The University of Cartagena (Spanish: Universidad de Cartagena), also called UniCartagena, is a departmental public coeducational research university based primarily in the city of Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia. The university offers education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including two doctoral programs.
The university is a member of the Association of Colombian Universities, the Iberoamerican Association of Postgraduate Universities, and the State University System (Spanish: Sistema Universitario Estatal). On March 26, 2014, the University of Cartagena received from the Ministry of Education Institutional Accreditation of High Quality, becoming the first and only public university in the Caribbean region with this accreditation.
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History
In 1826, General Francisco de Paula Santander's decree cleared the way for the creation of a university in the Caribbean region of Colombia and Cartagena de Indias was chosen as its location. On October 6, 1827, the Liberator Simón Bolívar formalized the establishment of the University of Magdalena and the Isthmus, as Panama was part of Colombia at that time. Subsequently, due to territorial and political changes, the University of Central Magdalena became the University of Cartagena, initially based in the Cloister of St. Augustine, offering only two undergraduate programs: Law and Medicine.
In the 1950s, the current university shield was officially adopted. In 1989, the university inaugurated the Health Campus, relocating the faculties of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. In 2001, the Faculty of Science and Engineering moved to the Stone Bolivar Campus, followed by the Faculty of Economics in 2003.
In 1993, the university established distance learning through the Regional Centers for Distance Education (CREAD). The university offers programs in the municipalities of Simití, Santa Rosa del Sur, Carmen de Bolívar, San Estanislao, Turbaco, and San Marcos Magangué.
Undergraduates
Faculty of Economic Sciences: Economics, Business, Industrial Management, and Accounting
Faculty of Humanities: Philosophy, History, Linguistics, and Literature
Faculty of Engineering: Civil Engineering, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Systems Engineering
Faculty of Social Sciences: Social Communication, Social Work, and Foreign Languages
Faculty of Natural Sciences: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Metrology
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Faculty of Law and Political Science: Law
School of Nursing: Nursing
School of Medicine: Medicine
School of Dentistry: Dentistry
School of Languages
Masters
Master's degrees are offered in:
Nursing
Mathematics
Chemistry
Physics
Education
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Engineering
Biochemistry
Clinical Toxicology
Microbiology
Pharmacology
Clinical Epidemiology and Immunology
Philosophy
Other studies
The University of Cartagena offers other graduate programs, called specializations in Colombia, which do not lead to a PhD.
Campus
Zaragocilla Campus (Health Sciences)
Piedra de Bolívar Campus (Engineering and Economic Sciences)
Cloister of St. Augustine Campus (Main Campus)
Cloister of La Merced Campus (Historic town)
Institutes
Immunologic Research Institute
International Institute of Caribbean Studies
Institute of Water and Environmental Sanitation (IHSA)
Notable alumni
Politics
Rafael Núñez — Lawyer, President of Colombia
Justo Arosemena Quesada — Statesman and champion of Panamanian national identity
Alfonso Múnera Cavadía — Colombian historian, ambassador, and former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States.
Manuel Amador Guerrero — Surgeon, promoted and achieved separation of Panama from Colombia and was the first President of the Republic of Panama
Literature and journalism
Gabriel García Márquez — (Undergraduate) Nobel Prize for Literature, 1982
Luis Carlos López —(Undergraduate) Colombian poet.
Jorge Artel — Colombian poet, novelist and journalist.
John Jairo Junieles — Lawyer, poet; winner of the National Literature Award (2002, Bogotá), the International Poetry Prize City of Alajuela (Costa Rica, 2005), and the X International Poetry Prize (2007, Nicolas Guillen)
Orlando Echeverri Benedetti — Writer, translator, and cultural researcher with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy. Author of the novel Criacuervo and the short story collection La fiesta en el cañaveral.