School of Engineering, UNAM


The School of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico is the most prestigious engineering school in Latin America and one of the top engineering schools worldwide. At the undergraduate level, it offers thirteen majors and some graduate programs. In fall 2008, the school of engineering had over 10,900 undergraduate students and 1,115 graduate students and postdocs.
The School of Engineering offers undergraduate studies in:
The studies on Chemistry, as for chemical engineering, are offered by UNAM's own School of Chemistry.

History

The school of Engineering at the UNAM has its origins as the Real Seminario de Mineria, which building is still standing near the Zocalo in Mexico City. After the university was closed in 1833, several scientific institutes were established in Mexico, all of them related to some branch of engineering. These eventually merged into a single institution which in 1910 was put under the supervision of the newly created UNAM and renamed to Escuela Nacional de Ingeniería.
In 1954 the school changes its location to Ciudad Universitaria. In 1959, with the creation of the Engineering Institute and the availability of its first graduate program, the school changes its name to Facultad de Ingeniería.
The history of UNAM indicates that the School of Engineering has been a strong technology innovator, and today, student associations focus on creating technological innovations. UNAM's School of Engineering has made great strides to include more women in technology. It also organizes several tech events to help its students become innovators and entrepreneurs. The All Latina Hackathon was sponsored by Google and took place in the computer engineering department.

Organization and departments

The school of engineering is organized in divisions, each under the direct supervision of a Head of division. These are themselves coordinated and supervised by the faculty dean, currently Carlos Agustín Escalante Sandoval.
Is in charge of subjects such as physics and mathematics, every student has to take one or more subjects of this department, specially during the first 4 semesters. These subjects on fundamental science are then common to all students and are often regarded as the most difficult among all.
In charge of the majors in the name, is the contact between the school and the industry, there are some programs for young entrepreneurial and some courses that may resemble a BA program in US
The civil Engineering division is one of the oldest divisions and has great prestige. Many famous researchers, and business leaders, such as Carlos Slim have studied in this division.
This division is organizes the Mining, Petroleum, Geophysics and Geology Engineering bachelor Programs. Is one of the oldest divisions in the school and currently has some joint programs with PEMEX among other petroleum companies.
As the name implies, this division is in charge of courses and diplomas for active professionals who wish to stay up to date with current technological trends or wish to stay in contact with the academic community in some way other than the conventional graduate programs.
In charge of cultural activities and some subjects, such as literature, ethics and history.

Location and facilities

The school of engineering has numerous facilities, most of which are located in Ciudad Universitaria in Mexico City, between Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Administration.
It has two libraries for undergraduate students and one for graduate ones. It also has some of Mexico's finest laboratories for civil and mechanical engineering, and various laboratories of electronic engineering with cutting-edge technology.

Noted alumni and faculty

According to the QS Universities Rankings the School of Engineering is positioned in the following rankings:
Computer and Electrical Engineering: 51-100
Civil Engineering:51-100
Mechanical Engineering:151-200

Student organizations

The school of engineering has several student organizations, among them a Tuna, a chorus and a photo club.
Each major has its own student organization, which is in charge of promoting activities related to each specialization, such as extracurricular courses, workshops or congresses.
PeriodPresidentCareer coursing
1997-1999Alejandro Farah Simón Mechanical Engineering
1999-2000Penélope López Mechanical Engineering
2000-2002Francisco TovarMechanical Engineering
2002-2003Samanta SabodkaGeophysical Engineering
2003-2004Marisol Hernández CuellarComputer Engineering
2004-2006Luis Efrén FloresElectronical Engineering
2006-2007Luis VidalMechanical Engineering
2007-2008Víctor Becerra HerreraCivil Engineering
2008-2009David Luna MartínezMechanical Engineering
2009-2010Douglas Alberto Gómez ReyesGeophysical Engineering
2010-2011Mario Arturo Nieto ButrónComputer Engineering
2011-2012Agustín RomeroMechanical Engineering
2012-2013Diego Ulises Mendoza ArroyoTelecommunications Engineering
2013-2014Aldo Daniel Acosta DuranComputer Engineering
2014-2015Antonio LledíasMechanical Engineering
2015–PresentOscar Iván Calderón HernándezGeophysical Engineering

Graduate programs

Each division within the school of engineering organizes graduate programs. There are also graduate programs in cooperation with other graduate programs and other higher education institutions in Mexico.