TheUniversity of Buenos Aires (Spanish:Universidad de Buenos Aires,UBA) is apublicresearch university inBuenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university in the country by enrollment. Established in 1821, the UBA has educated 17Argentine presidents, produced four of the country's fiveNobel Prize laureates, and is responsible for approximately 40% of the country's research output.[12][13][14]
The university's academic strength and regional leadership make it attractive to many international students, especially at the postgraduate level.[15][16] Just over 4 percent of undergraduates are foreigners, while 15 percent of postgraduate students come from abroad.[17] TheFaculty of Economic Sciences has the highest rate of international postgraduate students at 30 percent, in line with its reputation as a "top business school with significant international influence."[18][19]
The University of Buenos Aires enrolls more than 328,000 students and is organized into 13 independent faculties.[20] It administers 6 hospitals, 16 museums, 13 scientific institutes, interdisciplinary commissions, 5 high schools, theRicardo Rojas Cultural Center, theCosmos Cinema, the University of Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra, andEudeba (Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires), the country's largest university press.
Since 1949, all of the undergraduate programs at the University of Buenos Aires are free of charge for everyone, regardless of nationality.[21] Tuition from postgraduate programs helps fund the UBA's social mission to provide free university education for all.[22]
Unlike other major cities in theSpanish Colonial Americas, Buenos Aires did not count with a university of its own during colonial times. TheViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was relatively less important compared to other regions in Spanish South America, as most economic activity was based around theAndes range. Cultural and educational work in Buenos Aires was carried out by members of theCompany of Jesus, and within the viceroyalty,Córdoba,Chuquisaca, andSantiago de Chile already counted with universities.[23]
Antonio Sáenz, first rector of the University of Buenos Aires
Following theMay Revolution in 1810 and Argentina'sDeclaration of Independence in 1816, the push for a university in the capital of the newly independent nation strengthened. On 12 August 1821, the University of Buenos Aires was officially founded through a decree byGovernorMartín Rodríguez. At the university's inaugural act, the cleric and statesmanAntonio Sáenz was appointed as the first Rector.[24]
During the university's early years of existence, the conflict between proponents of alaicist approach to the university's education and defendants of the traditional religious approach divided students and professors alike.[25] From the start, existing institutions were merged into the university in order to guarantee a high level of professionalism and organization: courses on mathematics, drawing, nautic sciences and natural history were transferred from the Consulate of Buenos Aires, the Military Medical Institute and the Colegio de la Unión del Sud. In addition, law professors and courses were incorporated from the Academia de Jurisprudencia. This allowed the university to begin imparting medicine and law degrees from the moment of its foundation.[26]
Free access to the university was suspended during the rule ofcaudilloJuan Manuel de Rosas, and the number of students decreased considerably. Budget cuts imposed by Rosas's government meant professors were no longer being paid, and the Department of Exact Sciences was nearly forced to close down. During this period,Francisco Javier Muñiz began making the first strides in the field ofpaleontology in Argentina, and became dean of theFaculty of Medicine. The situation normalized following the fall of Rosas at theBattle of Caseros in 1852. The new government of theState of Buenos Aires made bettering the university's conditions a priority; the political elites began seeing higher education as a necessary part of the country's upcoming consolidation and stabilization stages.[27]
In 1863, the university established theColegio Nacional de Buenos Aires; theEscuela Superior de Comercio followed in 1890.[28] In 1869, the first twelve Argentine engineers graduated from the University of Buenos Aires; they would henceforth be known as the "Twelve Apostles". Among them was Valentín Balbín, who would become president of the Sociedad Científica Argentina. In 1891, the department of natural sciences took the name ofFacultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, and, in 1896, a special doctorate for chemistry was also established. By 1909, UBA had also created the faculties of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences, as well as the Instituto de Altos Estudios Comerciales y de Ciencias Económicas.[29]
The federalization of Buenos Aires in 1881 made the university dependent of the Argentine national state. During theGeneration of '80, a period marked by the conservative elitism of Argentina's political class, the University of Buenos Aires made great progress in its scientific research, as the governing elites followed the ideals ofpositivism andscientificism popular in the late 19th century.[30] The 1880s were also marked by the university's first women graduates,Élida Passo (pharmacy) andCecilia Grierson (medicine). These were, however, still exceptions to the rule in an otherwise male-dominated environment, as it fit the customs of Argentine society at the time.[31]
Student takeover of the UBA Faculty of Law in 1919
The newfound prosperity experienced by Argentina at the turn of the 20th century allowed the children of (primarily European) immigrants, the new Argentine middle class, to attend university for the first time. In June 1918, a political and cultural movement impulsed by students at theNational University of Córdoba caused a shockwave across Latin America: students were now protesting for further autonomy in universities, democratically elected authorities and co-governance, and open contests for teaching positions. The reform set up the freedom for universities to define their own curriculum and manage their own budget without interference from the central government. This has had a profound effect on academic life at the universities through the nationalization process that boasts academic freedom and independence throughout university life.
