in Medellín, where it was founded in 1936. Currently, the university has campuses in other Colombian cities, such as Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Montería and Palmira. As of April, 2018, the university estimated its nationwide student population at 30,000.
Presently the university offers 77 undergraduate programs, 24 master programs and 7 doctorate programs nationwide. The university groups its educational programs under the schools of Architecture And Urbanism, Design, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law and Political Sciences, Strategic Sciences, Social Sciences, Education and Teaching, and Theology, Philosophy and Humanities. The university also operates elementary and high school programs under its educational umbrella.
The University has several distinguished alumni such as Former President of Colombia Belisario Betancur Cuartas, and Former First Lady of Colombia Lina María Moreno Mejía.

History

The University was founded on September 15, 1936, by a decree of the Catholic Archbishop of Medellín, Monsignor Tiberio de Jesús Salazar y Herrera as the Universidad Católica Bolivariana. The UCB started with a small faculty and 78 students enrolled in the School of Law and with Monsignor Manuel José Sierra as its first rector. In 1945, the university received the title of Pontifical, from the Holy See under Pope Pius XII. With the right to use the title of Pontifical, the Pope became the Grand Chancellor of the university.
From the university's onset, Monsignor Manuel José Sierra wanted to anchor the University on the ideals of Christian humanism and those of the Libertador Simón Bolívar.

Academics

The university has programs that extend from elementary and high school to undergraduate and postgraduate programs The UPB offers near 71 undergraduate programs, 126 Academic specializations, 26 Master's degree and 9 Doctor's Degree :
Undergraduate Schools and programs:

School of Design and Architecture.

As of 2006, there were a total of 81 independent research groups across Colombia, which were coordinated by the Integrated Center for the Development of Research. The CIDI seeks to maintain a close and dynamic relationship between industry and academia through technology transfer and consulting services. The research groups are based in different campuses with the majority of them in Medellin. The research groups concentrate their efforts in the areas of Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Engineering.

Campuses

Main campus

The main campus is located in Medellín and houses the main chapel, student health services, the main library and the schools of Engineering, Social Sciences, Architecture, and Languages as well as the schools for primary and secondary education.

Bucaramanga

The Bucaramanga campus opened on July 12, 1991, in the Archdiocesan Seminary. In 1998, UPB established its own home on the Piedecuesta Highway, 7 kilometers away from the city. The estimated UPB Bucaramanga student population in 2013 was 5,800 students.
The UPB Bucaramanga campus houses the following schools:

Strategic Sciences' School

The university opened its campus in Montería on May 25, 1995. The campus established the University's presence in Colombia's Atlantic region with academic programs in law, management, journalism, engineering, informatics, electronics, mechanical, agroindustrial, environmental management and several graduate programs. The campus is estimated to have 2,028 students.

Palmira

The university established its presence in the coffee region of the country through its Palmira campus. The university opened the campus in 2001 with programs such as Psychology, Marketing, Human Resources, Management, and Economics. The university currently has 218 students and it is the newest campus of the university in Colombia.

Affiliations

UPB is member of different international associations and programs. It is also a chair of UNESCO on Human Development and a member of the Foundation for Studies in France. It belongs also to the Sígueme Program a group that gathered 10 Colombian universities. UPB has agreements with universities in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, United States, Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela.

Libraries

UPB also has a complete system of documentation and bibliography, with its main headquarters on the main campus of Barrio Laureles, known as "Biblioteca Central", in a modern building of four stories with hundreds of volumes of authors, subjects and research studies. Every school at UPB has its own library interconnected with the Central one.

Mission, vision and philosophical orientation

The identity of this Catholic University rests in the "Espíritu Bolivariano", a philosophy designed by Mgr. Manuel José Sierra inspired by human Christian values and the ideals of the Libertador.
The Bolivarian Spirit sets as the institution's mission the integral formation through evangelization of the culture, constant research of truth through science and confirmation of the human values from Christianity for the good of society.

Vision

Being a Catholic institution of excellent education in the integral formation of persons with ethical, scientist and social leadership to the service of the nation.

Principles