The Universidad Nacional de Colombia, or the National University of Colombia was created in 1867 by an act of the Congress of Colombia. It has since grown to become the largest higher education establishment in the country.
It has two main campuses (Bogotá and Medellín) and four satellite campuses (Manizales, Yopal and Palmira) spreading from the Caribbean to the Amazon, in some of the country’s most remote regions.
It is part of the "golden triangle" of higher education in Colombia, alongside Antioquia and Valle University, as it is one of the most selective, competitive and high achieving universities in the country. Of those who apply, only 0-10 per cent are accepted to study.
For both its research and education environments, it is often one of the most high-ranking universities in Latin America.
Students can choose from 430 academic programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level including medicine, nursing, dentistry, engineering, chemistry, mathematics, physics, pharmacy, biology, geology, social sciences, psychology, social sciences, arts, philosophy, languages, philosophy and law.
It is one of Columbia’s only universities to employ post-doctorate fellows.
The main university campus (Ciudad Universitaria de Bogotá) is situated in the Teusaquillo locality, to the northwest of Bogotá. With a 300-acre area, it is the largest campus in Colombia and is home to the León de Greiff Auditorium and the Francisco de Paula Santander Plaza also known as the Ché Plaza, in honour of Ernesto Ché Guevara. It has its own stadium, which hosts matches for the Colombian professional football league. There is also another main campus in Medellín, split into two parts: Central Campus and Campus Robledo.
Its most notable former student is the writer Gabriel García Márquez, who studied law.
