University of Buenos Aires facts for kids
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Universidad de Buenos Aires
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| Latin: Universitas Bonaëropolitana | |
| Motto | Argentum virtus robur et studium (Latin) |
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Motto in English
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Argentine virtue is strength and study |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1821 |
| Budget | US$700 million (2015) |
| Rector | Ricardo Gelpi |
| Vice Rector | Emiliano Yacobitti |
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Academic staff
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28,943 (2004) |
| Students | 328,361 (2012) |
| Undergraduates | 297,639 (2004) |
| Postgraduates | 30,000 (2018) |
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Argentina
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| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | |
| University rankings | |
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| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World | 201-300 (2022) |
| CWUR World | 382 (2023) |
| CWTS World | 416 (2023) |
| QS World | =95 (2024) |
| USNWR Global | =426 (2022-23) |
| Regional – Overall | |
| QS Latin America | 9 (2023) |
| USNWR Latin America | 7 (2022-23) |
The University of Buenos Aires (Spanish: Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a large public research university located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was started in 1821. This university has educated many important people, including 17 Argentine presidents. Four of Argentina's five Nobel Prize winners studied here. UBA also does about 40% of all research in Argentina.
Many students from other countries choose to study at UBA, especially for advanced degrees. About 4% of undergraduate students and 15% of postgraduate students come from abroad. The Faculty of Economic Sciences is very popular, with 30% of its advanced students coming from other countries. It is known as a top business school.
The University of Buenos Aires has over 328,000 students. It is made up of 13 separate faculties, which are like different schools within the university. UBA also manages 6 hospitals, 16 museums, 13 science institutes, and 5 high schools. It has a cultural center, a cinema, a symphony orchestra, and Eudeba, which is Argentina's biggest university publishing company.
A great thing about UBA is that undergraduate programs are free for everyone, no matter where they are from. The money from postgraduate programs helps the university offer free education to all.
Contents
History of UBA
How it Started
Unlike other big cities in the Spanish Colonial Americas, Buenos Aires did not have its own university for a long time. Other cities like Córdoba already had universities. After Argentina became independent in 1816, people wanted a university in the capital.
On August 12, 1821, the University of Buenos Aires was officially founded by Governor Martín Rodríguez. Antonio Sáenz, a religious leader and statesman, became the first Rector (head) of the university.
In its early years, there were debates about whether the university should be religious or non-religious. To make sure the university was professional, existing schools were combined into it. This included courses on math, drawing, and natural history. Law courses were also added, so UBA could offer degrees in medicine and law right from the start.
Changes in the Mid-1800s
During the time of leader Juan Manuel de Rosas, free access to the university was stopped, and fewer students attended. Professors were not paid, and the science department almost closed. After Rosas's rule ended in 1852, the new government made improving the university a top priority. They saw higher education as important for the country's future.
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In 1863, UBA created the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, a famous high school. The Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini, another high school, followed in 1890. In 1869, the first twelve Argentine engineers graduated from UBA. They were known as the "Twelve Apostles." By 1909, UBA had also added faculties for Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences.
When Buenos Aires became the national capital in 1881, the university became part of the national government. During the late 1800s, UBA made great progress in science research. The first women graduates, Élida Passo (pharmacy) and Cecilia Grierson (medicine), also completed their studies during this time.
The University Reform of 1918
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In the early 1900s, more people, including children of immigrants, could attend university. In 1918, students at the National University of Córdoba started a movement that spread across Latin America. They wanted universities to have more freedom, for leaders to be chosen democratically, and for teaching jobs to be given out fairly. This "University Reform" allowed universities to decide their own courses and manage their own money without government interference.
This reform gave UBA, and other public universities in Argentina, a key feature that still exists today: leaders and institutions are chosen democratically by students, professors, and graduates.
From the 1940s to the 1960s
The university's freedom was paused during the presidency of Juan Domingo Perón starting in 1946. However, Perón's government also made public university access completely free in 1949. This meant more people from all backgrounds could get a higher education. From 1935 to 1955, the number of students at UBA grew from 12,000 to over 71,000.
During the 1940s, new faculties like Dentistry and Architecture were created.
In 1955, the university regained its freedom, but some professors were removed. More difficulties came during the dictatorship of Juan Carlos Onganía. On July 29, 1966, an event known as the Night of the Long Batons happened. Students were protesting the government, and authorities violently removed them from university buildings. Many professors were fired or left the country after this event.
The 1970s
When Juan Domingo Perón returned to power in 1973, a new law gave universities the right to be independent. However, during the presidency of Isabel Perón, the university faced challenges. Many professors were removed, and some students were harmed.
After the 1976 coup, which brought a military dictatorship to power, public universities were closely watched. Research and courses were censored, and many books were destroyed. The dictatorship also brought back entrance exams, limited student numbers, and stopped free education.
From the 1980s to Today
When democracy returned in 1983, the university's freedom was restored. In 1985, UBA created the Ciclo Básico Común (CBC), or "Common Basic Cycle." This is a set of required subjects that all students must pass before starting their main university courses. It replaced the old entrance exams. Also in 1985, the Faculty of Psychology was established.
UBA also started a program called UBA XXII, which allows people in federal prisons to study university courses. In 1988, the Faculty of Social Sciences was created, becoming UBA's newest faculty.
How UBA is Organized
The University of Buenos Aires has thirteen self-governing faculties. These are like different colleges within the university, each offering many courses. There is also the Ciclo Básico Común (CBC), which is a set of basic subjects all students must pass to get into a degree program. The CBC replaced entrance exams in 1985.
UBA does not have one big campus. Its buildings are spread out across the city of Buenos Aires. The Ciudad Universitaria ("University City") complex is the closest thing to a central campus. It houses the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism.