The University Reform granted UBA (as well as all other public universities in Argentina) one of the key features of its institutional life, maintained up to this day: co-governed, democratically elected institutions and authorities.[32]
In 1923,Ernesto de la Cárcova, a fine arts painter and academic professor, created the Extension Department of Fine Arts Education, known as the Superior Art School of the Nation in Spanish "Escuela Nacional Superior de las Artes", previously guilded in 1905 as the National Academy of Fine Arts in 1905, taking its long origins from the 1875 founding of the National Society of the Stimulus of the Arts by paintersEduardo Schiaffino,Eduardo Sívori, and others. Since 1993, this Arts Extension Department became an independent institution known as IUNA Instituto Universitario Nacional de las Artes, then, in 2014 became the Collegiate UniversityUNA Universidad Nacional de las Artes.
The university's co-governance and autonomy were suspended during the presidency ofJuan Domingo Perón, beginning in 1946. Perón's government also made access to public universities completely free of cost, through Decree 29.337, in November 1949. This represented the beginning of unrestricted access to culture, higher education and professionalization for the working class.[33] From 1935 to 1955, the number of students enrolled at UBA grew from 12,000 to 71,823.[34]
The1955Revolución Libertadora re-established the university's autonomy and co-governance, but also persecuted peronists and leftists within the university, leading to the expulsion and exile of hundreds of professors. Blacklists for university professors were established, and UBA was among the most affected institutions.[35] Further repression and persecution followed during the dictatorship ofJuan Carlos Onganía, which intervened all universities and appliedcensorship to much of the universities' contents. On 29 July 1966, following a student-led occupation of five of UBA's faculties, state authorities dislodged the legitimately-elected authorities of said faculties and violently removed students, graduates and professors from the premises. The students were protesting the1966 coup d'état, which had deposed constitutional presidentArturo Illia. The event would be known as theNight of the Long Batons (Spanish:Noche de los Bastones Largos).
The Night of the Long Batons ended with over 400 people detained, and several laboratories and libraries destroyed by state authorities. In the months that followed, hundreds of professors were fired or forced to leave their positions. Many went into exile: in total, it is estimated 301 professors, of which 215 were researchers, left Argentina following the events of 29 July 1966.[36]
The return of Juan Domingo Perón to power through democratic elections in 1973 marked the beginning of a new age for the University of Buenos Aires. In 1974, a new law (Ley 20.654) mandated all national and public universities' right to academic autonomy and administrative and economy autarky.[37] In contradiction with the university autonomy law, Perón's wife and successor,Isabel Perón, appointed professed fascist Alberto Ottalagano as interventor of the university in 1974. Ottalagano launched a fierce campaign of persecution within the university, targeting students and professors suspected of being sympathizers of thePeronist Left. During Ottalagano's administration, up to 4000 professors were fired (includingNobel in Chemistry laureateLuis Federico Leloir), and four students weredisappeared by the State.[38]
An enhanced period ofstate terrorism followed the1976 coup d'état, which brought to power the dictatorship of theNational Reorganization Process. Professors and students were disappeared regardless of their political affiliations, as public universities were suspected of being "breeding grounds" for leftist sympathizers and subversives.[35] In addition, the university's research production and curricula were subject to systemic censorship, and hundreds upon thousands of books wereburned (including up to 90,000 books published byEudeba, UBA's own university press).[39][40] The dictatorship overran the principles of co-governance and established entrance exams, diminished entrance quotas, eradicated free education, and suspended entire degrees. All of the university's buildings and establishments were put under surveillance by state security forces.
