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Universidad Nacional de Colombia | |
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| Motto | Inter-Aulas-Academiæ-Quære-Verum |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Search the truth in the rooms of the academy |
| Type | Public,National |
| Established | 22 September 1867 (158 years ago) (1867-09-22) |
| Rector | Leopoldo Múnera Ruiz[1] |
Academic staff | 3,114 (2019)[2] |
Administrative staff | 2,932 (2019)[3] |
| Students | 53,304 (2019)[4] |
| Undergraduates | 44,621 |
| Postgraduates | 8,683 |
| 1,278[5] | |
| Location | ,, 4°38′8″N74°4′58″W / 4.63556°N 74.08278°W /4.63556; -74.08278 |
| Campus | Urban, 300 acres (1,214,056.9 m2) |
| Colours | Green and Red |
| Website | unal |
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TheNational University of Colombia (Spanish:Universidad Nacional de Colombia) is anationalpublicresearchuniversity inColombia, with general campuses inBogotá,Medellín,Manizales andPalmira, andsatellite campuses inLeticia,San Andrés,Arauca,Tumaco, andLa Paz, Cesar.
Established in 1867 by an act of theCongress of Colombia,[6] it is one of the largest universities in the country, with more than 53,000 students.[7] The university grantsacademic degrees and offers 450 academic programmes, including 95undergraduate degrees, 83academic specializations, 40medical specialties, 167master's degrees, and 65doctorates. Approximately 44,000 students are enrolled for an undergraduate degree and 8,000 for apostgraduate degree.[8] It is also one of the few universities that employspostdoctorate fellows in the country.
The university is a member of theAssociation of Colombian Universities (ASCUN),[9] theIberoamerican Association of Postgraduate Universities (AUIP),[10] and the Iberoamerican University NetworkUniversia. Along withAntioquia andValle universities, it is part of what is known as theGolden Triangle of higher education in Colombia,[11] being among the most selective and competitive universities in the country.
The SCImago Institutions Rankings Iber by SCImago Research Group found that the National University of Colombia produced the largest number of scientific papers published in peer-refereed publications in the country, and was the 17th[12] (14th[13] in 2018) most prolific inLatin America. Furthermore, according to the Latin-American Web Ranking of Universities, the National University of Colombia ranks first place in internet presence in the country. As of June 2025, it is also among the ninth best university in Latin America.[14] Among the universities ofCIVETS countries, the National University occupied second place.[15] Globally, the university was ranked #243, and #10 in Latin America by theQS World University Rankings in 2023, placing #2 in Colombia.[16]
The institution offers a wide selection of programmes in both undergraduate and graduate levels, such asmedicine,nursing,dentistry,engineering,chemistry,pharmacy,mathematics,physics,geology,biology,psychology,social sciences,arts (music, fine arts),languages,philosophy, andlaw. It was the first university in Colombia to open acomputer science postgraduate program in 1967.[17]
TheUniversity City of Bogotá (Spanish:Ciudad Universitaria de Bogotá), also known as the White City (Spanish:Ciudad Blanca), is the flagship University campus. It is located in theTeusaquillo locality, northwest of the historical center. It is also the largest campus in Colombia, with an area of 1,200,000 m2 (300 acres) and a constructed area of 308,541 m2 (76.242 acres), making it an ample campus with several green areas, open spaces, and pedestrian paths. Among its buildings there are 17 which have been declared national monuments and, as a whole, it is a representation of the last 60 years ofarchitecture in Colombia.
The campus was designed by German educationalistFritz Karsen and architectLeopold Rother, both refugees fromNazi Germany. Construction began in 1935, under the government ofAlfonso López Pumarejo. It is organized into an ellipse, divided into five parts, each containing one academic division and its respective departments. From an aerial view, the shape of an owl can be seen, emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge. The buildings were constructed as prismatic blocks, and painted white, in order to give an austere and clean look.
Some landmarks in the campus are theLeón de Greiff Auditorium, and theFrancisco de Paula Santander Plaza, also known unofficially as the "Central Plaza". The campus has its own stadium,Alfonso López Pumarejo Stadium, where matches for theColombian Professional Football are sometimes held.
TheNational University of Colombia, Medellín has two campuses, the Central Campus and Robledo Campus, where 10,447 students study. This site provides approximately 29% of the seats for new students at National. Also this site has 555 faculty professors, of which 38% are doctors, 44% are master's, 8% were specialists and 10% are Professionals. This site offers 26 undergraduate and 73 graduate courses: 15 PhDs, 28 Masters, and 29 specializations.[citation needed]
Its history has given Medellín a peculiar character, since it was formed, as with most universities, from the classical degrees ofLaw,Medicine,Arts andSciences. The site commenced with engineering programs, which is why Medellín today has the highest number of engineering programs (17) among all National University of Colombia campuses and in Colombia in general.[18]
Central Campus: Located northwest of the city center, between El Volador hill eco-park and the Medellín River. Since 1938, it has been the headquarters of the National University of Colombia in Medellin, when the School of Tropical Agriculture (now the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences) joined the university. The Central Campus has an area of 272,982 m2, the heart of campus has an area of 31,758 m2 and a portion of El Volador hill, around 269,257 m2. Several learning centers can be found in at the campus including the Entomological Museum which was founded in 1937, the Museum of Mycology founded in 1987, the Herbarium "Gabriel Gutierrez," the wood collection, the Central Library "Efe Gomez" as an attractive artistic and architectural highlights, the Totem Mythic created by Master Pedro Nel Gomez, Block 41 declared a National Cultural, designed by Engineer Jesús Montoya Mejía which began in 1931, Block 11 designed by Master Pedro Nel Gómez.[citation needed]
Robledo Campus, also called core or more colloquially as the School of Mines, is located northwest of the city of Medellin, Robledo neighborhood is composed of three fields separated by the 80th street, which presents a difficult high-traffic pedestrian connection between the properties that make up the physical structure of the School of Mines, and Ingeominas, recently integrated into the university. It has an area of 100,978.69 m2.
In 1886, the School of Mines was created and it was incorporated with the university in 1936, which is called today as the National School of Mines with approximately 3,500 students. It highlights the Museum of Geosciences, Maximum classroom buildings (block M5) and M3 block designed by Master Pedro Nel Gomez School of Mines in 1936. It was declared a National Monument in 1994 thanks to its architecture and its murals by the same Pedro Nel Gómez. The university in Medellín has five faculties of the schools offer twenty-five careers, nearly half of them are engineering at the School of Mines, also has three museums and other services.[citation needed]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[19] | 901–1000 (2023) |
| QS World[20] | =259 (2026) |
| THE World[21] | 1201–1500 (2024) |
| USNWR Global[22] | =662 (2023) |
The National University of Colombia has 20 schools distributed among Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira:
Departments in Bogotá:
Interfaculty institutes[23]
Museums in Bogotá Campus:
High school (for children of professors, students, and employees):
Departments in Medellín:
Museums in Medellín Campus:
Institutes:
Media:
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Notable alumni include:
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