The faculties include:
- Faculty of Agronomy (FAUBA)
- Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism (FADU)
- Faculty of Economic Sciences (FCE)
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FCEN)
- Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMED)
- Faculty of Social Sciences (FSoc)
- Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (FVET)
- Faculty of Law (FDUBA)
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry (FFyB)
- Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (FFyL)
- Faculty of Engineering (FIUBA)
- Faculty of Dentistry (FOUBA)
- Faculty of Psychology (PSI)
The Faculty of Economic Sciences is the largest, with over 36,000 students. The Faculty of Medicine has recently attracted the most new students.
Besides the faculties, UBA also manages 6 hospitals, 16 museums, 13 science institutes, and 5 high schools. These include the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires and the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini. It also runs the Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas, the Cosmos Cinema, the UBA Symphony Orchestra, and Eudeba, a major university press.
How UBA is Managed
Since the 1918 University Reform, UBA has been run by a system called "co-governance." This means that professors, students, and graduates all have a say in how the university is managed.
The university is led by the Rector and the Consejo Superior (Superior Council). The Superior Council includes the rector, the deans of the thirteen faculties, and five representatives from each group: professors, students, and graduates. All these leaders are chosen every four years in democratic elections.
Each of the thirteen faculties is also independent and self-governed. They have their own democratically elected dean and a Consejo Directivo (Directive Council). This council includes representatives for professors, students, and graduates. The Rector of the university is chosen by the University Assembly, which includes members from all these councils. Since 2022, Ricardo Gelpi has been the Rector.
Students in all faculties also have their own student unions called "Centro de Estudiantes." These unions are also democratically elected and are part of the Federación Universitaria de Buenos Aires (FUBA).
Rankings and Reputation
The QS World University Rankings placed the University of Buenos Aires as 66th in the world in 2021. This shows that UBA is recognized as a strong university globally.
Famous People Who Studied at UBA
Many famous people have studied at UBA in various fields. These include four of Argentina's five Nobel Prize winners and seventeen presidents of Argentina. Many others have become important in science, business, literature, and the arts.
Politics
Seventeen Argentine presidents have studied at UBA, including Hipólito Yrigoyen, Marcelo T. de Alvear, Arturo Frondizi, Raúl Alfonsín, and Alberto Fernández. Most of them studied law. Alberto Fernández also taught criminal law at UBA before becoming president.
Other political leaders, like Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who enrolled in medicine in 1948, also studied at UBA. Many government ministers, including foreign ministers and economy ministers, are UBA alumni. José Pedro Montero, a former president of Paraguay, also studied at UBA.
Law
Many important legal experts have graduated from UBA's Faculty of Law. Carlos Saavedra Lamas, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1936, earned his law degree at UBA and later became its rector. Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, also studied here. Several judges of Argentina's highest court, the Supreme Court of Argentina, are UBA alumni.
Medicine
UBA has produced several key figures in medicine. Two Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winners, Bernardo Houssay (1947) and César Milstein (1984), studied at UBA.
Élida Passo was the first Argentine woman to become a pharmacist and a university graduate in South America (1885). Cecilia Grierson was the first woman to get a medical degree in Argentina from UBA in 1889. Other notable doctors include Ramón Carrillo, a public health expert, and Luis Agote, who developed the first safe method for blood transfusion.
Business
Many successful business people have studied at UBA. These include oil tycoons Alejandro Bulgheroni and Carlos Bulgheroni, and agri-business leader Andrea Grobocopatel. Many founders of successful startup companies in Latin America also graduated from UBA.
Horacio Anasagasti, who created Argentina's first car, graduated from UBA's Faculty of Engineering in 1902.
Mathematics and Science
Many important scientists in different fields have studied and taught at UBA. Luis Federico Leloir, Argentina's first Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, earned his degree at UBA. He discovered how lactose is processed in the body.
UBA has also educated many biologists, especially those studying marine life in Antarctica, like Irene Schloss and Viviana Alder. Patricia Ortúzar, a geographer, also graduated from UBA.
Mathematicians from UBA include Luis Caffarelli, known for his work on complex math problems, and Alicia Dickenstein, who uses math to understand biological systems. Other notable scientists include pioneering computer scientist Cecilia Berdichevsky and physicist Beatriz Susana Cougnet de Roederer.
Philosophy and Social Sciences
UBA has been home to many important thinkers in social science and philosophy. Raúl Prebisch, who developed important economic theories, studied economics at UBA. Social anthropologist Esther Hermitte and political theorist Ernesto Laclau also studied at UBA.
Guillermo O'Donnell, a political scientist, studied law at UBA. Sociologist and activist Pilar Calveiro also began her studies here.
Architecture
Many well-known architects, both in Argentina and worldwide, have graduated from UBA. Clorindo Testa, a pioneer of the brutalist style in Argentina, earned his degree from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism (FADU) in 1948. Alberto Prebisch, a rationalist architect, also graduated from UBA and later became dean of FADU.
Arts, Literature, and Film
Writers like novelist Julio Cortázar, one of the founders of the Latin American Boom literary movement, started studying philosophy at UBA. Poet and critic Jorge Fondebrider studied literature and later directed UBA's cultural center. Other writers like Esther Vilar and Alejandra Pizarnik also studied at UBA.
Filmmaker Juan Cabral and short story writer Samanta Schweblin also studied at the university.
Media
The university has its own radio station, Radio Universidad de Buenos Aires, on FM 87.9 MHz. It mostly broadcasts academic and social topics. Its motto is El saber está en el aire ("Knowledge is in the air").
See also
In Spanish: Universidad de Buenos Aires para niños
- Education in Argentina
- List of Argentine universities
- Argentine university reform of 1918
- Science and technology in Argentina
