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Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana | |
 | |
| Motto | In Calli Ixcahuicopa (Es:Casa abierta al tiempo) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "House open to time" |
| Type | Publicresearch university |
| Established | 1 January 1974 |
| Founder | Luis Echeverría Álvarez |
| Endowment | $500 million |
| Rector | José Antonio De Los Reyes Heredia |
Academic staff | 2,862 (as of 2022) |
| Students | 61,908 (as of 2022) |
| Undergraduates | 58,062 (as of 2022) |
| Postgraduates | 3,846 (as of 2022) |
| Location | , 19°17′12″N99°08′13″W / 19.2867°N 99.1369°W /19.2867; -99.1369 |
| Campus | 4 academic units in Mexico City, 1 academic unit in theState of Mexico |
| Colors | Black (UAM) Red (Unidad Azcapotzalco) Orange (Unidad Cuajimalpa) Green (Unidad Iztapalapa) Purple (Unidad Lerma) Blue (Unidad Xochimilco) |
| Nickname | Panteras negras |
| Affiliations | ANUIESCONAHEC |
| Mascot | Oncahui, UAMito, Xochito |
| Website | http://www.uam.mx |
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TheMetropolitan Autonomous University (Spanish:Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) also known asUAM, is a Mexicanpublic research university. Founded in 1974 with the support of then-PresidentLuis Echeverria Alvarez, the institution aims to be closely linked to the social and human environment.[1]
As anautonomous university, UAM is a public agency of theMexican government.[A 1] It has five academic units located in Mexico City andGreater Mexico City:Azcapotzalco, in the North,Iztapalapa, in the East,Cuajimalpa, in the West,Xochimilco, in the South, andLerma inState of Mexico).
The institution is among the top academic universities inMexico. In 2019, it ranked first among both public and private institutions,[2]. According to theComparative Study of Mexican Universities (Estudio Comparativo de Universidades Mexicanas), the UAM was second in the number of full-time research professors withdoctorates, having the second largest number of researches incorporated to theNational and Research System (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores) as well as being second in having researchers at Level 3 of the same researchers.
It is one of the leading universities in Mexico to submit the highest number of research. And the second institution to have publications in refereed journals, such as theInstitute for Scientific Information,Latindex and journals included in theIndex of Mexican Journals of Scientific and Technological Research of theNational Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnología) (CONAHCYT) and the second to have magazines within the CONAHCYT, it is also among the top four with the largest number of patents granted inMexico.[3]
After the historic1968 Tlatelolco massacre inMexico, and other subsequent movements in favor of education and social improvements, the need for comprehensive education reform in Mexico was evident.
In 1973, during the administration of PresidentLuis Echeverria Alvarez, theNational Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (ANUIES) presented a document to the President noting the need to establish a new university in theMexico City's metropolitan area, taking into consideration issues such as increasing student demand and the increasing failure of existing universities to admit more students.
It was then proposed that the nascent university project also constituted an opportunity to modernize higher education in the country. The expected characteristics of the new university were for it to be public, metropolitan, independent, in addition to having innovative educational and organizational terms.
It is under such expectations that the law comes into force for the creation of the Autonomous Metropolitan University, on January 1 1974. On January 10 of that year architectPedro Ramirez Vazquez was appointed as the first Rector of the UAM.
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| QS World[4] | 951-1000 (2026) |
The University consisted at the moment of its creation of three units, which are located inIztapalapa,Azcapotzalco andXochimilco, with the idea of promoting decentralization and allowing the full development of each. Empirically, scientific research majors were located in Iztapalapa (UAM-I) Unit, the traditional careers such as civil engineering and architecture at the Azcapotzalco (UAM-A) Unit and the area of health in the Xochimilco Unit (UAM -X). Subsequently, it was decided that their internal organization would be composed of Divisions and Academic Departments, creating a contrast with the Schools and Colleges of existing universities. Each Division would group different areas of knowledge and each Academic Department related disciplines, in order to give a flexible structure that prevents the lag that education had suffered in relation to the progress of science.
The first Rector of the Iztapalapa Unit was Dr. Alonso Fernandez González and began operations on September 30, 1974. In turn, the Rector of the Azcapotzalco Unit was Dr. Juan Casillas García de León, which opened its doors on November 11, 1974. For the Xochimilco Unit the first Rector was Dr. Ramon Villarreal Perez, initiating teaching also on November 11, 1974. Recently, the possibility of creating a new unit of the UAM was analyzed.
On April 26, 2005 the Academic College of the institution approved the creation of theCuajimalpa campus, appointing in June of that year Dr. Fresán Magdalena Orozco as the first Rector. The activities of the Unit officially began on September 14, 2005, using different locations, at first at theUniversidad Iberoamericana. Then he took three temporary facilities: Baja California, Artifice and Constituents Constituents adding a fourth in 647. His final location was achieved in 2014 on the grounds of "Scorpio", ancient land of theZona Especial Forestal y de Repoblación Bosques Industriales La Venta,[5] which had not been built by the lack of legal certainty and the opposition of local people to Ocotal forest development inLa Venta,Cuajimalpa.[6][7][8][9][10]
The university system has 5 units, withcampuses located in different boroughs of Mexico City and in the adjacent state:
UAM Rectoría is the main office of the university system. It is located in the south of the city, on Canal de Miramontes street nearXochimilco.
Established in articles 6 to 31 of its Organic Law[11] it follows a model based on College Organs, Academic Units, Divisions and Academic Departments, each with different powers and obligations.
Each of the 5 Academic Units has an individual organization chart, with a Unit Rector as well as a General Rector for the entire institution.
| Rector | Period |
|---|---|
| Pedro Ramírez Vázquez | 1974 - 1975 |
| Juan Casillas García de León | 1975 - 1979 |
| Fernando Salmerón Roiz | 1979 - 1981 |
| Sergio Reyes Luján | 1981 - 1985 |
| Oscar Manuel González Cuevas | 1985 - 1989 |
| Gustavo A. Chapela Castañares | 1989 - 1993 |
| Julio Rubio Oca | 1993 - 1997 |
| José Luis Gázquez Mateos | 1997 - 2001 |
| Luis Mier y Terán Casanueva | 2001 - 2005 |
| José Lema Labadie | 2005 - 2009 |
| Enrique Fernández Fassnacht | 2009 - 2013 |
| Salvador Vega y León | 2013 - 2017 |
| Eduardo Abel Peñalosa Castro | 2017 - 2021 |
| José Antonio de los Reyes Heredia[13] | 2021 - 2025 |
| Gustavo Pacheco López[14] | 2025 - 2029 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