The university's autonomy and co-governance were re-established with the return of democracy in 1983. In 1985, the university established theCiclo Básico Común (CBC; "Common Basic Cycle"), a fixed set of subjects that all aspiring UBA students must approve in order to become enrolled at the university. The CBC replaced the old entrance exams and sought to even the playing field for all students. That same year, theFaculty of Psychology was established, becoming the 12th faculty of the university.[32]
In addition, in 1985 an agreement was signed between the university and the Federal Penitentiary System, creating what would later become the UBA XXII system. UBA XXII allows all people detained at federal prisons to enroll at UBA and study graduate courses whilst deprived of freedom.[41] In 1988, theFaculty of Social Sciences was established, becoming the youngest faculty at UBA.[42]
The University of Buenos Aires is made up of thirteen self-governingfaculties (Spanish:facultades), which impart a number of graduate and post-graduate courses (Spanish:carreras).[43] Although not a faculty, the university also manages theCiclo Básico Común (CBC, "Common Basic Cycle"), a fixed set of subjects that all aspiring UBA students must pass in order to access any graduate course in the university, and that replaced entrance exams in 1985.
UBA does not count with a single, unified campus. All of its facilities are spread out throughout the City of Buenos Aires, with some (especially branches of the CBC) based in theGreater Buenos Aires metro area. TheCiudad Universitaria ("University City") complex, located in theNúñez neighborhood along the banks of theRío de la Plata, is the closest thing to a centralized campus UBA has, housing the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism, a CBC branch, and various research institutes.[44]
TheFaculty of Economic Sciences is the largest of the UBA's constituent colleges, with over 36,000 students.[45] In recent years, theFaculty of Medicine has attracted the most new students, with 17,004 new enrollees in 2018 compared to the 7,584 new students the Faculty of Economic Sciences added that same year.[46]
Since the1918 University Reform, the University of Buenos Aires has been ruled by the principle of co-governance. The university is headed by theRector and theConsejo Superior ("Superior Council"). The Consejo Superior is made up of the rector, the deans of the thirteen faculties, and five representatives for each of the three constituent bodies in the university: professors, students and graduates, rounding up to 29 members. Deans and all other representatives of the Consejo Superior are elected every four years in democratic elections in which all professors, students and graduates of the university must partake.[56]
Each of the thirteen faculties is autonomous and self-governed. The faculties have a similar governing system: each of them has a democratically elected dean and aConsejo Directivo ("Directive Council"). The faculties' directive councils are made up of eight representatives for the professors, four representatives for the student body, and four representatives for the graduates. The Rector is elected every four years by the University Assembly (Asamblea Universitaria), made up of all members of the Consejo Superior and all members of the directive councils of all thirteen faculties. Since 2022, the Rector of the University of Buenos Aires has beenRicardo Gelpi.[57]
In the 21st century, diverse political forces have vyed for power across all of these democratically elected institutions. Historically, rectors have belonged to the "reformist" camp, closely related to theRadical Civic Union and its student wing,Franja Morada.[60][61]Peronists and supporters of theTrotskyist left, organized into several different groups and organizations within each of the faculties, have also historically participated in the university's political life.[62]
Throughout its history, a sizeable number of UBA alumni have become notable in many varied fields, both academic and otherwise. Among them are four of Argentina's fiveNobel Prizelaureates, seventeenpresidents of Argentina, and several other notable individuals in various fields, including sciences, business, literature, philosophy, law, medicine, the arts, architecture, and others. Many more are further associated to the university as faculty or through research at UBA institutes and dependencies.
Political scientistGuillermo O'Donnell studied law at UBA and later pursued a political science degree in the United States; today, he is credited as a major influence in Argentine political science.[94] Sociologist and political activistPilar Calveiro began her studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, before the creation of the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1988.[95] Former British spyRichard Tomlinson studied political science at UBA during his stay in Argentina.[96]
The university operates its own radio station,Radio Universidad de Buenos Aires, broadcast on the FM 87.9 MHz frequency. Its content is mostly oriented toward academic and social topics. Launched on 20 December 2005 after being authorized byAFSCA, its motto isEl saber está en el aire ("Knowledge is in the air").[109]
^Urquiza Almandoz, Oscar F. (1972).La cultura de Buenos Aires a través de su prensa periódica, desde 1810 hasta 1820 (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Eudeba.
^Brandáriz, Gustavo A. (2010).El Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires(PDF) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas de la Manzana de las Luces.Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved26 August 2022.
^"José P. Montero".ABC (in Spanish). 7 May 2006.Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved27 August 2022.
^Luis Moreno-Ocampo (2003)"Curriculum Vitae"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved17 February 2011.. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
^"Dra. Inés M. Weinberg"(PDF).derecho.uba.ar (in Spanish).Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved27 August 2022.
^"Investigator profile" (in Spanish). University of Buenos Aires, Institute of Mathematical Investigations. Archived fromthe original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved4 August 2018.
^Interview with Guillermo O'Donnell, "Democratization, Political Engagement and Agenda Setting Research", in Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder,Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics (Johns Hopkins, 2007).
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